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Here are the most and least dangerous states to work, from Alaska to Rhode Island

Andy Kiersz   

Here are the most and least dangerous states to work, from Alaska to Rhode Island
Strategy2 min read

  • Some states have particularly high concentrations of dangerous jobs.
  • This map shows data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the rate of fatal injuries at work in each state.
  • Alaska had the highest rate, while New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island were tied for the lowest rate.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Some jobs are more dangerous than others, and states with lots of dangerous jobs have more workplace deaths.

Every year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases their counts of the number of fatal injuries that occurred at work in the previous year. The above map shows the fatal injury rate for each state in 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, adjusted by the number of workers and hours worked to give a rate per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers.

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According to the BLS data, workplace death rates ranged from a low of 1.6 per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers in New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island to a high of 10.2 in Alaska.

The four states with the highest fatal injury rates - Alaska, North Dakota, Wyoming, and West Virginia - also tend to have large amounts of employment in particularly dangerous industries, like fishing, forestry, agriculture, and mining.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that 27 states saw a decline in the number of fatal occupational injuries between 2016 and 2017, while 21 states and DC had an increase.

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