Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Roofing and other work at height, app-based driving and delivery, and physically demanding warehouse or last-mile jobs have the clearest documented hazards. But no U.S. dataset ranks side hustles by risk per worker or hour. The order below is an evidence-weighted guide to the seriousness and type of known hazards—not a statistical leaderboard or a claim that one gig is more dangerous for every worker.
How to read this ranking
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data count workplace deaths and injuries by occupation, event, or industry; they generally do not show whether the injured person was doing a side job or a primary job. BLS describes independent workers who find customers through intermediaries as including rideshare drivers, freelance photographers, caterers, musicians, dog walkers, house cleaners, and landscapers. Its fatality records capture the job or task underway, not whether it was secondary work.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
That limitation rules out a precise side-hustle risk rate. The ranking instead weighs how severe the documented hazards are, whether evidence covers fatal or nonfatal injuries, and how closely the available data match the gig being discussed. A broad industry rate, a fatality rate for an occupation, and a national share of fatal incidents are not directly comparable.
| Rank | Side-hustle category | What the evidence establishes | Important scope limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roofing and other jobs at height | Roofers had a notably high fatal-injury rate among the construction and extraction occupations examined. | Occupation-wide evidence, not a rate for occasional or independent roof work. |
| 2 | Rideshare, taxi, and app-based driving or delivery | Transportation incidents were the largest broad category of fatal workplace events in 2024; OSHA also identifies taxi/rideshare and delivery drivers as workers at higher risk of workplace violence. | The national transportation share is not a rate for app workers or side hustles. |
| 3 | Warehouse and last-mile handling | Transportation and warehousing had the highest serious injury and illness rate among 19 sectors in 2022; overexertion and bodily reaction were common hazards in general warehousing and last-mile delivery. | Industry-wide evidence includes workers beyond side-gig couriers and warehouse contractors. |
| 4 | Landscaping, tree work, and repair involving ladders | Falls are a relevant hazard in tree, landscaping, and repair tasks involving roofs or ladders; BLS records fatalities in related occupations. | The evidence cited here does not establish comparable current side-hustle rates for these individual gigs. |
1. Roofing and other work at height
Roofing has the strongest occupation-specific fatality signal in the available evidence. CPWR reported that roofers had 47 fatalities per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers in 2020, the highest fatal-injury rate among the construction and extraction occupations it examined. That is a rate for the occupation, not a risk estimate for someone who takes occasional roofing jobs.
#1 Best Overall
Falls also extend beyond roofing. In a 2023 announcement, the U.S. Department of Labor said 680 of 5,190 fatal workplace injuries in 2021—about 13 percent—were associated with falls from elevations. That is historical national context, not a current rate for gig workers. The Department described falls as the leading cause of fatal workplace injuries. For side jobs involving a roof, ladder, or elevated work surface, the central question is whether the task can be done with appropriate fall-prevention measures, training, and equipment—not simply whether a harness is available.
Construction as a whole recorded 1,032 fatalities in 2024, according to BLS. CPWR’s 2022 bulletin, using 2011–2020 data, reported an annual average of 963 fatal injuries among all construction workers and 78,000 nonfatal injuries among private wage-and-salary construction workers. Those figures have different periods and populations; neither describes the personal odds of an occasional side worker being injured.
2. Rideshare, taxi, and app-based driving or delivery
Driving gigs combine roadway exposure with possible contact-related hazards. Transportation incidents accounted for 38.2 percent of U.S. occupational fatalities in 2024, the largest broad fatal-event category, according to BLS. This share covers workers across occupations and job arrangements; it does not tell you the fatality rate for a rideshare driver, food courier, or person driving a few hours a week.
Recommended Free Tools
There is also a workplace-violence risk. OSHA includes delivery and taxi/rideshare drivers among workers at higher risk of violence, which it defines broadly to include harassment, intimidation, physical assault, and homicide. OSHA identifies working alone, isolated locations, late hours, high-crime locations, exchanging money with the public, and working where alcohol is served as potential risk factors. These are risk factors, not a prediction that every platform worker will face violence.
Rank #3
Older BLS data illustrate why independent work can be hard to isolate: its 2016–2017 occupation table recorded 43 fatal injuries among taxi drivers and chauffeurs, a group that includes peer-to-peer rideshare drivers. That is a count from an earlier period, not a rate, and it does not identify which deaths occurred during secondary work.
3. Warehouse and last-mile handling
The danger here is often physical strain rather than a dramatic single event. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), reviewing BLS data through 2022, estimated 3.8 serious injury and illness cases per 100 workers in transportation and warehousing that year—the highest rate among 19 sectors. The sector includes e-commerce warehouses and last-mile delivery. GAO identified overexertion and bodily reaction as the most common hazard category in general warehousing and last-mile delivery.
This measure concerns serious injuries and illnesses, not fatalities, and the sector includes many kinds of jobs. It should not be treated as a courier-specific rate. It does show why a gig that involves repeated lifting, carrying, or handling goods can bring injury risks even when the worker spends less time around traffic or heights.
4. Landscaping, tree work, and ladder-based repair
Landscaping and repair jobs can combine heights with outdoor or equipment-related tasks. Tree work can involve elevated work; yard jobs and home repairs may involve ladders or roofs. The available evidence supports treating these as real hazards, but does not supply current, directly comparable fatality rates for occasional landscapers, tree workers, or repair helpers.
BLS’s independent-worker examples include landscapers, and its 2016–2017 occupation data recorded fatalities in several related construction and grounds occupations, including landscapers and tree trimmers. Those historical counts cannot establish which side hustles are riskiest today: they are counts rather than rates, cover an earlier period, and do not identify primary versus secondary work.
What national numbers can—and cannot—tell you
BLS recorded 5,070 fatal work injuries in the United States in 2024, down from 5,283 in 2023. The 2024 fatal work injury rate was 3.3 per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers. Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations recorded 356 fatalities in 2024. These national figures establish that work-related danger is not limited to a few high-profile jobs, but they do not rank side hustles or reveal an individual gig worker’s odds.
For a valid comparison, you would need the same kind of measure for each gig—such as fatalities per worker-hour, injuries per worker, or serious incidents per delivery—and a way to distinguish side work from primary employment. The cited official statistics do not provide that matched comparison. Treat any exact, all-gigs ranking or single “most dangerous side hustle” rate with skepticism unless its population, period, and denominator are clear.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsQuick Recap
How to assess a side gig before accepting it
- Identify the main exposure: traffic, falls, lifting and repetitive handling, contact with the public, or a combination.
- Check the work conditions: whether the job involves working alone, isolated areas, late hours, elevated surfaces, or heavy physical handling.
- Ask what controls and training are in place: OSHA recommends assessing worksites and using prevention programs, controls, and training to address workplace violence. Fall prevention likewise depends on appropriate measures, training, and correct equipment use.
- Do not equate a protective product with a safe system: equipment choice and use have to suit the task and worksite; the evidence cited here does not endorse any specific product or brand.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
