Drug Overdose Deaths Overview Data for Delaware

Overview

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Delaware had the fifth highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2021.

This dashboard includes measures and insights from three data systems that monitor drug overdose deaths in Delaware.

Death Investigation Alerts (DIAs) from the Division of Forensic Science (DFS) provide an early warning system from Forensic Investigator reports to report suspected drug overdose deaths. These data are shown in the Deaths Investigation Alerts section to provide up-to-date, monthly trends with potentially alarming shifts in drug overdose death counts.
State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) provides details about drug overdose deaths, such as geography, sex, race, ethnicity, age groups, occupation, toxicology, medical history, institutional history, and circumstances at the time of death. These data are available on the SUDORS section of this dashboard.
Delaware Vital Events Registration System (DelVRS) provides death certificate data in the Death Certificates section of this data dashboard to view longer-time trends in drug overdose deaths for select demographic groups for Delaware residents.

Substance Use Disorder Support

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Substance Use Disorder Support

Treatment Providers and Naloxone Distribution Centers

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Key Data & Reports

Drug Overdose Deaths in Delaware

Data are current as of 11/1/2025

Most recent dashboard update: 5/29/2024

Here, we highlight one key statistic from each tab. Click a table row to see more detailed data for the statistic.

To investigate the data, click a table row

Table Key

Data System	Indicator	Delaware	% Change	Trendline
Death Certificates	Drug Overdose Death Rate age-adjusted rate per 100,000 residents	54.1 (2021)	Increased 69%(2016 to 2021)	Chart Line chart with 11 data points. The chart has 1 X axis displaying Time. Data ranges from 2011-01-01 to 2021-01-01. The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Data ranges from 15.5 to 54.1. End of interactive chart.
SUDORS	Drug Overdose Deaths (Drug Type: Any Opioid) monthly number of people	35 (June 2023)	Decreased 22%(June 2022 to June 2023)	Chart Line chart with 54 data points. The chart has 1 X axis displaying Time. Data ranges from 2019-01-01 to 2023-06-01. The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Data ranges from 23 to 52. End of interactive chart.
Deaths Investigation Alerts	Suspected Drug Overdose Deaths monthly number of people	16 (November 2025)	Decreased 43%(November 2024 to November 2025)	Chart Line chart with 47 data points. The chart has 1 X axis displaying Time. Data ranges from 2022-01-01 to 2025-11-01. The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Data ranges from 16 to 53. End of interactive chart.

Additional Information

Drug Overdose Deaths in Delaware

Resources

Help is Here Delaware

Prevention, Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery resources for Delaware

NSC Memorial Site

Memorial map to overdose decedents

Healthy Homes Prescription Drop Off Locations

All permanent prescription drop-off locations in Delaware

Where to obtain naloxone

National Map of Naloxone Locations

Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health

The Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) is located in the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS). DSAMH serves the adult (age 18 and older) population in need of publicly funded behavioral health services. DSAMH is organized into three operating units. These are the Delaware Psychiatric Center (DPC) and a variety of community-based Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment Programs.

Data Sources

Mortality

Citation: Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Delaware Health Statistics Center.

View or download this dataset

Suspected Delaware Drug Overdose Deaths

Citation: Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Division of Forensic Science, https://forensics.delaware.gov/about/index.shtml?dc=aboutUs

View or download this dataset

Privacy

In releasing this information, Delaware aims to provide information that can be helpful to local communities as they work to improve public health. However, the protection of the confidentiality of our citizens is of paramount importance. To that end, counts of less than 11 are not presented. An outside expert has reviewed the platform to ensure it complies with the HIPAA privacy rule (45 CFR 164.§514(b)).