Overdose in America: analysis reveals deaths rising in some regions even as US sees national decline

Exclusive: Guardian analysis finds wide geographical disparities in fatalities linked to the public health crisis

How Chicago succeeded in reducing drug overdose deaths

Overdose deaths continued to rise in some communities across the US even as they declined nationally in 2024, according to an exclusive data analysis by the Guardian, which found wide geographical disparities in fatalities linked to the public health crisis.

The revelation comes just months after public health officials heralded a 27% drop in overdose deaths, a feat that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) attributed to factors including expanded access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone and substance-use treatment, and shifts in the drug supply.

“This decline suggests more than 81 lives saved every day,” the CDC stated in a press release. On average, 220 US residents still died of overdose each day in 2024.