How many drug overdose deaths happen every year in ?

Updated May. 6, 2026Refreshed annually
There were 1,467 overdose deaths in 2024. That means that for every 100,000 people living in the state, 26.8 died of drug overdose. This was the fifth highest the drug overdose death rate has been in the state since data from 1999 became available.
In 2024

27

per 100,000 people died of overdoses
In 2024

1.47K

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, South Carolina had a drug overdose death rate higher than the US rate overall, nearly 19% higher. The drug overdose death rate in South Carolina increased in 17 of the last 25 years in which data is available. The overdose death rate increased 21% since 2019 and increased 91% since 2014.

In 2024, South Carolina had a drug overdose death rate higher than the US rate.

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

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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 63% of total overdose deaths in South Carolina. The rates of drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids and methamphetamine increased 36.4 and 15.8 times, between 2002 and 2024 and 2013 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 South Carolina, 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 South Carolina?

Drug overdose death rates can vary across counties. In 2024, the death rate for overdoses in South Carolina ranged from 10.9 per 100,000 in Beaufort County to 49.4 per 100,000 in Marion 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.

Marion County

49.4
2.

Chester County

46.4
3.

Dillon County

43.5
4.

Williamsburg County

40.2
5.

Union County

37.5
6.

Darlington County

36.8
7.

Horry County

35.3
8.

Orangeburg County

34.9
9.

Charleston County

34.1
10.

Chesterfield County

33.7

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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.