Think of “deadly” professions and the likes of lion tamers and stuntmen might spring to mind – but in fact some of the most dangerous professions aren’t the most obvious. Using data from the 2019 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, click or scroll through the most surprising jobs that have seen a high number of fatalities in America.

Sorting garbage? Count us out. Not only is this role unappealing to most people, it can also be dangerous. According to the 2019 data, this career had 70 occupational deaths.

With 15 deaths of bus drivers in 2019, it’s a job that’s far from safe. Risks like crashes, as well as the poor mental and physical health that bus drivers are often troubled with, make this job more dangerous than it might look.

A job behind the wheel even more dangerous than bus driving – there were 42 recorded taxi driver deaths in 2019.

With 45 work-related janitor deaths in 2019, cleaning is far from risk-free. Slips, trips and falls accounted for the majority of the incidents.

From a distance, painting doesn’t seem the most dangerous career choice – but slips and falls are common when painting from a height, plus the chemicals in lead-based paint can be deadly. There were 42 recorded deaths in this industry in 2019. 

Fishing might seem like an idyllic profession for many, but it is in fact the most deadly profession in the US. Of all the professions measured in the National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, fishing and hunting workers had a fatal injury rate of 145.0 fatal work injuries per 100,000 workers. 

In 2019, 30 people who worked in hotels and motels died on the job. Sadly, violence is the most common cause of death, though exposure to harmful chemicals is also a factor.

Couriers have a dangerous job, largely due to the sheer fact they spend much time on the road. There were 45 recorded deaths in this industry in 2019, mostly caused by transportation incidents. 

For electricians there were 68 fatalities on the job in 2019. The main cause of death was exposure to a harmful environments. However, slips, trips and falls also played a role. 

You may think a job in the arts is relatively safe. However, there were 83 recorded deaths in the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry in 2019. What’s more surprising is that most of these deaths were caused by transportation incidents or violence by other people or animals. 

Shockingly, there were 87 occupational deaths in the real estate and rental and leasing industry in 2019. Unfortunately, the requirement to be alone with total strangers puts them at a much higher risk of being attacked than those in other professions.

As the fourth most-fatal profession overall in the US, roofing has a fatality rate of 54 per 100,000 workers. Slips, trips and falls were the leading cause of death. 

You'd have thought that health and safety standards were so high these days that few come into serious danger in jobs like this. Unfortunately, it's not always the case. In 2019, there were 155 deaths, with key causes of death including falling off lifts, being struck by equipment or machinery, and contact with hot car parts.

In 2019, a whopping 229 people working in this job died as a result of a fatal workplace injury. That's 19.8 per 100,000 workers, making it the tenth deadliest job in America. 

Politicians have had their fair share of high-profile deaths, but at a local level, there’s a surprisingly high fatality rate. There were 240 deaths of local government workers overall in 2019. The leading cause was transportation incidents. Shockingly, the second leading cause was violence.

 

It may seem a job laden with hazards, but on the flipside you'd have thought that with stringent health and safety regulations and sophisticated technology construction might be a less risky job. However, from power tool-related accidents to falls, the US recorded 1,006 work fatalities across the construction sector in 2019. 

 

 

The second deadliest career in America, logging workers have a fatality rate of 68.9 per 100,000 workers. Most of these accidents are caused by contact with objects or equipment.  

Even though flying is safer than driving a car, the third deadliest occupation in America is aircraft pilots and flight engineers. This industry has a fatality rate of 61.8 per 100,000 workers.

In 2019, there were 291 recorded deaths in the retail trade sector. Motor vehicle and parts dealers accounted for 58 of those deaths, while food and beverage stores accounted for 54, and supermarkets for a further 20. Alarmingly, violence was the leading cause of death in this industry.

There were 99 deaths in this sector in 2019. The leading causes were violence and exposure to harmful chemicals and environments.