rdwyer@fastmail.com · junk-mail

Drug overdoses rose 57% in 10 years

Tue Jul 21, 2026 · 11:02 AM EDT

From: "USAFacts" <info@usafacts.org>
To: <rdwyer@fastmail.com>

[View in Your Browser](manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/web-vie=
w?a=3DSH8aQb&c=3D01JBSC11EDFS954TE7X5EZD7WY&k=3D336f018cd7fc47daef1b8d7f39d=
145be&se=3Drdwyer%40fastmail.com&m=3D01KY2FYYBRMP3H4QN0F4KZXCS4&r=3D01KY2J6=
EWXPBSF5W4M119BKTX1)

[USAFacts](usafacts.org/)

How many people die of drug overdoses?

Drug overdose deaths have always been a public health concern, but they are=
a particularly acute concern now, with rates climbing during the pandemic =
and [staying above 2019 rates ever since](usafacts.org/answers/how-=
many-drug-overdose-deaths-happen-every-year-in-the-us/country/united-states=
/?utm_content=3Dsection1_text). The latest Centers for Disease Control and =
Prevention (CDC) data provides a deeper look at the drugs leading to deaths=
, and where.

In 2024, 79,384 people died from drug overdoses. That=E2=80=99s 23 deaths p=
er 100,000 people. This is the fifth-highest drug overdose death rate since=
the CDC started tracking this data in 1999.

[2024 drug-involved overdose deaths](usafacts.org/answers/how-many-=
drug-overdose-deaths-happen-every-year-in-the-us/country/united-states/?utm=
_content=3Dsection1_chart)

The overdose death rate ranged from 8.1 per 100,000 people in Nebraska to 4=
8.9 per 100,000 in West Virginia. Washington, DC, and 25 states had death r=
ates higher than the US rate overall. (The rates we=E2=80=99re discussing a=
re age-adjusted. Find out what that means in the [article](usafacts=
.org/answers/how-many-drug-overdose-deaths-happen-every-year-in-the-us/coun=
try/united-states/?utm_content=3Dsection1_text).)
=C2=A0

Between 1999 and 2024, death rates involving fentanyl and other synthetic o=
pioids rose 48-fold. However, the rate from fentanyl/opioids was down in 20=
24 to 14.3 per 100,000 after hitting a historically high rate of 22.7 per 1=
00,000 in 2022.
=C2=A0

The overdose death rate has climbed in 19 of the last 25 years. It rose 57%=
in the decade from 2014 to 2024.
=C2=A0

In 1999, cocaine was involved in more overdose-related deaths than any othe=
r drug, at a rate of 1.4 per 100,000 people. Fentanyl and related opioids h=
ad one of the lowest rates: 0.3 per 100,000.

[See the data](usafacts.org/answers/how-many-drug-ove…-deaths-h=
appen-every-year-in-the-us/country/united-states/?utm_content=3Dsection1_bu=
tton)

[USAFacts](usafacts.org/)

How big is the federal deficit?

Last month, we covered the federal debt. Now it=E2=80=99s time to cover wha=
t adds to it each year: [the deficit](usafacts.org/answers/what-is-=
the-federal-governments-budget-deficit-or-surplus/country/united-states/?ut=
m_content=3Dsection2_text). That's the gap between the money the government=
brings in and what it spends in a given period. If the country is running =
a deficit at the end of the fiscal year, that amount gets added to the nati=
onal debt. Here=E2=80=99s how the current deficit compares with historical =
data.

The deficit for fiscal year 2026 (which will run from October 2025 to the e=
nd of September 2026) reached $1.37 trillion by June. That=E2=80=99s $29.1 =
billion higher, or up 2.2%, from the same point last fiscal year.
=C2=A0

The government has run a budget surplus in 12=C2=A0nonconsecutive fiscal ye=
ars since 1933. The most recent surplus year was FY 2001.

[Budget surpluses and deficits by fiscal year](usafacts.org/answers=
/what-is-the-federal-governments-budget-deficit-or-surplus/country/united-s=
tates/?utm_content=3Dsection2_chart)

The deficit more than tripled from $983.6 billion in FY 2019 to $3.1 trilli=
on in FY 2020, largely due to pandemic-related spending on unemployment ins=
urance, stimulus checks, and small business support.
=C2=A0

The deficit reached 5.8% of GDP in FY 2025.
=C2=A0

The deficit has topped 5% of GDP in 10 of the last 19 years, starting in 20=
07 during the Great Recession. It crossed that threshold only once in the 5=
0 fiscal years between 1947 and 2007, in FY 1983. The all-time high was 26.=
9% of GDP in FY 1943.

[See the data](usafacts.org/answers/what-is-the-feder…vernments=
-budget-deficit-or-surplus/country/united-states/?utm_content=3Dsection2_bu=
tton)

[USAFacts](usafacts.org/)

What data means and why it matters

The word =E2=80=9Cdata=E2=80=9D gets used a lot these days, so when we say =
the [public deserves timelier, accessible government data](usafacts=
.org/data-we-depend-on/?utm_content=3Dblurb_text), many of you have asked w=
hat we mean.

We mean the data that agencies collect on how their programs work: job loss=
es, home purchases, people enrolling in or leaving SNAP, cancer diagnoses, =
and everything in between. These agencies and programs run on taxpayer doll=
ars, and this program performance data is collected in aggregate, not tied =
to any one person.

The problem is that the federal government=E2=80=99s information-collecting=
systems haven=E2=80=99t kept up with modern needs, and the results aren=E2=
=80=99t easy for Americans to find or use quickly. That=E2=80=99s why we're=
asking Congress, [through this open letter](usafacts.org/data-we-d=
epend-on/?utm_content=3Dblurb_text), to fix it. Join us!

[USAFacts](usafacts.org/)

Data behind the news

Flash floods in Texas have killed at least two people and forced rescue ope=
rations in areas that dealt with deadly floods one year ago. See the data o=
n [floods and other disasters](usafacts.org/answers/how-many-disast=
ers-are-declared-in-the-us/country/united-states/?utm_content=3Ddbtn_text) =
nationwide and in every state.

The national average price for a gallon of gas has climbed back above $4 a =
gallon. Get the ins and outs of gas prices [in this video](www.yout=
ube.com/watch?v=3DKEiKy6mf2Ew) walkthrough from USAFacts Founder Steve Ball=
mer.

Study up and take the [weekly fact quiz](usafacts.org/weekly-fact-q=
uiz/?utm_content=3Ddbtn_text).

[USAFacts](usafacts.org/)

One last fact

[What does the US import from Canada and Mexico?](usafacts.org/answ=
ers/what-is-the-value-of-us-trade/countries/mexico/?utm_content=3Donelastfa=
ct_chart)

The nation=E2=80=99s neighbors are also its biggest trading partners. In 20=
25, [imports and exports with Mexico](usafacts.org/answers/what-is-=
the-value-of-us-trade/countries/mexico/?utm_content=3Donelastfact_text) tot=
aled $971 billion. These primarily included capital goods, such as machiner=
y, equipment, and other production process tools.

[Imports and exports with Canada](usafacts.org/answers/what-is-the-=
value-of-us-trade/countries/canada/?utm_content=3Donelastfact_text), primar=
ily industrial supplies and materials such as oil, chemicals, and plastics =
used in production processes, totaled $879.9 billion.

While the nation=E2=80=99s trade deficit with Canada shrank last year (down=
$12.1 billion from the year prior), it grew with Mexico (up $22.3 billion)=
.

[USAFacts](usafacts.org/)

[Economy](usafacts.org/economy/)

[Crime](usafacts.org/crime/)

[About](usafacts.org/about-usafacts/)

[FAQs](usafacts.org/faq/)

[instagram](www.instagram.com/usafacts/#)
[twitter](www.tiktok.com/@usafacts.org?lang=3Den)
[facebook](www.facebook.com/USAFacts)
[youtube](www.youtube.com/@USAFacts_Official)
[Custom](x.com/USAFacts)
[Custom](bsky.app/profile/usafacts.org)

Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up here](usafacts.org/signup=
/?_kx=3DKeXKMooUjJOiwoNgC5AaQA.SH8aQb&utm_campaign=3D3_5_25_Mar%20Data%20Do=
wnload_Nat&utm_medium=3Demail&utm_source=3DUSAFacts_Klaviyo) for your own w=
eekly issue of the USAFacts newsletter.

[Manage Preferences](manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/update?a=
=3DSH8aQb&c=3D01JBSC11EDFS954TE7X5EZD7WY&k=3D336f018cd7fc47daef1b8d7f39d145=
be&se=3Drdwyer%40fastmail.com&m=3D01KY2FYYBRMP3H4QN0F4KZXCS4&r=3D01KY2J6EWX=
PBSF5W4M119BKTX1) |=C2=A0[Unsubscribe](manage.kmail-lists.com/subsc=
riptions/unsubscribe?a=3DSH8aQb&c=3D01JBSC11EDFS954TE7X5EZD7WY&k=3D336f018c=
d7fc47daef1b8d7f39d145be&se=3Drdwyer%40fastmail.com&m=3D01KY2FYYBRMP3H4QN0F=
4KZXCS4&r=3D01KY2J6EWXPBSF5W4M119BKTX1)