Special Report
This Is Where Illinois Ranks in Drug Overdose Deaths in 2020
Published:
Last Updated:
More than 93,000 people died of drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2020, a nearly 30% surge from 2019 and the most ever recorded in a single year, according to recently released data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Addiction experts say the increase in overdose deaths was largely driven by the increased presence of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl in the U.S. Other contributors include problems related to the coronavirus pandemic, such as increased isolation and job losses.
Illinois is the state with the 24th most drug overdose deaths per capita in 2020. There were 28 fatal overdoses per 100,000, or a total of 3,528 drug overdose-related deaths.
Last year, most reported an increase in drug overdose deaths after seeing a decrease in deaths in 2019. In Illinois, there were 22 fatal drug overdoses in the state per 100,000 residents, or a total of 2,775, in 2019.
The average number of overdose deaths in Illinois between 2015 and 2019 was 20 per 100,000 people a year, the 23rd most of all U.S. states, or an average of 2,513 overdose-related deaths a year.
To determine the states with the highest drug overdose fatality rates, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed recently released CDC preliminary estimates of drug overdose deaths. The states are ranked based on the number of drug-related deaths per 100,000 residents. These are the states with the most drug overdose deaths per capita in 2020. These are the states with the most drug overdose deaths in 2020.
State | Overdose deaths per 100,000 (2020) | Total overdose deaths (2020) | Overdose deaths per 100,000 (2019) | Total overdose deaths (2019) | Average overdose deaths a year per 100,000 (2015-2019) | Total average over deaths a year (2015-2019) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
West Virginia | 74 | 1,326 | 48 | 852 | 48 | 868 |
Kentucky | 47 | 2,104 | 31 | 1,369 | 31 | 1,391 |
Delaware | 46 | 449 | 43 | 423 | 34 | 329 |
Maryland | 46 | 2,761 | 39 | 2,360 | 35 | 2,086 |
Tennessee | 45 | 3,091 | 31 | 2,138 | 26 | 1,771 |
Ohio | 45 | 5,215 | 37 | 4,279 | 36 | 4,217 |
Louisiana | 41 | 1,925 | 28 | 1,304 | 23 | 1,090 |
Pennsylvania | 40 | 5,172 | 35 | 4,444 | 35 | 4,441 |
Connecticut | 39 | 1,385 | 35 | 1,231 | 29 | 1,031 |
New Mexico | 38 | 788 | 29 | 609 | 25 | 524 |
Rhode Island | 37 | 396 | 30 | 317 | 31 | 329 |
Maine | 36 | 490 | 27 | 362 | 26 | 347 |
Arizona | 36 | 2,644 | 27 | 1,981 | 22 | 1,585 |
Florida | 35 | 7,555 | 26 | 5,524 | 23 | 4,850 |
Indiana | 34 | 2,268 | 25 | 1,704 | 23 | 1,578 |
South Carolina | 34 | 1,728 | 22 | 1,131 | 19 | 969 |
Massachusetts | 33 | 2,293 | 32 | 2,215 | 31 | 2,102 |
New Jersey | 32 | 2,815 | 31 | 2,774 | 26 | 2,329 |
Missouri | 31 | 1,921 | 26 | 1,603 | 23 | 1,422 |
Vermont | 30 | 186 | 19 | 118 | 20 | 125 |
Nevada | 30 | 914 | 23 | 710 | 23 | 716 |
New Hampshire | 29 | 393 | 29 | 395 | 32 | 438 |
North Carolina | 29 | 3,011 | 21 | 2,236 | 20 | 2,064 |
Illinois | 28 | 3,528 | 22 | 2,775 | 20 | 2,513 |
Michigan | 27 | 2,743 | 24 | 2,358 | 24 | 2,383 |
Wisconsin | 26 | 1,530 | 21 | 1,200 | 19 | 1,083 |
Colorado | 26 | 1,512 | 19 | 1,100 | 17 | 1,004 |
Virginia | 26 | 2,186 | 18 | 1,538 | 16 | 1,357 |
New York | 26 | 4,979 | 19 | 3,634 | 18 | 3,544 |
California | 23 | 9,142 | 16 | 6,363 | 13 | 5,280 |
Washington | 23 | 1,724 | 16 | 1,251 | 15 | 1,162 |
Alabama | 20 | 989 | 15 | 739 | 15 | 749 |
Alaska | 20 | 146 | 18 | 133 | 17 | 126 |
Utah | 19 | 622 | 18 | 575 | 20 | 630 |
Hawaii | 19 | 274 | 17 | 245 | 15 | 206 |
Oregon | 19 | 798 | 14 | 610 | 13 | 539 |
Minnesota | 19 | 1,066 | 14 | 788 | 12 | 682 |
Oklahoma | 19 | 746 | 16 | 618 | 18 | 723 |
Wyoming | 17 | 101 | 12 | 72 | 13 | 77 |
Georgia | 17 | 1,848 | 13 | 1,378 | 13 | 1,389 |
Mississippi | 17 | 510 | 12 | 365 | 11 | 330 |
Arkansas | 17 | 515 | 12 | 362 | 13 | 397 |
North Dakota | 16 | 123 | 12 | 90 | 10 | 76 |
Kansas | 16 | 468 | 13 | 380 | 12 | 336 |
Idaho | 16 | 280 | 15 | 264 | 13 | 237 |
Montana | 15 | 157 | 13 | 139 | 12 | 124 |
Texas | 14 | 4,153 | 11 | 3,123 | 10 | 2,887 |
Iowa | 13 | 419 | 11 | 350 | 10 | 316 |
Nebraska | 11 | 209 | 8 | 146 | 7 | 136 |
South Dakota | 8 | 74 | 10 | 88 | 8 | 70 |
Robinhood revolutionized commission free investing, and it continues to do so today. With a few simple taps you can trade stocks like Nvidia and Amazon, market beating mutual funds, and trade options with Robinhood Financial. FDIC insurance coverage is just another benefit.
And, you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Dogecoin (DOGE) with Robinhood Crypto.
Sign up today — click here to start your journey.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.