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