How many drug overdose deaths happen every year in Maine?
598 overdose deaths in 2023. That means that for every 100,000 people living in Maine, 43 died of drug overdose. This was the third highest the drug overdose death rate has been in the state since data from 1999 became available.
Data updated July 19, 2024
In 2023,
43
per 100,000 people died of overdoses
In 2023,
598
people died of overdoses
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.
In 2023, Maine had a drug overdose death rate higher than the US rate overall, nearly 43% higher. The drug overdose death rate in Maine increased in 16 of the last 24 years in which data is available. The overdose death rate increased 61% since 2018 and increased 3.4 times since 2013.
In 2023, Maine had a drug overdose death rate higher than the US rate.
Drug-involved overdose deaths in Maine, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people
The rise in drug overdose deaths nationally has been due to growing use of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, however, this may vary by state. In 2023, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have been involved in more overdose deaths than any other drug, making up 82% of total overdose deaths in Maine. The rates of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine and fentanyl and other synthetic opioids increased 11 and 22 times, respectively, between 2004 and 2023 for cocaine and 2010 and 2023 for fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
In 2023, fentanyl was involved in more overdose deaths than any other drug.
Drug-involved overdose deaths in Maine, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people
Our government is complex. Our data doesn’t have to be.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get data-backed answers to today’s most debated issues
Although drug overdose deaths are on the rise, they affect geographic areas differently. In 2023, the death rate for overdoses in Maine ranged from 27 per 100,000 in York County to 79 per 100,000 in Washington County.
Occasionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will mark data as either suppressed or unreliable. Suppression occurs when data does not meet confidentiality requirements. As a result, data may not be available for every county in this state. Age-adjusted data is also not available at the county level. County-level tables reflect the most recent year of available data.
Drug-involved overdose deaths per 100,000 people (2023)
| 1. | Washington County | 79.2 |
| 2. | Penobscot County | 57.3 |
| 3. | Somerset County | 56.5 |
| 4. | Androscoggin County | 55.4 |
| 5. | Aroostook County | 54.9 |
| 6. | Oxford County | 45.1 |
| 7. | Kennebec County | 44.8 |
| 8. | Cumberland County | 40.0 |
| 9. | Hancock County | 37.2 |
| 10. | York County | 27.4 |
Change location to see this data for another state.
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.
