The 10 U.S. States With the Most OSHA Violations on Record (2026)

The state where a violation is cited is rarely random — it reflects a combination of how many inspectors operate in that state, whether the state runs its own OSHA-equivalent program, and the industrial mix of employers operating there. Here are the ten U.S. states with the most OSHA citations on file as of June 2026.

The ranking

1. California — 2,841 violations (4 serious) across 39,479 employers
2. Washington — 2,802 violations (1,194 serious) across 42,582 employers
3. Michigan — 1,929 violations (33 serious) across 18,784 employers
4. Tennessee — 1,186 violations (0 serious) across 9,128 employers
5. Oregon — 944 violations (474 serious) across 24,281 employers
6. Maryland — 890 violations (0 serious) across 7,544 employers
7. Illinois — 865 violations (133 serious) across 14,903 employers
8. North Carolina — 838 violations (503 serious) across 19,354 employers
9. New York — 821 violations (1 serious) across 17,757 employers
10. Connecticut — 776 violations (2 serious) across 4,221 employers

What the order tells you

State-plan states — those that operate their own OSHA-equivalent agency — dominate the top of this list. They typically run more inspections per capita than federal OSHA does, and a higher inspection rate produces a higher citation count.

That cuts both ways. A high citation count in a state-plan state doesn't necessarily mean workplaces there are less safe. It often means workers there are better protected by a more active inspectorate. For research purposes, treat citation count as a measure of enforcement activity, not as a direct proxy for workplace risk.

The states with the largest penalty totals

Violation counts and penalty totals don't always correlate. A single egregious case — a fatality with willful violations, for example — can push a state's penalty totals higher than its citation count would suggest:

1. California — $7,702,495 across 39,479 employers
2. Massachusetts — $5,655,402 across 9,495 employers
3. New Jersey — $3,823,382 across 12,098 employers
4. Texas — $3,774,673 across 22,724 employers
5. Tennessee — $3,655,226 across 9,128 employers

Drilling in

Every state page on our site lists the employers with the most enforcement activity in that state. Start with the full state directory and click through to any state to see its largest cases, most-cited employers, and city breakdown.

For nationwide context, see also OSHA enforcement in 2026, by the numbers and the 10 U.S. employers with the largest OSHA penalty totals.