City-level inspection counts surface patterns that state totals obscure. A state with one major industrial hub tells a different story than a state with enforcement evenly distributed across dozens of mid-sized cities. Here are the 15 U.S. cities with the most OSHA inspections on record.
The ranking
- Seattle, WA — 4,940 inspections across 4,869 employers (213 violations, $233,630 in penalties) · Washington state record
- Portland, OR — 4,733 inspections across 4,601 employers (163 violations, $172,532 in penalties) · Oregon state record
- Las Vegas, NV — 3,754 inspections across 2,508 employers (82 violations, $161,277 in penalties) · Nevada state record
- Brooklyn, NY — 3,545 inspections across 2,164 employers (14 violations, $86,060 in penalties) · New York state record
- Houston, TX — 2,853 inspections across 2,014 employers (59 violations, $394,506 in penalties) · Texas state record
- San Antonio, TX — 2,691 inspections across 1,995 employers (65 violations, $292,894 in penalties) · Texas state record
- Minneapolis, MN — 2,544 inspections across 2,540 employers (126 violations, $315,370 in penalties) · Minnesota state record
- Los Angeles, CA — 2,436 inspections across 1,780 employers (48 violations, $89,015 in penalties) · California state record
- Chicago, IL — 2,216 inspections across 1,477 employers (70 violations, $404,811 in penalties) · Illinois state record
- El Paso, TX — 2,199 inspections across 1,399 employers (68 violations, $431,142 in penalties) · Texas state record
- Philadelphia, PA — 2,066 inspections across 1,385 employers (51 violations, $302,855 in penalties) · Pennsylvania state record
- Tacoma, WA — 1,930 inspections across 1,915 employers (129 violations, $179,233 in penalties) · Washington state record
- Honolulu, HI — 1,919 inspections across 1,319 employers (31 violations, $54,742 in penalties) · Hawaii state record
- Spokane, WA — 1,903 inspections across 1,897 employers (112 violations, $167,854 in penalties) · Washington state record
- Jacksonville, FL — 1,800 inspections across 1,266 employers (15 violations, $68,915 in penalties) · Florida state record
What stands out
A few patterns to notice in the top of the list:
- Pacific Northwest concentration. Seattle, Portland, Tacoma, Spokane, and Vancouver all appear in the top 20 — a reflection of Washington and Oregon both running active state-plan OSHA programs.
- Twin Cities show up twice. Minneapolis and Saint Paul both appear, consistent with Minnesota's state-plan OSHA being among the most active per-capita inspectorates in the country.
- Texas's distribution. Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso all appear high on the list despite Texas being a federal OSHA state — driven primarily by construction activity in those metros.
Why city data is the right lens for some questions
If you're researching workplace safety in a specific market — say, you're hiring construction in Houston or researching warehouse jobs in Las Vegas — the city-level data is more relevant than either state or national totals. It captures the local industrial mix and the local OSHA office's enforcement priorities.
To pull a city directly, our nearby search lets you find OSHA-inspected employers near your current location, and every employer page links to the parent city for further exploration.
For broader context, see OSHA enforcement in 2026, by the numbers.
