Geographic Reach of the Reversal in US Drug Overdose Mortality, 2022–2024

Abstract

Using detailed national mortality records, we examine how the decline in US drug overdose mortality from 2022 to 2024 varied across counties. We assess differences across substances and examine how county characteristics and earlier overdose trends relate to these changes. Our findings show that declines were widespread but uneven across communities and were largest for deaths involving synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl.