How many drug overdose deaths happen every year in the ?

Updated May. 6, 2026Refreshed annually
There were 79,384 overdose deaths in 2024. That means that for every 100,000 people living in the US, 23 died of a drug overdose. This is the fifth highest the drug overdose death rate has been since data from 1999 became available.
In 2024

23

per 100,000 people died of overdoses
In 2024

79.4K

people died of overdoses
In 2024

92%

of overdose deaths were unintentional
Unadjusted data about the nation is a useful starting point, but age-adjusted data tells a more complete story. Age-adjusting accounts for differences in age distributions across populations, which is crucial when comparing health outcomes since age is a major risk factor for many conditions. This adjustment enables fairer comparisons of mortality rates between different groups or over time. The rest of the data on this page is age-adjusted.

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What is the drug overdose death rate? How many are accidental?

The drug overdose death rate increased in 19 of the last 25 years. The overdose death rate increased 7% since 2019 and increased 57% since 2014. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies drug overdose deaths according to their intent: unintentional, suicide, or homicide. About 92% of all overdose deaths were unintentional, followed by suicidal overdoses at 6%.

Most drug overdose deaths are unintentional.

Drug-involved overdose deaths by intent, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people

What drugs are most commonly involved in drug overdose deaths?

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have been involved in more overdose deaths than any other drugs annually since 2016. In 2024, 60% of drug overdose deaths involved fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Drug overdose death rates involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids and methamphetamine increased 48 and 43 times, respectively, between 1999 and 2024.

In 2024, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids was involved in more overdose deaths than any other drug.

Drug-involved overdose deaths by drug, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people

How do drug overdose deaths vary by state?

Drug overdose death rates vary across states. In the US, the age-adjusted death rate for overdoses ranges from 8.1 per 100,000 in Nebraska to 48.9 per 100,000 in West Virginia. Washington, DC and 25 states had death rates higher than the US rate.

In 2024, West Virginia had the highest drug overdose death rate in the country.

Drug-involved overdose deaths in 2024, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people

Drug-involved overdose deaths per 100,000 people (2024)

Drug-involved overdose deaths per 100,000 people (2024)
1.

West Virginia

48.9
2.

Alaska 

45.1
3.

Washington, DC

43.2
4.

Washington state

37.6
5.

New Mexico

37.1
6.

Nevada 

35.9
7.

Maine 

35.2
8.

Tennessee 

35.2
9.

Vermont 

33.6
10.

Kentucky 

33.5

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.