Fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, accounted for 80% of opioid-related overdoses in the United States in 2023, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The drug claimed the lives of nearly 74,000 Americans in 2022 alone, with Black and Indigenous communities disproportionately affected.
CDC data reveals that in 2022, Black Americans experienced fentanyl overdose rates 50% higher than the national average, at 33.7 deaths per 100,000 people. Despite comprising only 13.6% of the U.S. population, Black Americans made up 21.2% of fentanyl deaths. Indigenous people had the second-highest overdose rate at 26.7 deaths per 100,000, while white Americans ranked third at 23.0 deaths per 100,000.
Geographically, West Virginia had the highest rate of age-adjusted fentanyl overdoses in 2022, with 67 deaths per 100,000 people. The state was home to seven of the ten counties with the highest fentanyl overdose rates nationwide. In contrast, South Dakota had the lowest rate at 4.6 deaths per 100,000 residents.
The data highlights the urgent need to address the opioid crisis and the underlying health disparities that disproportionately impact communities of color in the United States.
See “Who is overdosing on fentanyl?” (May 28, 2024)
