Drug Overdose Deaths

Drug Overdose Deaths Remained High in 2021

75 percent of the nearly 92,000 drug overdose deaths in 2020 involved an opioid

More than one million people have died since 1999 from a drug overdose.1 In 2021, 106,699 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States. The age-adjusted rate of overdose deaths increased by 14% from 2020 (28.3 per 100,000) to 2021 (32.4 per 100,000).

  • Opioids—mainly synthetic opioids (other than methadone)—are currently the main driver of drug overdose deaths. Nearly 88% of opioid-involved overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids.
  • Opioids were involved in 80,411 overdose deaths in 2021 (75.4% of all drug overdose deaths).
  • Drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants such as methamphetamine are increasing with and without synthetic opioid involvement.2
Data Sources
  1. Wide-ranging online data for epidemiologic research (WONDER). Atlanta, GA: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2022. Available at http://wonder.cdc.gov.
  2. Mattson CL, Tanz LJ, Quinn K, Kariisa M, Patel P, Davis NL. Trends and Geographic Patterns in Drug and Synthetic Opioid Overdose Deaths — United States, 2013–2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:202–207. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7006a4.
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