List of Top 5 Deadliest Jobs in America

Agricultural workers and professional drivers have the deadliest jobs in America, according to a September 2026 report on high-risk trades.

A new study by Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Lawyers, analysed 5 years of fatal workplace injury data and professions that still carry a risk to life.

• Farmworkers face the highest risk among all professions, with 1 in 50 labourers dying on the job.
• Similar trends are recorded for motor vehicle operators, as truck drivers, chauffeurs, and delivery drivers suffered over 5.3K fatal injuries in the last years.
• Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn the highest salary on the list, at $55.9K, but it’s still well below average US earnings.

The study assessed occupational risk by looking at 2 key statistics: total fatal injuries in the last 5 years (latest recorded) and fatal injury rate per 100K workers. The rates allowed for comparing professions fairly, while average annual wages were used to give better context of employment conditions.

Top 5 most dangerous jobs in America

1. Agricultural workers

• Total fatal injuries: 725 in 5 years
• Fatal injuries rate: 2,401 per 100K workers
• Average annual wage: $45.6K

Agricultural jobs are the most dangerous in America, with over 1 in 50 workers dying in the field. In the last 5 years, the states reported 725 fatal injuries, but these numbers are much larger when taking unregistered workers into account. The salaries for such a dangerous trade are also quite low, averaging $45.6K, almost 20 thousand below the US average.

2. Motor vehicle operators

Motor vehicle operators have the second-most dangerous jobs in the US, with the most fatal injuries reported, at 5,342, or over 1,000 a year. This statistic amounts to a similar 1 in 50 drivers dying because of their job. This line of work includes delivery drivers, taxi operators, and truck drivers, and for most of these positions, salaries stay low, at $39.9K.

3. Grounds maintenance workers

Grounds maintenance is the third most deadly occupation, with 1,860 fatal injuries per 100K workers. Mowing lawns, pruning trees, and debris cleaning often involve dangerous machinery, and in the last 5 years, 1,114 people died in this line of work.

4. Material moving workers

In fourth spot are material moving workers, with 1 in 100 employees dying because of their job. This trade, which includes forklifts, cranes, and the packaging process, reports more fatal injuries in raw numbers than ground maintenance, with 1,285 fatal injuries in the last 5 years. Despite high danger levels, the material moving workers earn $43.2K annually, less than farm workers or grounds maintenance specialists.

5. Extraction workers

Extraction work also ranks among the riskiest jobs in the UK, with 854 per 100K workers fatally injured on the job. This specialisation doesn’t have as many people working as the trades above, and in the last few years, 304 people died during working hours, 4 times fewer than material-moving workers.

“Agriculture’s figures are almost certainly worse than any official dataset shows. BLS injury data suffers from substantial undercounting in industries with high concentrations of undocumented workers, and employers who classify workers as independent contractors aren’t required to report their injuries to OSHA at all. Agriculture is also exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labour Standards Act, which discourages workers from resting. And with exhaustion, the risk of injuries only increases,” Steven M. Sweat commented on the study.

How the top 10 most dangerous jobs in America compare