The trades ranked by injury record

Workers' compensation class rates track the injury history of the class, so this is the closest public proxy for why one trade's premium starts higher than another's. 37 trades, three measures, all from BLS: recordable cases, serious (DART) cases, and fatalities.

1Highest Local messengers and
2Lowest Security guards and
3Private industry 2.3 per 100

Recordable cases per 100 full-time workers

Total recordable injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers, 2024, top 37 of 37 trades on this site; private industry overall is 2.3. Bars to scale. Source: BLS SOII Table 1.

Serious cases (days away, restriction or transfer)

Days-away/restricted/transfer injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers, 2024, top 16 of 37 trades on this site; private industry overall is 1.4. Bars to scale. Source: BLS SOII Table 1.

Fatal injuries per 100,000 FTE (approximate)

Approximate fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time workers, 2024, derived from BLS CFOI counts and SOII hours (BLS's published fatal rates use different hours and may differ). Top 14. Bars to scale.

The full table

#	Trade	NAICS	Recordable	DART	Days away	Fatal (count)
1	Local messengers and local delivery	4922	8.5	6.9	4.9	22
2	Couriers and express delivery services	4921	7.9	6.5	4.1	34
3	Nursing care facilities	6231	6.3	4.5	3.1	9
4	Carpet and upholstery cleaning services	56174	5.6	4.8	3.9	1
5	Warehousing and storage	4931	4.8	4.1	1.5	32
6	Waste collection	5621	4.7	3.7	2.2	41
7	Framing contractors	23813	4.6	3.4	2.1	39
8	Used household and office goods moving	48421	4.3	3.4	2.4	8
9	Siding contractors	23817	3.2	2.5	2.2	7
10	General freight trucking	4841	3.1	2.4	1.6	404
11	Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	23822	3	1.7	1.1	75
12	Landscaping services	56173	3	2	1.4	246
13	Drywall and insulation contractors	23831	2.9	2	1.2	17
14	Poured concrete foundation and structure contractors	23811	2.8	2	1.3	34
15	Structural steel and precast concrete contractors	23812	2.8	1.3	0.8	19
16	Glass and glazing contractors	23815	2.7	1.5	0.7	3
17	Specialized freight trucking	4842	2.7	2	1.5	140
18	Limited-service restaurants	722513	2.6	1	0.8	56
19	Residential building construction	2361	2.5	1.4	1	138
20	Janitorial services	56172	2.5	1.7	1.2	23
21	Roofing contractors	23816	2.4	1.7	1.1	120
22	Tile and terrazzo contractors	23834	2.4	1.6	1.2	—
23	Motor vehicle towing	48841	2.3	1.5	0.7	46
24	Exterminating and pest control services	56171	2.2	1.5	1.1	9
25	Full-service restaurants	722511	2.2	0.8	0.7	47
26	Flooring contractors	23833	2	0.7	0.6	15
27	Masonry contractors	23814	1.9	1.5	1.2	26
28	Nonresidential building construction	2362	1.9	1.2	0.8	75
29	Automotive repair and maintenance	8111	1.9	1.1	0.9	99
30	Child care services	6244	1.9	1.2	0.8	4
31	Electrical contractors	23821	1.8	1.1	0.7	59
32	Finish carpentry contractors	23835	1.8	1.3	1	19
33	Fitness and recreational sports centers	71394	1.8	0.9	0.5	4
34	Painting and wall covering contractors	23832	1.6	1.1	1	23
35	Home health care services	6216	1.6	1	0.8	14
36	Site preparation (excavation) contractors	23891	1.5	1	0.7	80
37	Security guards and patrol services	56161	1.5	1	0.7	48
–	Private industry, all	–	2.3	1.4	0.8	—

Reading the three measures

The recordable rate counts every OSHA-recordable injury or illness. The DART rate counts only those serious enough to cost days away from work, job restriction or transfer — the cases that carry indemnity payments as well as medical cost, and the ones that move an experience modifier. Fatal counts come from a different BLS programme, the census of fatal injuries; dividing by hours worked gives an approximate rate per 100,000 full-time workers, which is how trucking at 404 deaths and landscaping at 246 end up near the top of the third chart while sitting mid-table on the first.

Across the 37 trades the recordable rate runs from 1.5 to 8.5, median 2.5; private industry overall is 2.3. The DART rate runs from 0.7 to 6.9.

Sources: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, Table 1 (2024), incidence rates per 100 full-time workers; BLS SOII Table 3 (2024), hours worked by detailed industry; BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Table A-1 (2024). Fatal rates are derived and approximate. Checked 2026-10-23.