US Drug Overdose Deaths Fall Nearly 27 Percent to Lowest Level in 5 Years

The sharpest annual drop on record was driven by a decline in fentanyl-related deaths, the CDC said. But meth and cocaine fatalities increased.

Packets of fentanyl and methamphetamine seized from a truck crossing into Arizona from Mexico are displayed during a news conference at the Port of Nogales, Ariz., on Jan. 31, 2019. U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Reuters

Drug overdose deaths in the United States dropped sharply in 2024, falling to their lowest level since before the pandemic, according to provisional data released on May 14 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report estimates that 80,391 people died of a drug overdose in 2024—a 26.9 percent decline from 110,037 in 2023, marking the largest one-year drop since the agency began collecting comparable data more than four decades ago.