Summary: The opioid crisis has killed over 900,000 Americans since 1999. This project follows the data from DEA ARCOS pill shipments to CDC WONDER overdose death rates. In 2010, at the peak, 2,830 million opioid pills were shipped across America. West Virginia alone received the equivalent of 22 pills per resident. By 2022, 160,283 Americans died of overdoses, 46% from fentanyl. West Virginia's death rate: 79.2 per 100,000 — more than twice the national average.
Key Findings
Total OD deaths 2022
160,283
Fentanyl share
46%
Worst state — WV rate
79.2/100K
National OD rate
35.5/100K
DEA pills peak (2010)
2,830M
Deaths since 1999
900,000+
Charts & Analysis
Overdose Deaths by Drug Type 2015-2022
CDC NCHS data
State OD Death Rates 2022
CDC WONDER — ranked
DEA ARCOS: Pills Per Person 2010 Peak
DEA via Washington Post FOIA
OD Rate Trend by State 2015-2022
CDC WONDER
The Three Waves of the Opioid Crisis
Rx → Heroin → Fentanyl
DEA ARCOS Pill Shipments 2006-2014
DEA data — peak then decline
Data Source
DEA ARCOS + CDC WONDER — https://wonder.cdc.gov/
All data is real, publicly available government data. Free to download and verify independently.