US Counties With the Lowest Drug Overdose Deaths

1,774 US counties ranked by drug overdose deaths, from lowest to highest. First are Hidalgo County, TX (5.37), Cameron County, TX (6.05) and Limestone County, AL (6.55). The middle one of the 1,774 has 30.1.

What this measures

Deaths from drug overdose per 100,000 people, from any drug. Source: County Health Rankings.

For most measures, a national ranking mostly sorts places by income and by how urban they are. Each county’s own page compares it with the 50 counties most like it instead, which is often the fairer view.

The 100 lowest counties

Rank	County	deaths per 100,000
1	Hidalgo County, TX	5.37
2	Cameron County, TX	6.05
3	Limestone County, AL	6.55
4	Gallatin County, MT	7.14
5	Lincoln County, SD	7.43
6	Story County, IA	7.73
7	Riley County, KS	7.85
8	Sarpy County, NE	7.95
9	Hall County, NE	8.1
10	Bulloch County, GA	8.52
11	Loudoun County, VA	8.81
12	Gregg County, TX	8.83
13	Otter Tail County, MN	8.92
14	Lowndes County, GA	8.96
15	Brazos County, TX	9.13
16	Lauderdale County, MS	9.23
17	Guadalupe County, TX	9.24
18	Buffalo County, NE	9.27
19	Coryell County, TX	9.35
20	Rusk County, TX	9.35
21	Rice County, MN	9.4
22	Centre County, PA	9.43
23	Wright County, MN	9.47
24	Bonner County, ID	9.48
25	Medina County, TX	9.49
26	Val Verde County, TX	9.71
27	Dallas County, IA	9.72
28	Cache County, UT	9.81
29	Comal County, TX	9.92
30	Collin County, TX	10.1
31	Navarro County, TX	10.1
32	Johnson County, IA	10.1
33	Smith County, TX	10.2
34	Fort Bend County, TX	10.3
35	Denton County, TX	10.3
36	Waupaca County, WI	10.4
37	Coffee County, AL	10.5
38	Fairfax County, VA	10.5
39	Ellis County, TX	10.7
40	Elmore County, AL	10.7
41	Erath County, TX	10.7
42	Jackson County, AL	10.8
43	Autauga County, AL	10.9
44	Tom Green County, TX	10.9
45	Summit County, UT	10.9
46	Walker County, TX	10.9
47	Cherokee County, TX	10.9
48	Whitman County, WA	11
49	Ottawa County, MI	11.1
50	Mercer County, OH	11.1
51	Polk County, WI	11.1
52	Atascosa County, TX	11.1
53	Washington County, AR	11.2
54	Clinton County, MI	11.3
55	St. Croix County, WI	11.3
56	Williamson County, TX	11.4
57	Hays County, TX	11.5
58	Wilson County, TX	11.5
59	Barron County, WI	11.5
60	Caldwell County, TX	11.5
61	Coffee County, GA	11.6
62	Dubois County, IN	11.6
63	Union County, PA	11.6
64	Pettis County, MO	11.6
65	Grant County, WI	11.7
66	Johnson County, MO	11.7
67	Carver County, MN	11.7
68	Benton County, OR	11.9
69	Utah County, UT	11.9
70	Kerr County, TX	11.9
71	McLennan County, TX	11.9
72	Lee County, AL	12
73	Douglas County, CO	12
74	Branch County, MI	12
75	Sherburne County, MN	12.1
76	Deschutes County, OR	12.1
77	Chisago County, MN	12.2
78	Albany County, WY	12.2
79	Bowie County, TX	12.2
80	Portage County, WI	12.3
81	Black Hawk County, IA	12.3
82	Tallapoosa County, AL	12.3
83	Arlington County, VA	12.3
84	LaGrange County, IN	12.3
85	Jasper County, IA	12.4
86	Caddo Parish, LA	12.4
87	Kaufman County, TX	12.5
88	Hopkins County, TX	12.5
89	Pennington County, SD	12.6
90	Woodbury County, IA	12.7
91	Graves County, KY	12.7
92	Fayette County, GA	12.8
93	Calumet County, WI	12.9
94	Knox County, IN	12.9
95	Geauga County, OH	13
96	Ravalli County, MT	13
97	Auglaize County, OH	13.1
98	Scott County, MN	13.1
99	Victoria County, TX	13.1
100	Logan County, OK	13.2

Every state, lowest first

Each state’s own published figure, not an average of its counties.

Rank	State	deaths per 100,000
1	South Dakota	10.5
2	Nebraska	11.1
3	Iowa	14.4
4	Texas	16.5
5	North Dakota	16.6
6	Montana	17.2
7	Idaho	18.1
8	Wyoming	19.2
9	Utah	19.2
10	Hawaii	19.3
11	Arkansas	19.8
12	Kansas	21.9
13	Georgia	21.9
14	Minnesota	22.2
15	Mississippi	24.1
16	Oklahoma	24.3
17	Alabama	26.1
18	California	26.1
19	Oregon	26.2
20	Virginia	28.4
21	Wisconsin	28.9
22	Washington	29
23	New York	29.2
24	Nevada	29.4
25	Michigan	29.4
26	Illinois	29.5
27	Colorado	29.7
28	Alaska	30.7
29	New Hampshire	31.8
30	New Jersey	32.4
31	Missouri	33.6
32	Florida	34.4
33	North Carolina	35.9
34	Arizona	36
35	Massachusetts	36.1
36	Vermont	37.5
37	Indiana	38.3
38	South Carolina	39.2
39	Rhode Island	39.3
40	Pennsylvania	40.8
41	Connecticut	40.8
42	Maryland	44
43	Maine	44.2
44	Ohio	44.7
45	New Mexico	45.1
46	Louisiana	48.6
47	Kentucky	49.9
48	Delaware	50.1
49	Tennessee	51
50	District of Columbia	64.5
51	West Virginia	78

More on drug overdose deaths

A ranking describes places, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All US rankings.