The U.S. recorded over 96,000 drug-induced deaths in 2020.  About 95% of these fatalities were attributable to drug overdoses, both accidental and intentional.  At about 29.2 deaths per 100,000 population in 2020, the national drug-induced death rate has more than quadrupled from its level in 1999.  A review of state-level data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics revealed the following details about the ten states with the highest drug-induced death rates in 2020:

Ten States with the Highest Drug-Induced Death Rates

State/Deaths	Deaths	Population	Death Rate*
West Virginia	1,397	1,784,787	78.3
District of Columbia	432	712,816	60.6
Kentucky	2,187	4,477,251	48.8
Maryland	2,814	6,055,802	46.5
Ohio	5,376	11,693,217	46.0
Tennessee	3,161	6,886,834	45.9
Delaware	448	986,809	45.4
Louisiana	1,953	4,645,318	42.0
Pennsylvania	5,284	12,783,254	41.3
Connecticut	1,434	3,557,006	40.3
Total	24,486	53,583,094	45.7
U.S.	96,096	329,484,123	29.2

(*) 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 1999-2020 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on December 10, 2022

related commentary: Regional Drug-Induced Death Rates in the U.S.