Drug Overdose Deaths Spiked in 2020
More than 93,000 people died of drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2020, a nearly 30% surge from 2019 and the most ever recorded in a single year, according to recently released data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Addiction experts say the increase in overdose deaths was largely driven by the increased presence of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl in the U.S. Other contributors include problems related to the coronavirus pandemic, such as increased isolation and job losses.
Pennsylvania is the state with the eighth most drug overdose deaths per capita in 2020. There were 40 fatal overdoses per 100,000, or a total of 5,172 drug overdose-related deaths.
The average number of overdose deaths in Pennsylvania between 2015 and 2019 was 35 per 100,000 people a year, the third most of all U.S. states, or an average of 4,441 overdose-related deaths a year.
To determine the states with the highest drug overdose fatality rates, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed recently released CDC preliminary estimates of drug overdose deaths. The states are ranked based on the number of drug-related deaths per 100,000 residents. These are the states with the most drug overdose deaths per capita in 2020. These are the states with the most drug overdose deaths in 2020.
State | Overdose deaths per 100,000 (2020) | Total overdose deaths (2020) | Overdose deaths per 100,000 (2019) | Total overdose deaths (2019) | Average overdose deaths a year per 100,000 (2015-2019) | Total average over deaths a year (2015-2019) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
West Virginia | 74 | 1,326 | 48 | 852 | 48 | 868 |
Kentucky | 47 | 2,104 | 31 | 1,369 | 31 | 1,391 |
Delaware | 46 | 449 | 43 | 423 | 34 | 329 |
Maryland | 46 | 2,761 | 39 | 2,360 | 35 | 2,086 |
Tennessee | 45 | 3,091 | 31 | 2,138 | 26 | 1,771 |
Ohio | 45 | 5,215 | 37 | 4,279 | 36 | 4,217 |
Louisiana | 41 | 1,925 | 28 | 1,304 | 23 | 1,090 |
Pennsylvania | 40 | 5,172 | 35 | 4,444 | 35 | 4,441 |
Connecticut | 39 | 1,385 | 35 | 1,231 | 29 | 1,031 |
New Mexico | 38 | 788 | 29 | 609 | 25 | 524 |
Rhode Island | 37 | 396 | 30 | 317 | 31 | 329 |
Maine | 36 | 490 | 27 | 362 | 26 | 347 |
Arizona | 36 | 2,644 | 27 | 1,981 | 22 | 1,585 |
Florida | 35 | 7,555 | 26 | 5,524 | 23 | 4,850 |
Indiana | 34 | 2,268 | 25 | 1,704 | 23 | 1,578 |
South Carolina | 34 | 1,728 | 22 | 1,131 | 19 | 969 |
Massachusetts | 33 | 2,293 | 32 | 2,215 | 31 | 2,102 |
New Jersey | 32 | 2,815 | 31 | 2,774 | 26 | 2,329 |
Missouri | 31 | 1,921 | 26 | 1,603 | 23 | 1,422 |
Vermont | 30 | 186 | 19 | 118 | 20 | 125 |
Nevada | 30 | 914 | 23 | 710 | 23 | 716 |
New Hampshire | 29 | 393 | 29 | 395 | 32 | 438 |
North Carolina | 29 | 3,011 | 21 | 2,236 | 20 | 2,064 |
Illinois | 28 | 3,528 | 22 | 2,775 | 20 | 2,513 |
Michigan | 27 | 2,743 | 24 | 2,358 | 24 | 2,383 |
Wisconsin | 26 | 1,530 | 21 | 1,200 | 19 | 1,083 |
Colorado | 26 | 1,512 | 19 | 1,100 | 17 | 1,004 |
Virginia | 26 | 2,186 | 18 | 1,538 | 16 | 1,357 |
New York | 26 | 4,979 | 19 | 3,634 | 18 | 3,544 |
California | 23 | 9,142 | 16 | 6,363 | 13 | 5,280 |
Washington | 23 | 1,724 | 16 | 1,251 | 15 | 1,162 |
Alabama | 20 | 989 | 15 | 739 | 15 | 749 |
Alaska | 20 | 146 | 18 | 133 | 17 | 126 |
Utah | 19 | 622 | 18 | 575 | 20 | 630 |
Hawaii | 19 | 274 | 17 | 245 | 15 | 206 |
Oregon | 19 | 798 | 14 | 610 | 13 | 539 |
Minnesota | 19 | 1,066 | 14 | 788 | 12 | 682 |
Oklahoma | 19 | 746 | 16 | 618 | 18 | 723 |
Wyoming | 17 | 101 | 12 | 72 | 13 | 77 |
Georgia | 17 | 1,848 | 13 | 1,378 | 13 | 1,389 |
Mississippi | 17 | 510 | 12 | 365 | 11 | 330 |
Arkansas | 17 | 515 | 12 | 362 | 13 | 397 |
North Dakota | 16 | 123 | 12 | 90 | 10 | 76 |
Kansas | 16 | 468 | 13 | 380 | 12 | 336 |
Idaho | 16 | 280 | 15 | 264 | 13 | 237 |
Montana | 15 | 157 | 13 | 139 | 12 | 124 |
Texas | 14 | 4,153 | 11 | 3,123 | 10 | 2,887 |
Iowa | 13 | 419 | 11 | 350 | 10 | 316 |
Nebraska | 11 | 209 | 8 | 146 | 7 | 136 |
South Dakota | 8 | 74 | 10 | 88 | 8 | 70 |