This Is Where North Carolina Ranks in Drug Overdose Deaths in 2020

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.

North Carolina is the state with the 23rd most drug overdose deaths per capita in 2020. There were 29 fatal overdoses per 100,000, or a total of 3,011 drug overdose-related deaths.

Last year, most reported an increase in drug overdose deaths after seeing a decrease in deaths in 2019. In North Carolina, there were 21 fatal drug overdoses in the state per 100,000 residents, or a total of 2,236, in 2019.

The average number of overdose deaths in North Carolina between 2015 and 2019 was 20 per 100,000 people a year, the 24th most of all U.S. states, or an average of 2,064 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.