Street drug deaths across the United States fell roughly 14 percent in 2025 – a sharp drop, according to the latest overdose report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC tracks overdose mortality nationally and by region, and the overall trajectory shows a meaningful decline from the peak years of the fentanyl crisis.
The regional divide
Not every part of the country followed that trend. Some Western states recorded a surge in deaths even as the national numbers improved. The CDC report flagged those areas as outliers, though the agency didn’t specify in the NPR account which states posted the sharpest increases.
The divergence matters. A 14 percent national drop can mask concentrated losses in specific states – places where local supply patterns, treatment access, or enforcement gaps may be pushing numbers the wrong way while the broader U.S. figure improves.
NPR published the findings Wednesday, May 28, 2026, drawing on the CDC data. The agency has not yet released a full state-by-state breakdown through public channels cited in that report.
Reported by NPR. Read the original report.
