10 High-Risk Jobs And The Salaries That Come With Them

According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3.4 employees for every 100,000 died while on the job in 2020.

The highest death rates are among the two most dangerous industries in America: fishing and hunting, and logging.

The bureau estimated that the fishing and hunting industry lost 132 workers per 100,000 in 2020, and the logging industry lost around 91 per 100,000.

While being a police officer is widely seen as one of America's most dangerous jobs, Statista estimates that there were 696,644 full-time police officers in the U.S. in 2020, with 295 of them dying in the line of duty — representing a 0.0004% fatality rate among police officers.

Following the logging industry, roofers lose around 47 workers per 100,000.

But, for all the danger and uncertainty, are these workers compensated fairly? Let’s look at the highest-risk jobs and the salaries that accompany them.

Fishing and Hunting:
Fatalities per 100,000: 132.1
Median Salary: $39,149

Logging:
Fatalities per 100,000: 91
Median salary: $46,330

Roofers:
Fatalities per 100,000: 47
Median salary: $37,450

Construction trades:
Fatalities per 100,000: 43
Median salary: $58,550

Aircraft Pilot/Flight Engineer:
Fatalities per 100,000: 34
Median salary: $93,300

Garbage collectors:
Fatalities per 100,000: 33
Median salary: $45,430

Iron and Steelworkers:
Fatalities per 100,000: 32
Median salary: $54,830

Truck drivers:
Fatalities per 100,000: 26
Median salary: $80,838

Underground mining/machine operator:
Fatalities per 100,000: 21
Median salary: $53,905

Farmers/Ranchers:
Fatalities per 100,000: 21
Median salary: $44,498

• On the opposite end, some of the highest paying low-risk jobs include

  University Professor
  Median Salary: $80,790

  Audiologist
  Median Salary: $81,030

  Operations Research Analyst
  Median Salary: $86,200

  Radiation Therapist
  Median Salary: $86,850

  Statistician
  Median Salary: $92,270

  Biomedical Engineer
  Median Salary: $92,620

  Art Director
  Median Salary: $97,270

  Economist
  Median Salary: $108,350

  Mathematician
  Median Salary: $110,860

  Actuary
  Median Salary: $111,030

  Photo: Sergey Nivens via Shutterstock