Jobs in agriculture, logging, fishing, and construction consistently have the highest suicide rates in the United States. According to 2021 data from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System, the occupations at greatest risk have suicide rates three to five times higher than the overall working population average of 32.0 per 100,000 for men and 8.0 per 100,000 for women.
Occupations With the Highest Male Suicide Rates
The CDC’s 2021 analysis of death records identified five detailed occupation groups with the highest suicide rates among men:
- Agricultural and food scientists: 173.1 per 100,000
- Logging workers: 161.1 per 100,000
- Musicians, singers, and related workers: 138.7 per 100,000
- Fishing and hunting workers: 130.6 per 100,000
- Other extraction workers: 128.7 per 100,000
Following these were artists and related workers (93.3), construction laborers (91.0), chefs and head cooks (66.5), and bartenders (47.0). Construction laborers stand out because of the sheer size of the workforce involved. OSHA estimates the construction suicide rate is four times higher than the general population, driven by seasonal employment, physically demanding schedules, and chronic workplace injuries.
Occupations With the Highest Female Suicide Rates
The picture shifts substantially for women. The five occupations with the highest female suicide rates in 2021 were:
- Artists and related workers: 45.3 per 100,000
- Construction laborers: 38.6 per 100,000
- Chefs and head cooks: 32.9 per 100,000
- Massage therapists: 25.8 per 100,000
- Bartenders: 23.8 per 100,000
Several of these occupations overlap with the male list, but some are unique. Massage therapists, for example, appeared only on the female ranking. Artists and related workers carried elevated rates for both sexes but ranked especially high for women, at more than five times the female average.
Healthcare and Veterinary Workers
Healthcare is often discussed as a high-risk industry, and the data supports that concern. Male healthcare practitioners had a suicide rate of 22.0 per 100,000, and female practitioners had a rate of 9.4, both above the national averages for their sex. Male registered nurses specifically had a rate of 28.4, and female registered nurses 11.3. Workers in nursing care facilities faced rates of 27.4 for men and 12.6 for women.
Veterinarians face a distinct risk profile. A CDC survey found that 14.4% of male veterinarians and 19.1% of female veterinarians reported suicidal ideation since graduating from veterinary school, compared to 5.1% and 7.1% of the general adult population. Roughly a quarter of male and over a third of female veterinarians reported experiencing depressive episodes, rates far exceeding those in the broader population.
First Responders: Police, Firefighters, and EMS
Police officers, firefighters, and EMS workers all die by suicide at rates well above the general working population. Firefighters are 72% more likely to die by suicide than the average worker, and law enforcement officers are 54% more likely. Among first responder suicides tracked from 2015 to 2017, law enforcement accounted for 58% of cases, firefighters 21%, and EMS clinicians 18%.
The stressors behind these numbers differ from those in agriculture or construction. Intimate partner problems appeared to contribute to death in roughly 45% of first responder suicides, significantly higher than in non-first responder suicides. Job-related problems contributed in 17% of cases, and physical health issues in 20%. These three factors, particularly relationship difficulties, were statistically more common in first responder suicides than in the general population.
Why Certain Jobs Carry Higher Risk
There is no single explanation for why some occupations have elevated suicide rates, but several risk factors tend to cluster in the same jobs.
Access to lethal means is a major factor. A 12-year Australian study found that people who worked in occupations with access to firearms, medications, or carbon monoxide used those methods to end their lives far more often than workers without such access. Women in these occupations had suicide rates more than three times higher than women in jobs without access to lethal means. For men, the difference was smaller but still significant, about 24% higher. This helps explain why police officers, veterinarians, and medical professionals appear consistently in the data. The study noted that access to means influenced the method chosen more than the overall decision, but it still plays a clear role in outcomes.
Social isolation is another common thread. Farming, logging, and fishing are geographically remote occupations. Workers may live far from mental health services and lack the daily social contact that can serve as a protective buffer. Seasonal and irregular work schedules in construction, fishing, and the arts create financial instability that compounds psychological strain.
Physical pain matters too. Many high-risk occupations are physically demanding, and chronic pain or disability from workplace injuries is a well-documented contributor to suicidal thinking. Construction, extraction work, logging, and first responder roles all carry high injury rates.
Self-Employment and Economic Insecurity
Self-employed workers have a higher propensity for workplace suicide than salaried employees. Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2011 to 2013 showed that while self-employed workers accounted for 22% of all workplace fatalities, their propensity ratio for suicide was 1.33 compared to 0.91 for wage and salary workers. This is relevant because many of the highest-risk occupations, including farming, fishing, and the arts, have high rates of self-employment. The lack of employer-provided health insurance, paid leave, and structured support systems likely plays a role.
Wage levels matter broadly. Research using 25 years of national data found that every $1 increase in a state’s minimum wage could reduce the suicide rate among people with a high school education or less by about 6%. The researchers estimated that a $1 increase could have prevented roughly 27,550 suicides in that population over the study period. The effect was strongest during periods of high unemployment, suggesting that financial strain is a direct contributor to suicide risk in lower-wage occupations. The effect did not apply to college-educated workers, who generally earn well above the minimum wage.
What Workplace Prevention Looks Like
Prevention programs in high-risk industries tend to share a few common elements. The most widely used approach is education: training workers to recognize signs of stress, mental illness, and suicidal thinking in themselves and their coworkers. Of 36 workplace interventions reviewed in a 2024 scoping study, 18 included this type of training as a core component. Fifteen included counseling or treatment services, and 12 included screening with referral to outside support.
One of the best-studied programs is MATES in Construction, developed for Australian construction workers. It combines general mental health awareness training, volunteer “connectors” who act as peer support, specialized suicide intervention training, a dedicated support phone line, and case management for workers identified as at risk. Nine separate studies have examined the program or its components. In healthcare, the HEAR program takes a similar two-pronged approach: educating medical students and nurses about depression and suicide to reduce stigma, paired with web-based screening that identifies and refers those at risk. Both models reflect a growing consensus that effective workplace prevention requires multiple layers, not just a poster with a hotline number.