Question 15 of 24
Your day job's hazard level?
The short answer
Fatal injury risk at work varies sharply by occupation. The United States recorded 5,070 fatal work injuries in 2024, a rate of 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers — but transportation and material-moving workers faced nearly four times that rate.
Pick one to continue — the dead don't get to skip homework.
Some paychecks come with a body count
💀 A grim little fact
The deadliest job in America isn't cop or firefighter — it's logging. Loggers die at a rate of roughly 99–111 per 100,000 workers, about 23 times the average job. Second place goes to commercial fishing (~87 per 100,000). Falling trees, chainsaws, and remote sites where 'call an ambulance' means 'in about an hour' add up fast.
Logging: ~23× the fatality rate of the average job — America's deadliest.
🔮 Myth vs. Morty
Myth: "Office jobs are totally safe." Physically, you're unlikely to be flattened by a spreadsheet — but the desk has a slow-motion revenge arc via sitting, stress, and vending-machine cuisine. Different timeline, same accountant. The forest kills quickly; the cubicle just takes the scenic route.
Morty respects a hazardous job. Great for repeat business.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries · Entertainment only — not medical advice.
Occupation and life expectancy: what the evidence shows
Last reviewed · compiled by the ExpireOnDate editorial team · not medically reviewed
What the research shows
5,070 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2024, down 4.0% from 5,283 in 2023.
US workforce · United States · Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries · 2024 · US Bureau of Labor Statistics
The national fatal occupational injury rate was 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2024, down from 3.5 in 2023.
US workforce · United States · Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries · 2024 · US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Transportation and material moving occupations recorded 1,391 fatalities in 2024, a rate of 12.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.
US transportation and material-moving workers · United States · Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries · 2024 · US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Construction and extraction occupations recorded 1,032 fatalities in 2024, the second-highest total by occupational category.
US construction and extraction workers · United States · Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries · 2024 · US Bureau of Labor Statistics
In absolute terms
3.3 fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time workers nationally; 12.5 per 100,000 in transportation and material moving.
What it does not show
These figures count fatal injuries only, not deaths from occupational disease — decades of dust, chemicals or sun exposure are invisible here, so the true occupational mortality burden is larger. Differences in life expectancy between occupations also mix injury risk with income, education and healthcare access, and injury-rate data alone cannot separate them.
Every figure on this page describes a population, not a person. Associations measured across thousands of people cannot tell any individual how long they will live, and nothing here is medical advice. If something on this page concerns you, talk to a doctor rather than a comedy website.
References
- National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2024. US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026). primary source; accessed 2026-08-15.
- Fatal injury rates by state of incident and industry, all ownerships, 2024. US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026). primary source; accessed 2026-08-15.
Spotted an error or a better source? Tell us — corrections are logged and the review date updated.