Drug Overdose Deaths in the U.S. Up Nearly 30% in 2020

The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics has released full-year 2020 provisional drug overdose death data that estimates 93,331 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2020, an increase of 29.4% from the 72,151 deaths predicted in 2019.

The data featured in an interactive web data visualization estimates overdose deaths from opioids increased from 50,963 in 2019 to 69,710 in 2020. Overdose deaths from synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) and psychostimulants such as methamphetamine also increased in 2020 compared to 2019. Cocaine deaths also increased in 2020, as did deaths from natural and semi-synthetic opioids (such as prescription pain medication).