How many drug overdose deaths happen every year in Pennsylvania?
Updated May. 6, 2026Refreshed annually
There were 3,341 overdose deaths in 2024. That means that for every 100,000 people living in the state, 25.5 died of drug overdose. This was the ninth highest the drug overdose death rate has been in the state since data from 1999 became available.
In 2024
26
per 100,000 people died of overdoses
In 2024
3.34K
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, Pennsylvania had a drug overdose death rate higher than the US rate overall, nearly 11% higher. The drug overdose death rate in Pennsylvania increased in 19 of the last 25 years in which data is available. The overdose death rate decreased 28% since 2019 and increased 17% since 2014.
In 2024, Pennsylvania had a drug overdose death rate higher than the US rate.
Drug-involved overdose deaths in Pennsylvania, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people
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 62% of total overdose deaths in Pennsylvania. The rates of drug overdose deaths involving Cocaine and Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids increased 7.8 and 82.0 times, between 1999 and 2024 and 1999 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 Pennsylvania, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people
How do drug overdose deaths vary by county in Pennsylvania?
Drug overdose death rates can vary across counties. In 2024, the death rate for overdoses in Pennsylvania ranged from 9.3 per 100,000 in Adams County to 59.5 per 100,000 in Philadelphia 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)
| 1. | Philadelphia County | 59.5 |
| 2. | Lawrence County | 42.7 |
| 3. | Beaver County | 36.8 |
| 4. | Fayette County | 34.7 |
| 5. | Mc Kean County | 32.9 |
| 6. | Allegheny County | 32.2 |
| 7. | Greene County | 29.4 |
| 8. | Blair County | 29.1 |
| 9. | Carbon County | 28.9 |
| 10. | Westmoreland County | 26.8 |
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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.
