How many drug overdose deaths happen every year in ?

Updated May. 6, 2026Refreshed annually
There were 1,590 overdose deaths in 2024. That means that for every 100,000 people living in the state, 22.3 died of drug overdose. This was the 10th highest the drug overdose death rate has been in the state since data from 1999 became available.
In 2024

22

per 100,000 people died of overdoses
In 2024

1.59K

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 2024, Massachusetts had a drug overdose death rate lower than the US rate overall, nearly 6% lower. The drug overdose death rate in Massachusetts increased in 15 of the last 25 years in which data is available. The overdose death rate decreased 32% since 2019 and increased 15% since 2014.

In 2024, Massachusetts had a drug overdose death rate lower than the US rate.

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

Ask the data
Beta

We use AI to summarize the data, charts, and analysis we have on USAFacts

What drugs are most commonly involved in drug overdose deaths?

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 2024, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have been involved in more overdose deaths than any other drug, making up 79% of total overdose deaths in Massachusetts. The rates of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine and fentanyl and other synthetic opioids increased 5.3 and 58.3 times, between 1999 and 2024 and 2002 and 2024, respectively.

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

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

Drug overdoses

Are fentanyl overdose deaths rising in the US?

Read more about fentanyl and why it is so dangerous.
Read more

How do drug overdose deaths vary by county in Massachusetts?

Drug overdose death rates can vary across counties. In 2024, the death rate for overdoses in Massachusetts ranged from 13.9 per 100,000 in Hampshire County to 37.3 per 100,000 in Berkshire 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 (2024)

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

Hampden County

37.3
2.

Berkshire County

37.3
3.

Suffolk County

31.3
4.

Bristol County

25.7
5.

Worcester County

24.3
6.

Essex County

23.3
7.

Plymouth County

22.5
8.

Barnstable County

21.1
9.

Franklin County

19.8
10.

Norfolk County

14.6

Keep exploring

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.