Fentanyl By State: Report

Fentanyl fatalities more than doubled in 30 states

Fentanyl fatalities more than doubled in 30 states in just two years, and more than tripled in 15. In six states, fentanyl fatalities increased almost five fold.*

Summary

  • Fentanyl fatalities doubled in 30 states in just two years; tripled in 15 and increased nearly five-fold in six: Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, California and Texas. The per capita rate of fentanyl deaths was highest in West Virginia last year, with a staggering 64.4 fentanyl deaths per 100,000 West Virginians. Florida had the highest total number of fentanyl deaths in 2021, 5,161, followed closely by California with a total of 5,123 fentanyl deaths last year. Fentanyl deaths have been highest in Florida since 2018; before 2018 Ohio consistently experienced the highest number of fentanyl deaths.

  • Fentanyl killed 209,491 Americans in just six years. Ohio alone lost 18,929 people to illicit fentanyl poisoning - more than the bottom twenty states combined which lost a total of 12,699 people since 2015. 

  • Fentanyl fatalities have increased by more than 100% since 2015 in almost every single state. In Louisiana, fentanyl deaths have increased 2,363% since 2015 or 24.6x. Fentanyl deaths in Arizona and California similarly increased by more than 2,000% since 2015. 

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The Changing Faces of Fentanyl Deaths

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Fentanyl By Race: Report