Ten States with the Lowest Drug Induced Death Rates

In 2019, the U.S. recorded over 74,500 drug induced deaths.  Drug overdoses, both accidental and intentional, accounted for about 95% of these fatalities.  At about 22.7 deaths per 100,000 population in 2019, the national drug induced death rate has more than tripled from its 1999 level of 6.9 deaths per 100,000 population.  Examination of state-level data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics revealed the following to be the ten states with the lowest drug induced death rates in 2019:

State/Deaths	Deaths	Population	Death Rate*
MS	431	2,976,149	14.5
MT	153	1,068,778	14.3
GA	1,502	10,617,423	14.1
WY	81	578,759	14.0
AR	404	3,017,804	13.4
ND	95	762,062	12.5
IA	374	3,155,070	11.9
TX	3,355	28,995,881	11.6
SD	90	884,659	10.2
NE	180	1,934,408	9.3
Total	6,665	53,990,993	12.3
U.S.	74,511	328,239,523	22.7

(*) number of drug induced deaths per 100,000 population

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2019 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2020. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2019, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on December 1, 2021

related commentary: U.S. Drug Induced Deaths by Region

Health Services Management Pay in the Great Lakes Region

The United States held more than 402,000 health service management jobs as of May 2020 according to data published earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  As of May 2020, over 53,000 were employed as health services managers in the five-state Great Lakes region.  BLS data revealed much disparity in the region for health services manager pay.  On the one hand, nearly 36% of the region's health service managers were employed in Illinois or Wisconsin, where the annual mean wage level exceeded the national average for health service managers. On the other hand, another 42% of the region's health service managers lived in Indiana or Ohio, two states that ranked in the bottom third of states nationally for health service manager annual mean wages.  A deeper dive into May 2020 BLS data revealed the following details about health services management pay in the Great Lakes region:

Health Services Management Pay in the Great Lakes Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IL	13,600	$124,940	15th
IN	8,390	$103,470	40th
MI	11,730	$108,660	31st
OH	14,230	$106,670	35th
WI	5,350	$119,220	23rd
U.S.	402,540	$118,800	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on April 21, 2021