Is it more dangerous to be a cop, a pilot or a logger? The 12 most deadly jobs in California
More than 350 California workers die from work-related injuries during a typical year, but most of those deaths occur across a small number of occupations.
The most deadly job in California — and across the nation — is working as a logger. Fifteen California loggers died on the job between 2012 and 2016, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations. That translates to about 1 in 600 loggers. Cutting down trees and branches — to state the obvious — carries a risk that trees or branches will fall on you.
Other deadly jobs relate to transportation or construction. A higher number of heavy-truck drivers die on the job than workers in any other occupation. Construction laborers, roofers, painters and tree trimmers often die from falls.
California farmworkers die at a relatively high rate. California has some of the most stringent laws in the nation designed to protect farmworkers, but heat-related deaths still occur every year. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new law to expand overtime for farmworkers in September 2016.
Police officers round out the list of most deadly jobs. Forty-three California police officers died in work-related incidents from 2012 to 2016, including many killed in car accidents. That contributes to the 11th-highest death rate from job injuries in the state.
We’ve ranked California’s most dangerous jobs based on annual fatality rates from 2012 to 2016. The calculations are based on data maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the California Department of Industrial Relations.
Jobs with three or fewer fatalities in 2016 were excluded. That means rare jobs such as trapeze artist or professional rock climber are not in the data. These rankings are based on workplace injuries — they do not include workers who die from health issues like a heart attack at their desk.
#1 Logging workers
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 15
California workers: 1,810
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 165.7
#2 Aircraft pilots
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 30
California workers: 12,890
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 46.5
#3 Truck driver
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 295
California workers: 137,930
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 42.8
#4 Construction workers
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 114
California workers: 96,480
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 23.6
#5 Taxi Drivers
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 20
California workers: 24,730
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 16.4
#6 Welders
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 20
California workers: 26,550
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 16.4
#7 Grounds maintenance workers and tree trimmers
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 86
California workers: 116,360
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 14.8
#8 Construction forepersons
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 37
California workers: 51,570
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 14.3
#9 Building painters
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 23
California workers: 35,070
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 13.1
#10 Farmworkers
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 116
California workers: 193,660
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 12.0
#11 Police officers
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 43
California workers: 73,000
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 11.8
#12 Power line and telecommunications line installers
Deaths on the job, 2012-16: 10
California workers: 18,780
Death rate per 100,000 workers: 10.7
This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Is it more dangerous to be a cop, a pilot or a logger? The 12 most deadly jobs in California."