Deaths by drugs, particularly from opioids, have fallen in recent years. The age-adjusted drug overdose death rate decreased between 2022 and 2024, with the largest decrease, 26.2%, occurring from 2023 to 2024, from 31.3 deaths per 100,000 standard population to 23.1.
Top 10 by number in 2024
California 9,028
Texas 4,980
Florida 4,958
New York 4,449
Pennsylvania 3,341
Ohio 3,165
Washington 3,145
North Carolina 2,780
Illinois 2,531
Tennessee 2,499
Bottom 10 by number in 2024
Hawaii 333
Rhode Island 323
Washington D.C. 315
New Hampshire 293
Vermont 208
Montana 170
Nebraska 155
Wyoming 120
North Dakota 108
South Dakota 98
Top 10 by rate in 2024 (per 100,000 people)
West Virginia 48.9
Alaska 45.1
Washington, D.C. 43.2
New Mexico 37.1
Nevada 35.9
Maine 35.2
Tennessee 35.2
Vermont 33.6
Kentucky 33.5
Louisiana 33.5
Lifesaving drug
Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, according to the National Institutes of Health.
More than 1.5 million naloxone prescriptions were dispensed from retail pharmacies in 2024.
The overall rate of naloxone dispensed from retail pharmacies in the US increased from 0.3 to 0.6 per 100 persons from 2019 to 2023, then declined to 0.4 per 100 persons in 2024.
Naloxone dispensing rates varied widely across the country.
States with the highest naloxone dispensing rates per 100 persons in 2024 include Arkansas (1.3), New Mexico (1.2), District of Columbia (1.1), Rhode Island (1.1) and Tennessee (0.9).
States with the lowest naloxone dispensing rates per 100 persons in 2024 include Minnesota (0.1) and South Dakota (0.1).
California naloxone distribution project data
Since the Naloxone Distribution Project began in October 2018, the NDP has distributed more than 8,501,000 kits of naloxone, which have been used to reverse more than 438,600 overdoses.
You can learn more about the project here.
Sources: California Opioid Response, Kaiser Family Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics