A new report released today, “Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2003-2023,” marked a significant milestone. For the first time since 2018, final mortality data showed that drug overdose death rates decreased, dropping 4% between 2022 and 2023, from 32.6 to 31.3. The official number of drug overdose deaths among residents in the United States for 2023 was 105,007.

Other Findings

• From 2022 to 2023, the infant mortality rate did not change significantly, from 560.4 infant deaths per 100,000 live births in 2022 to 560.2 in 2023. Death rates decreased for all other age groups.
• The rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone—like fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol— which had increased beginning in 2013 – decreased from 2022 to 2023.
• From 2022 to 2023, the rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine increased 4.9% (from 8.2 to 8.6) and the rate for deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential, like methamphetamine, increased 1.9% (from 10.4 to 10.6).
• The rate of drug overdose deaths involving heroin decreased 33.3%, from 1.8 in 2022 to 1.2 in 2023.

The report is available on the CDC/NCHS website at: www.cdc.gov/nchs