Map of US showing fentanyl deaths
Executive summary
A national “map” of fentanyl deaths exists in several official and research products that visualize synthetic-opioid mortality by jurisdiction, and those maps show fentanyl as the dominant driver of overdose mortality even as provisional totals fell in 2024; the CDC’s data visualization and press releases provide the primary jurisdiction-level maps and percentage-change layers, while state and county tools let users drill down to local rates [1] [2] [3]. Interpreting those maps requires care: deaths often involve more than one drug and reporting lags mean provisional maps are snapshots that can change as death investigations are completed [1] [4] [3].
1. Where the official maps come from and what they show
The CDC’s Vital Statistics Rapid Release presents an interactive U.S. map that displays percentage changes in provisional drug overdose deaths for 12‑month periods by jurisdiction and includes counts and estimates for deaths involving specific drug classes such as synthetic opioids (fentanyl and analogs) identified using ICD‑10 codes [1]; the CDC’s May 2025 press release pairs that visualization with provisional totals and a map of jurisdictional changes that documented a large national decline in 2024 versus 2023 [2].
2. The headline numbers behind the map
Public analysis of NCHS and CDC coding shows synthetic opioids (T40.4) were a major factor in U.S. overdose deaths—NIDA reports 72,776 deaths involving synthetic opioids in 2023—and federal releases estimated total drug overdose deaths fell to about 80,391 in 2024, a 26.9% provisional decline from roughly 110,037 in 2023, which is reflected on the CDC’s percentage‑change maps [5] [2].
3. Geographic patterns and mapping tools beyond the CDC
Researchers and state health agencies produce complementary maps: the State Health Access Data Assistance Center provides maps of opioid‑related deaths per 100,000 by drug type using CDC WONDER data, and the NORC Overdose Mapping Tool produces county‑level maps linking overdose mortality to demographic and community measures—both are practical for local spatial comparisons because the CDC’s national map is jurisdictional and focused on percentage changes and provisional counts [3] [6].
4. Reading the maps: methodological caveats that change the story
Any map of “fentanyl deaths” must account for multiple‑drug involvement—single deaths may be counted in multiple categories—differences in medical examiner toxicology, and provisional reporting that can undercount or reclassify deaths as investigations conclude; CDC and SHADAC explicitly warn that drug categories are not mutually exclusive and that provisional maps represent reported and predicted counts subject to revision [1] [4] [3].
5. What the mapped trends imply about causes and policy debates
Mapped concentrations of fentanyl‑involved deaths have driven federal attention to trafficking and supply‑side measures—GAO notes synthetic opioids were the primary cause of overdose deaths and highlights seizures and supply chains from Mexico and precursor chemicals linked to China—yet maps alone don’t settle debates about the balance of supply reduction, treatment access, harm reduction, and social determinants, so policymakers often point to the same maps to justify different responses [7] [5].
6. Practical next steps for anyone using the maps
To produce or interpret a credible map of fentanyl deaths, use CDC NCHS provisional overlays for national trends, then pair them with county‑level tools like NORC’s Overdose Mapping Tool or state dashboards to verify local rates and suppression rules; always annotate maps with ICD‑10 definitions and the provisional status of counts, and avoid aggregating drug‑specific rates as if mutually exclusive because death certificates commonly list multiple substances [1] [6] [3].