Construction Safety Statistics: 2026
US construction fatality, injury, citation, and cost data. Every number sourced.
Last updated: September 2026Construction is the deadliest private industry in the United States by total deaths. In 2024, 1,034 construction workers died on the job. That is about one in five of all US worker deaths that year.
The numbers are moving in the right direction. Deaths fell from 1,075 in 2023, and the fatality rate dropped to 9.2 per 100,000 full-time workers. The work is not done.
This page collects the most current US construction safety statistics we can verify. Each number shows its year and links to the original source. We update it when BLS, OSHA, and CDC publish new data. Use anything here in your toolbox talks, safety meetings, presentations, and articles.
Key statistics at a glance
| Statistic | Number | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction worker deaths | 1,034 | 2024 | BLS |
| Share of all US worker deaths | 20% (1,034 of 5,070) | 2024 | BLS |
| Construction fatality rate | 9.2 per 100,000 full-time workers (all workers: 3.3) | 2024 | BLS |
| Deaths from falls, slips, and trips | 389 (38% of construction deaths) | 2024 | BLS |
| Most cited OSHA standard | Fall Protection, 1926.501, 16 years running | FY 2026 preliminary | Safety+Health |
| Maximum OSHA penalty | $16,550 serious, $165,514 willful or repeated | 2026 | OSHA |
| Recordable injury rate | 2.2 per 100 full-time workers (private industry: 2.3) | 2024 | BLS |
| Cost of serious nonfatal construction injuries | More than $10.4 billion a year | 2025 index, 2022 data | Liberty Mutual |
| Male suicide rate, construction industry | 56.0 per 100,000 (all working men: 32.0) | 2021 | CDC |
| Overdose death rate, construction and extraction workers | 162.6 per 100,000 (all workers: 42.1) | 2020 | CDC |
| Work zone crash deaths | 850 | 2024 | FHWA |
1.Construction fatalities
- Construction recorded more deaths than any other private industry sector in 2024. Transportation and warehousing was second with 865 (BLS, 2024).
- The construction fatality rate was 9.2 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2024. The rate for all US workers was 3.3. A construction worker was almost three times as likely to die on the job (BLS, 2024).
- Deaths fell by 41 from 1,075 in 2023, which was the highest count for construction since 2011 (BLS, 2023). The rate fell from 9.6 to 9.2, the lowest construction fatality rate since 2011 (Construction Dive, reporting BLS data, Feb. 2026).
- Across all industries, a US worker died from a work injury every 104 minutes in 2024 (BLS, 2024).
Where construction deaths happen
Specialty trade contractors account for most construction deaths. In 2024 they recorded 606 of the industry's 1,034 fatalities, or 59% (BLS Table A-1, 2024).
| Construction subsector (2024) | Deaths | Share of construction deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors | 606 | 59% |
| Construction of buildings | 220 | 21% |
| Heavy and civil engineering construction | 158 | 15% |
Source: BLS Table A-1, 2024. Subsector counts do not add to the industry total because some cases are not assigned to a subsector.
- Roofing contractors recorded 120 deaths in 2024. Falls caused 96 of them.
- Residential remodelers recorded 64 deaths. Residential building construction as a whole recorded 138.
- Site preparation contractors recorded 80 deaths. Transportation incidents caused 39 of them.
- Highway, street, and bridge construction recorded 60 deaths. Transportation incidents caused 36 of them.
All four from BLS Table A-1, 2024.
2.The Fatal Four (OSHA's Focus Four)
Cause of death in construction, 2024
Deaths, with share of all 1,034 construction deaths
Source: BLS Table A-1, 2024. BLS changed its event coding in 2023, so these categories do not line up exactly with Fatal Four counts published for earlier years (CPWR).
Falls
- Specialty trade contractors recorded 253 of the 389 fatal construction falls in 2024, or 65% (BLS Table A-1, 2024).
- Roofing contractors alone recorded 96 fatal falls. That is one in four fatal falls in the industry (BLS Table A-1, 2024).
- Residential building construction recorded 65 fatal falls, and 29 of those were at residential remodelers (BLS Table A-1, 2024).
- Fatal falls among construction and extraction workers dropped 7.5% in 2024, from 400 to 370 (BLS, 2024).
- Across all industries, 10.8% of fatal falls in 2024 were from a height over 30 feet (BLS, 2024).
- The long-term trend is worse. Fatal falls to a lower level in construction rose 46% from 2011 to 2021 (CPWR Data Bulletin, March 2023).
Struck-by
- Vehicles are the biggest struck-by killer. Transport vehicles caused 48% of fatal struck-by injuries in construction in 2020 (CPWR Data Bulletin, March 2023).
- The Focus Four also caused 40% of nonfatal construction injuries from 2011 to 2020, about 315,200 cases (CPWR Data Bulletin, March 2023).
Free toolbox talks on falls, ladders, scaffolds, and struck-by hazards.
Browse toolbox talks3.OSHA citations and penalties
Five of the ten most cited standards are construction standards. They are marked below.
| Rank FY 2026 | Standard | Violations FY 2026 (prelim.) | Violations FY 2025 (final) | Rank FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fall Protection, General Requirements (1926.501)Construction | 4,041 | 6,992 | 1 |
| 2 | Hazard Communication (1910.1200) | 1,961 | 3,010 | 2 |
| 3 | Lockout/Tagout (1910.147) | 1,863 | 2,562 | 4 |
| 4 | Scaffolding (1926.451)Construction | 1,725 | 2,286 | 6 |
| 5 | Ladders (1926.1053)Construction | 1,659 | 2,842 | 3 |
| 6 | Respiratory Protection (1910.134) | 1,608 | 2,294 | 5 |
| 7 | Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178) | 1,379 | 2,150 | 8 |
| 8 | Fall Protection, Training Requirements (1926.503)Construction | 1,273 | 2,216 | 7 |
| 9 | Eye and Face Protection (1926.102)Construction | 1,120 | 1,965 | 9 |
| 10 | Machine Guarding (1910.212) | 1,072 | 1,498 | 10 |
Sources: FY 2026 preliminary data covers October 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026 (Safety+Health, Sept. 2026). FY 2025 final data covers October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025 (Safety+Health, April 2026; OSHA Top 10). Preliminary counts are lower because they cover 11 months and OSHA adds citations when it finalizes the data.
- Scaffolding moved up from sixth to fourth in the FY 2026 preliminary list. Ladders fell from third to fifth (Safety+Health, Sept. 2026).
- Fall protection drew more than twice as many citations as any other standard in both years.
What an OSHA citation costs in 2026
| Violation type | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|
| Serious | $16,550 per violation |
| Other-than-serious | $16,550 per violation |
| Willful or repeated | $165,514 per violation |
| Failure to abate | $16,550 per day past the abatement date |
Source: OSHA Penalties. OSHA did not raise penalties for 2026. The 2025 amounts still apply (OSHA memo, May 21, 2026).
On a multi-employer site, more than one contractor can be cited for the same hazard.
4.Construction injuries
Construction's recordable injury rate is close to average. Its fatality rate is almost three times the average.
That is the number most people get wrong. When something goes wrong on a construction site, it is more likely to kill someone.
- Construction employers recorded about 167,100 nonfatal injury and illness cases in 2024 (BLS SOII Table 2, 2024).
- 1.3 of those 2.2 cases per 100 workers were serious enough to need days away from work, job restriction, or transfer (the DART rate). 0.9 involved days away from work (BLS SOII Table 1, 2024).
- Across all private industry, a days-away case cost a median of 8 days off the job across 2023 and 2024 combined (BLS, Jan. 2026).
- US private employers reported 2.5 million injuries and illnesses in 2024. That is the lowest count since the data series began in 2003 (BLS, Jan. 2026).
Injury rates by trade, 2024
Recordable cases per 100 full-time workers. Grey bar is the all-construction average.
Source: BLS SOII Table 1, 2024. These rates come from employer OSHA 300 logs. They only count what gets recorded.
5.State and city data
Construction risk is not spread evenly across the country. State counts come from the same BLS census, published state by state. Select a column heading to sort.
| State | Construction deaths, 2024 | Construction deaths, 2023 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 125 | 124 | Texas Department of Insurance |
| Florida | 88 | 92 | BLS |
| California | 81 | 78 | BLS |
| New York | 50 | 60 | BLS |
| Pennsylvania | 48 | 30 | BLS |
| New Jersey | 17 | 18 | BLS |
- Construction had the most worker deaths of any industry sector in Florida, California, and Pennsylvania in 2024, and tied for the most in New Jersey (BLS state releases linked above).
- Falls caused 39 of Florida's 88 construction deaths, 43 of California's 81, 24 of Pennsylvania's 48, and 7 of New Jersey's 17. That is between 41% and 53% in each state, above the 38% national share.
- Pennsylvania's construction deaths rose from 30 to 48 in one year. New York's fell from 60 to 50.
- Texas recorded 125 private construction deaths in 2024. That is 12% of the national total and 24% of all private sector worker deaths in Texas (Texas Department of Insurance, 2024 CFOI report).
- Construction laborers were the second deadliest occupation in Texas in 2024 with 46 deaths. Roofer deaths rose 64%, from 11 to 18 (Texas Department of Insurance, 2024 CFOI report).
- Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 45% of all worker deaths in Texas in 2024 (Texas Department of Insurance, 2024 CFOI report).
New York City
The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) publishes its own construction safety report every year. It covers building construction sites in the five boroughs.
- NYC recorded 320 building construction injuries and 10 worker deaths in 2025. Injuries fell 33% to a 10-year low. Deaths rose from 7 in 2024 (NYC DOB, May 2026; DOB 2025 Construction Safety Report).
- In 2024, NYC recorded 482 construction injuries, 638 construction incidents, and 7 worker deaths on building sites. Injuries were down 30% from 692 in 2023 (NYC Mayor's Office, April 2025).
- DOB performed more than 416,000 inspections in 2024, the most on record (NYC Mayor's Office, April 2025).
- More than 450,000 people hold an active Site Safety Training (SST card). Together they have completed more than 18 million hours of safety training (NYC DOB, May 2026).
- Reported worker injuries in NYC have been cut by more than half since SST training began in 2017 (NYC DOB, May 2026).
- Since May 2026, new SST card applicants must complete a course on mental health, suicide prevention, and substance misuse (NYC DOB, May 2026).
- Statewide, New York recorded 50 construction deaths in 2024, down from 60 (BLS).
6.What construction injuries cost
Top causes of serious construction injury costs
Cost per year, with share of the $10.4 billion total
Source: Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index: Construction, 2025. The 2025 index uses 2022 injury data.
Falls show up twice on that list. Together they account for more than a third of serious injury costs in construction.
The cost of one injury
The National Safety Council estimates what a work injury costs across all US industries. These are costs to society, including lost wages, medical bills, and administrative and employer costs. They are not the bill a single contractor receives.
- One medically consulted work injury cost $48,000 in 2024 (NSC Injury Facts).
- One work-related death cost $1,540,000 in 2024 (NSC Injury Facts).
- Work injuries cost the US $181.4 billion in 2024 (NSC Injury Facts).
- Work injuries cost 102 million lost work days in 2024 (NSC Injury Facts).
Add OSHA penalties on top. A single willful or repeated violation can cost up to $165,514 (OSHA Penalties).
See how contractors track leading indicators before an injury happens.
7.Heat, silica, and work zones
Heat
- BLS recorded 1,042 US worker deaths from environmental heat from 1992 to 2022. That is an average of 34 a year. In 2022 alone, 43 workers died from heat (OSHA proposed rule, Federal Register, Aug. 2024).
- About 3,389 workers a year suffer a heat injury or illness serious enough to miss work. OSHA says the real numbers are higher because heat cases are undercounted (OSHA proposed rule, Federal Register, Aug. 2024).
- There is still no federal heat standard. OSHA proposed one on August 30, 2024. It covers construction and has not been finalized (OSHA heat rulemaking).
- OSHA enforces heat hazards today through its National Emphasis Program, which it revised on April 10, 2026 (OSHA, April 2026).
Silica
- About 2.3 million people in the US are exposed to silica at work (OSHA).
- About 2 million of them are construction workers, on more than 600,000 worksites. OSHA estimates more than 840,000 are exposed above the permissible limit (OSHA Fact Sheet FS-3681).
- The permissible exposure limit is 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over an 8-hour shift. That is five times lower than the old construction limit (OSHA silica standard for construction).
- Free concrete and silica toolbox talk (PDF).
Road work zones
- 850 people died in US work zone crashes in 2024, down about 6% from 905 in 2023. That is still more than two deaths a day (FHWA, April 2026).
- 169 of those killed in 2024 were pedestrians or cyclists, a group that includes construction, maintenance, and utility workers (FHWA, April 2026).
- Speeding was a factor in 34% of fatal work zone crashes in 2024, up from 29% in 2023. Large trucks or buses were involved in 31% (FHWA, April 2026).
- More than half of fatal work zone crashes in 2024 happened at night (FHWA, April 2026).
- Highway, street, and bridge construction recorded 60 worker deaths in 2024. Transportation incidents caused 36 of them (BLS Table A-1, 2024).
8.The construction workforce
- Construction employs 7.5% of US nonagricultural workers and accounts for 20% of worker deaths (BLS Current Population Survey, 2025; BLS CFOI, 2024).
Hispanic and Latino workers
- 22.1% of employed Hispanic or Latino men work in construction, compared with 12.7% of all employed men (BLS Current Population Survey, 2025).
- Across all industries, 1,229 Hispanic or Latino workers died on the job in 2024. 842 of them, or 68.5%, were born outside the US (BLS, 2024).
- The fatal injury rate for Hispanic or Latino workers was 4.3 per 100,000 full-time workers in 2024. The rate for all workers was 3.3 (BLS, 2024).
Women in construction
- Women held 11.3% of construction industry jobs in 2025, about 1.37 million jobs. That is the highest share in 20 years (NAHB analysis of Current Population Survey data, Sept. 2026).
- On the tools, the share is much smaller. Women were 4.3% of construction trade workers in 2025 (IWPR, March 2026). In 2024 they were 4.2% of carpenters and 2.9% of electricians (IWPR, Aug. 2025).
- Women held 8.5% of construction manager jobs in 2025, down from 10.5% in 2024 (IWPR, March 2026).
- Across all industries, women accounted for 8.1% of worker deaths in 2024 (BLS, 2024).
BLS 2025 annual averages exclude October because of the federal government shutdown, so compare them with 2024 only loosely.
9.Mental health, suicide, and overdose
More construction workers die by suicide and overdose than from jobsite injuries. These deaths rarely show up in safety statistics because most happen off the job.
If you or someone on your crew is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is free and open 24 hours a day.
Suicide
- Men working in the construction industry died by suicide at a rate of 56.0 per 100,000 in 2021. The rate for all working men was 32.0 (CDC MMWR, Dec. 2023).
- Construction had the second highest male suicide rate of any major industry. Only mining was higher, at 72.0 (CDC MMWR, Dec. 2023).
- By occupation, construction and extraction had the highest suicide rate of any major group: 65.6 per 100,000 for men and 25.3 for women (CDC MMWR, Dec. 2023).
- For comparison, the construction fatal injury rate was 9.2 per 100,000 full-time workers in 2024 (BLS, 2024). The two rates are measured differently, so treat the gap as a sense of scale and not an exact ratio.
- The suicide rate among working-age Americans is about 33% higher than it was two decades ago (CDC MMWR, Dec. 2023).
Overdose
- About 15,900 construction workers died from opioid-related overdoses in 2023, and about 5,100 died by suicide. In the same year, 982 construction workers aged 16 to 64 died from injuries at work (Safety+Health, reporting CPWR's data bulletin).
- There is progress. From 2023 to 2024, the overdose death rate among construction workers dropped from 135.0 to 94.8 per 100,000 workers, a fall of about 30%. The suicide rate fell from 43.2 to 41.9 (Safety+Health, reporting CPWR).
- Construction and extraction workers had the highest drug overdose death rate of any occupation group in 2020: 162.6 deaths per 100,000 workers. The rate for all workers was 42.1 (CDC NCHS, July 2022).
- By industry, construction also ranked first in 2020 at 130.9 overdose deaths per 100,000 workers (CDC National Vital Statistics Reports, 2023).
- On-the-job overdose deaths across all industries fell from 512 in 2023 to 410 in 2024 (BLS, 2024).
What is changing
- Since May 2026, New York City requires a mental health and wellness course for new Site Safety Training card applicants. It covers suicide risk and prevention and substance misuse (NYC DOB, May 2026).
Free mental health and wellbeing resources for construction workers and employers are available at wellbeing.construction.
10.Frequently asked questions
How many construction workers die each year in the United States?
What is the leading cause of death in construction?
What are the Fatal Four in construction?
What is the construction fatality rate?
What is OSHA's most cited standard?
How much is an OSHA fine in 2026?
What is the injury rate in construction?
How much do construction injuries cost?
Which construction trades have the most deaths?
What is the suicide rate in construction?
How we source this page
Every statistic on this page links to where we found it. We use primary sources first: the Bureau of Labor Statistics, OSHA, CDC, the Federal Highway Administration, and the NYC Department of Buildings. Where a primary source is hard to reach, we cite the publication that reported it and name the original. We show the data year next to every number, because government safety data runs one to two years behind. We do not publish a number we cannot trace.
See something out of date? Email info@skillsignal.com and we will fix it.
How to cite this page
You are welcome to use these statistics and charts in articles, presentations, and training. Please link back to this page.
Update log
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| September 2026 | Full rewrite. Added 2024 BLS fatality and injury data, state data, OSHA's preliminary FY 2026 Top 10, 2026 OSHA penalties, NYC DOB 2025 report, and 2024 work zone data. Removed statistics older than 2020 that had newer replacements. |
What is coming next
| Expected | Release |
|---|---|
| November 18, 2026 | BLS nonfatal injury and illness data for 2025 |
| December 16, 2026 | BLS fatal injury data for 2025 |
| Spring 2027 | OSHA final FY 2026 Top 10 |
| May 2027 | NYC DOB 2026 Construction Safety Report |
Source for BLS dates: BLS Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities.
Free safety resources
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