OSHA Heat Inspections: How Many Inspections Were Opened for Heat, 2022–2025
Original analysis of 22,837 records from the Department of Labor (OSHA), calendar years 2022–2025. Published October 10, 2026.
We counted every OSHA inspection opened in calendar years 2022–2025 that carries a heat emphasis-program code, split federal OSHA from state-plan offices, and broke the 22,837 inspections down by year, state and industry.
What the OSHA heat inspection data show
Federal OSHA opened 1,747 heat-coded inspections in 2025, 43.2% fewer than the 3,076 it opened in 2024. Over the same period, state-plan offices increased their heat-coded inspections by 17.5% to 4,611, so state plans accounted for 72.5% of all heat-coded inspections in 2025. In the first half of 2026, federal OSHA opened 570 heat-coded inspections, 21.8% fewer than the 729 in the first half of 2025.
- 22,837Heat-coded OSHA inspections, 2022–2025
- 43.2%Drop in federal heat inspections, 2025 vs. 2024
- 40.3%Share of all heat inspections in California
Federal heat inspections peaked in 2024
Federal OSHA opened 1,737 heat-coded inspections in 2022, 2,766 in 2023 and 3,076 in 2024, then 1,747 in 2025. Heat inspections made up 9.3% of all federal inspections in 2024 and 6.7% in 2025.
The 2025 decline is steeper than the overall drop
All federal OSHA inspections fell 21.7% from 2024 to 2025; heat-coded federal inspections fell 43.2%.
State plans moved the other way
State-plan offices opened 4,611 heat-coded inspections in 2025, up 17.5% from 3,923 in 2024. Counting both, heat-coded inspections fell 9.2%.
California and Oregon account for 53.1% of the total
California (9,212) and Oregon (2,922) lead the state ranking, both run by state plans with their own heat standards. Federal OSHA opened the most heat-coded inspections in Texas (1,324).
Construction is the most-inspected industry
Construction accounts for 43.2% of heat-coded inspections, followed by manufacturing (10.4%) and agriculture (7.6%).
About half of heat inspections led to a citation
52.9% of heat-coded inspections led to at least one citation of any kind. Federal OSHA issued a General Duty Clause citation in 140 of its 9,326 heat-coded inspections (1.5%); in 79 of them the citation text concerns heat.
How Many Heat Inspections Does OSHA Conduct Each Year
Federal OSHA began coding heat inspections under its National Emphasis Program in April 2022; the bars show federal inspections per calendar year.
Federal OSHA opened 3,076 heat-coded inspections in 2024 and 1,747 in 2025, an average of 2,332 a year over 2022–2025.
Federal heat-coded inspections rose from 1,737 in 2022, when the program ran for only part of the year, to 3,076 in 2024, then fell to 1,747 in 2025. As a share of all federal OSHA inspections, heat inspections went from 5.3% in 2022 to 9.3% in 2024 and 6.7% in 2025. State-plan offices, which are encouraged but not required to follow the federal program, reported 2,098 heat-coded inspections in 2022 and 4,611 in 2025.
Federal OSHA heat-coded inspections by calendar year
- 20221,7375.3% of federal inspections · 2,098 state-plan
- 20232,7667.7% of federal inspections · 2,879 state-plan
- 20243,0769.3% of federal inspections · 3,923 state-plan
- 20251,7476.7% of federal inspections · 4,611 state-plan
Calendar years by inspection opening date. 2026 is incomplete and is shown only in the January–June comparison below.
Are OSHA Heat Inspections Down in 2026
Because 2026 is not over, we compare the first six months of each year.
Federal OSHA opened 570 heat-coded inspections from January to June 2026, 21.8% fewer than in the same months of 2025 and 57.6% fewer than in 2024.
State-plan offices opened 1,660 heat-coded inspections in the first half of 2026, compared with 1,749 a year earlier. The first-half figures cover only part of each year's season, so they are not annual totals. The 2022 program was cancelled in April 2026 and replaced by a new one, which has no numeric inspection goal.
Heat-coded inspections opened January–June
| Jan–Jun | Federal | State plan | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 483 | 610 | 1,093 |
| 2023 | 571 | 886 | 1,457 |
| 2024 | 1,345 | 1,400 | 2,745 |
| 2025 | 729 | 1,749 | 2,478 |
| 2026 | 570 | 1,660 | 2,230 |
The national program began in April 2022, so the 2022 federal first-half figure covers less than three months of it; state plans and OSHA's Region VI used their own heat codes before then.
Which States Have the Most OSHA Heat Inspections
Inspections are assigned to the state of the inspected worksite, whether federal OSHA or a state plan conducted them.
California leads with 9,212 heat-coded inspections in 2022–2025, followed by Oregon (2,922), Texas (1,324), Illinois (1,004) and Ohio (872).
The top five states account for 67.1% of all heat-coded inspections. The ranking reflects how often each agency attaches a heat code, not only how much heat-related enforcement it does: state plans are not required to use the federal codes, and California and Oregon have their own heat standards. Totals are not adjusted for the number of workers or worksites in a state. Counting federal inspections only, Texas (1,324), Illinois (1,002) and Ohio (872) rank highest.
Heat-coded OSHA inspections by state, 2022–2025
- California9,212608 federal · 8,604 state plan
- Oregon2,92229 federal · 2,893 state plan
- Texas1,3241,324 federal · 0 state plan
- Illinois1,0041,002 federal · 2 state plan
- Ohio872872 federal · 0 state plan
- Nevada701119 federal · 582 state plan
- Wisconsin552552 federal · 0 state plan
- New York547470 federal · 77 state plan
- Florida532532 federal · 0 state plan
- Arizona455198 federal · 257 state plan
- Puerto Rico35241 federal · 311 state plan
- Missouri348348 federal · 0 state plan
- Virginia31432 federal · 282 state plan
- New Jersey298248 federal · 50 state plan
- Pennsylvania295295 federal · 0 state plan
All states and territories
- Georgia291291 federal · 0 state plan
- Michigan2722 federal · 270 state plan
- Colorado247247 federal · 0 state plan
- Idaho217217 federal · 0 state plan
- Kansas199199 federal · 0 state plan
- Nebraska185184 federal · 1 state plan
- Guam162162 federal · 0 state plan
- North Dakota135135 federal · 0 state plan
- South Dakota123123 federal · 0 state plan
- Oklahoma9797 federal · 0 state plan
- Washington9595 federal · 0 state plan
- Alabama9191 federal · 0 state plan
- Louisiana8383 federal · 0 state plan
- Hawaii8131 federal · 50 state plan
- Connecticut7653 federal · 23 state plan
- Massachusetts7467 federal · 7 state plan
- Rhode Island7373 federal · 0 state plan
- Delaware6969 federal · 0 state plan
- Mississippi5959 federal · 0 state plan
- American Samoa5050 federal · 0 state plan
- Montana5050 federal · 0 state plan
- Arkansas4444 federal · 0 state plan
- West Virginia4242 federal · 0 state plan
- Iowa3112 federal · 19 state plan
- Northern Mariana Islands3131 federal · 0 state plan
- Maine2929 federal · 0 state plan
- District of Columbia2626 federal · 0 state plan
- New Mexico260 federal · 26 state plan
- U.S. Virgin Islands2616 federal · 10 state plan
- South Carolina206 federal · 14 state plan
- Tennessee1813 federal · 5 state plan
- New Hampshire1717 federal · 0 state plan
- North Carolina1515 federal · 0 state plan
- Maryland149 federal · 5 state plan
- Kentucky1212 federal · 0 state plan
- Vermont111 federal · 10 state plan
- Indiana102 federal · 8 state plan
- Minnesota22 federal · 0 state plan
- Utah21 federal · 1 state plan
- Wyoming20 federal · 2 state plan
- Alaska10 federal · 1 state plan
- Location not recorded10 federal · 1 state plan
Share of heat-coded inspections with at least one citation
| State | Inspections | Cited |
|---|---|---|
| California | 9,212 | 69.4% |
| Oregon | 2,922 | 67.7% |
| Texas | 1,324 | 30.7% |
| Illinois | 1,004 | 15.7% |
| Ohio | 872 | 37.4% |
| Nevada | 701 | 22.7% |
| Wisconsin | 552 | 26.6% |
| New York | 547 | 19.4% |
| Florida | 532 | 22.2% |
| Arizona | 455 | 60.9% |
All states and territories
| State | Inspections | Cited |
|---|---|---|
| Puerto Rico | 352 | 58.8% |
| Missouri | 348 | 49.4% |
| Virginia | 314 | 51.6% |
| New Jersey | 298 | 45.0% |
| Pennsylvania | 295 | 35.9% |
| Georgia | 291 | 34.4% |
| Michigan | 272 | 37.1% |
| Colorado | 247 | 40.9% |
| Idaho | 217 | 15.7% |
| Kansas | 199 | 42.2% |
| Nebraska | 185 | 36.8% |
| Guam | 162 | 65.4% |
| North Dakota | 135 | 60.7% |
| South Dakota | 123 | 70.7% |
| Oklahoma | 97 | 16.5% |
| Washington | 95 | 27.4% |
| Alabama | 91 | 36.3% |
| Louisiana | 83 | 20.5% |
| Hawaii | 81 | 38.3% |
| Connecticut | 76 | 60.5% |
| Massachusetts | 74 | 25.7% |
| Rhode Island | 73 | 32.9% |
| Delaware | 69 | 73.9% |
| Mississippi | 59 | 22.0% |
| American Samoa | 50 | 70.0% |
| Montana | 50 | 40.0% |
| Arkansas | 44 | 38.6% |
| West Virginia | 42 | 16.7% |
| Iowa | 31 | 25.8% |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 31 | 74.2% |
| Maine | 29 | 41.4% |
| District of Columbia | 26 | 26.9% |
| New Mexico | 26 | 61.5% |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 26 | 38.5% |
| South Carolina | 20 | 40.0% |
| Tennessee | 18 | 44.4% |
| New Hampshire | 17 | 41.2% |
| North Carolina | 15 | 13.3% |
| Maryland | 14 | 28.6% |
| Kentucky | 12 | 0.0% |
| Vermont | 11 | 9.1% |
| Indiana | 10 | 40.0% |
| Minnesota | 2 | 50.0% |
| Utah | 2 | 0.0% |
| Wyoming | 2 | 0.0% |
| Alaska | 1 | 100.0% |
| Location not recorded | 1 | 0.0% |
Which Industries Get the Most OSHA Heat Inspections
Industries are grouped by the two-digit NAICS sector recorded for the inspected establishment.
Construction accounts for 9,862 heat-coded inspections (43.2%), ahead of manufacturing (2,386) and agriculture (1,738).
The federal program directs heat inspections to industries OSHA classifies as high-risk when the National Weather Service issues a heat warning or advisory, so the industry mix partly reflects that target list. Counts are not adjusted for industry employment.
Heat-coded OSHA inspections by industry sector, 2022–2025
- Construction9,8624,714 federal · 5,148 state plan
- Manufacturing2,3861,057 federal · 1,329 state plan
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting1,738287 federal · 1,451 state plan
- Administrative, support and waste management services1,558619 federal · 939 state plan
- Accommodation and food services1,446529 federal · 917 state plan
- Transportation and warehousing1,091590 federal · 501 state plan
- Retail trade938297 federal · 641 state plan
- Other services665169 federal · 496 state plan
- Public administration637286 federal · 351 state plan
- Wholesale trade485199 federal · 286 state plan
All sectors
- Health care and social assistance48185 federal · 396 state plan
- Arts, entertainment and recreation294147 federal · 147 state plan
- Professional, scientific and technical services265111 federal · 154 state plan
- Mining, oil and gas extraction23149 federal · 182 state plan
- Real estate and rental and leasing22454 federal · 170 state plan
- Utilities21672 federal · 144 state plan
- Educational services19724 federal · 173 state plan
- Information10434 federal · 70 state plan
- Finance and insurance163 federal · 13 state plan
- Management of companies20 federal · 2 state plan
- Not classified10 federal · 1 state plan
Download the Data and Cite This Study
Every table on this page as a CSV file, free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).
- OSHA heat-coded inspections by industry sector, 2022–2025Heat-coded inspections opened 2022–2025 grouped by the two-digit NAICS sector of the inspected establishment. · 21 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- OSHA heat-coded inspections by state, 2022–2025Heat-coded inspections opened 2022–2025 by the state of the inspected worksite, with the number and share that led to at least one citation. · 57 rows · CSV, 2 KB
- OSHA heat-coded inspections by calendar year, 2022–2025Inspections opened each calendar year that carry a heat program code, split into federal OSHA and state-plan offices, with all inspections and the heat share; records without an inspection are excluded. · 4 rows · CSV, 1 KB
- OSHA heat-coded inspections opened January–June, 2022–2026Heat-coded inspections opened in the first six months of each year, the only like-for-like comparison that includes 2026. · 5 rows · CSV, 1 KB
How to cite
Goldberg, L. (2026). OSHA Heat Inspections — Heat-Coded Federal and State-Plan Inspections by Year, State and Industry (Calendar Years 2022–2025, with January–June 2026) [Data set]. Settlement Insight. https://settlementinsight.com/research/workplace-heat-osha-cases
BibTeX
@dataset{goldberg_2026_workplace_heat_osha_cases,
author = {Goldberg, Leonard},
title = {OSHA Heat Inspections --- Heat-Coded Federal and State-Plan Inspections by Year, State and Industry (Calendar Years 2022--2025, with January--June 2026)},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Settlement Insight},
url = {https://settlementinsight.com/research/workplace-heat-osha-cases}
}How We Measured
Checked against published figures
- Federal OSHA heat-related inspections, average per calendar year 2022–2025: published 2,400, our count 2,332 (2.85% apart).Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Regulation of Employee Exposure to Heat (CRS Insight IN11701, updated August 18, 2026)
- Federal OSHA General Duty Clause citations for heat in heat-coded inspections, April 2022 to January 16, 2025: published 60, our count 60 (exact match).National Emphasis Program on heat will continue, OSHA says (Safety+Health magazine, January 17, 2025)
Full method and limits of the data
Scope: an inspection counts as heat-related if it carries at least one heat emphasis-program code: the federal National Emphasis Program code, state-plan heat codes, or regional heat emphasis codes, including HOTDAYS, the code of OSHA Region VI's Regional Emphasis Program for Heat Illnesses (70 inspections carry only this code). Codes for a lack of heat (cold workplaces) are excluded. We counted inspections opened from January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2025; each inspection counts once. Case records in which no inspection took place (inspection scope "no inspection") are excluded: 410 heat-coded records and 6.4% of all records in the period. Federal and state-plan inspections are separated by the OSHA reporting office: offices whose reporting ID marks them as state-plan offices are counted as state plan.
Calculation: years are calendar years of the inspection opening date. For 2026 we compare January–June only. Citations are non-withdrawn violations issued for the inspection; a General Duty Clause citation is any citation under Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, and it counts as a heat citation when its citation text mentions heat.
Calibration: OSHA reports an average of 2,400 heat-related inspections each calendar year between 2022 and 2025 for federal OSHA. Our federal count averages 2,332 a year, 2.9% below OSHA's figure. OSHA also puts these inspections at 6% of all federal inspections; in our data they are 7.3% of all federal inspections. OSHA does not publish the total it divided by, so the two shares cannot be reconciled. OSHA said in January 2025 that it had issued 60 General Duty Clause citations under the program since April 2022; we count 60 heat-related General Duty Clause citations issued in federal heat-coded inspections from April 2022 through January 16, 2025.
What this data cannot tell you
- A heat code shows that an inspection was opened or flagged under a heat program. OSHA inspectors look for heat hazards during all inspections, so inspections that found heat hazards without a heat code are not counted.
- State plans are not required to adopt the federal program or its codes, so state-plan counts depend on each state's coding practice and are not directly comparable with federal counts or with each other.
- Totals are not adjusted for employment, worksites or weather. A state or industry with more workers or hotter summers will tend to have more heat inspections.
- A citation in a heat-coded inspection is not necessarily a heat citation; it may concern any hazard found during the visit. The heat test for General Duty Clause citations reads the citation text and can miss heat hazards described in other words. The data do not tell us why inspection numbers changed between years.
- Records for recent months can still change because OSHA and state-plan offices add and update inspections after the fact, so the 2026 first-half counts may rise as the data are updated.
- The split between federal OSHA and state plans follows the numbering of the reporting offices; the data field meant to flag state-plan inspections is empty for these years.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many heat inspections does OSHA do a year?
Federal OSHA opened an average of 2,332 heat-coded inspections a year from 2022 through 2025, ranging from 1,737 in 2022 to 3,076 in 2024. State-plan offices added 13,511 over the four years.
Did OSHA heat inspections go down in 2025?
Yes, for federal OSHA. It opened 1,747 heat-coded inspections in 2025, 43.2% fewer than in 2024. State-plan heat inspections rose 17.5% in the same year.
Which state has the most OSHA heat inspections?
California, with 9,212 heat-coded inspections in 2022–2025, or 40.3% of the national total. Its state plan has its own heat standard; totals are not adjusted for workforce size.
What is the OSHA heat National Emphasis Program?
It is an enforcement program that directs OSHA inspections to high-risk industries when heat warnings or advisories are issued. It began in April 2022 and was replaced by a new program in April 2026. OSHA has no specific heat standard and cites heat hazards under the General Duty Clause; a heat standard it proposed in August 2024 had seen no further action as of August 2026.
How often do OSHA heat inspections result in citations?
52.9% of heat-coded inspections in 2022–2025 led to at least one citation of any kind: 35.0% of federal and 65.3% of state-plan inspections. Federal OSHA cited the General Duty Clause in 140 heat-coded inspections; in 79 of them the citation text concerns heat.
Where can I download the OSHA heat inspection data?
The CSV files below contain heat-coded inspection counts by year, for January–June of each year, by state and by industry sector. They contain no employer or worker names.
Sources
- OSHA enforcement data: inspections, violations and strategic program codes (DOL Open Data Portal) — U.S. Department of Labor
- osha-enforcement: nightly SQLite build of the OSHA enforcement data (the copy we analyzed) — labordata (packaging of U.S. Department of Labor enforcement data)
- OSHA enforcement data: inspection table (column documentation) — labordata (packaging of U.S. Department of Labor enforcement data)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Regulation of Employee Exposure to Heat (IN11701) — Congressional Research Service
- National Emphasis Program on heat will continue, OSHA says — Safety+Health magazine (National Safety Council)
- Regional Emphasis Program for Heat Illnesses (CPL 2 02-00-027, Region VI) — Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Region VI
- Regional Emphasis Program for Heat Illness (CPL 04-00-16, Region IX) — Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Region IX
- Independent analysis. Settlement Insight is not a law firm and not affiliated with any agency named here. Analysis by Leonard Goldberg, Editor. How we work: methodology, our data.
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