Diabetes is quickly becoming an epidemic in the United States. Several risk factors that contribute to the development of diabetes have been established but environmental influences are often overlooked. This study explored the relation between work environments on diabetes risk. The job strain model (high physical demands and low job control), was designed to provide a parsimonious framework for explaining the relation between work environment and health. Objective characteristics of occupation rather than measures of perceived demands and control were examined. Several multivariate cross sectional analyses were performed to asses if job strain increases likelihood of established risk factors for diabetes (exercise, BMI, alcohol use, blood pressure, and smoking) and if job strain is an independent risk factor for diabetes. No relation was found between job strain and diabetes and its risk factors. Several reasons for the occurrence of these results are explored along with suggestions for future research.