Madison Troyer

50 most physical jobs in America

Many Americans spend most of their working days glued to a computer screen. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Requirements Survey, published in November 2024, about two-thirds (63.9%) of workers in the country have jobs that involve little to no physical demands, ranging from being sedentary to lifting or carrying no more than 25 pounds.

The other third, meanwhile, have jobs that require them to exert a far greater deal of energy. Not coincidentally, these careers also tend to have higher rates of workplace fatalities. An April 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics report found that the transportation and material moving occupational group had the most fatalities among all job groups in 2023, with nearly 1,500 deaths.

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