The Most Dangerous Job in Missouri Took 33 Lives in Just One Year

I tried to guess what the most dangerous job in Missouri is, but I was way wrong. It's a profession that isn't glamorous to say the least, but 33 workers lost their lives in this line of work in just one year.

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When I imagine dangerous jobs, I envision professional truck drivers as there is always something potentially perilous quite literally around every turn. They are high on the 23 most dangerous jobs in Missouri (and America) list shared by 24/7 Wall St, but they're not at the top.

What is the most dangerous job in Missouri?

According to 24/7 Wall St, it's the same profession that's also the most dangerous anywhere in the country where this work is done and that's professional tree fallers.

The lumber industry is sometimes thought of as a west coast/Rocky Mountain region job, but it's also very common in Missouri, too. The fatal work injury ratio is 589.3 per 100,000 which doesn't sound like much, but that's a very high rate.

In 2021 alone, 33 tree fallers lost their lives doing their job. 

It's the one job you can do where you can't afford to be wrong once without potentially suffering an injury you won't come back from. In addition to the 33 fatalities in one year, there were 40 other non-fatal injuries in the same year. Those that work in the lumber industry understand that this is one job you don't trust to anyone who isn't a trained professional.

By the way, commercial truck drivers come in at #8 on the most dangerous list. Safer than tree falling. Go figure.