Delaware'sOpioid Crisis
More than one Delawarean dies from a drug overdose each day*
*State of Delaware, Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Division of Forensic Science. 2021 Annual Report, Delaware, 2021. Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, August 2022.
▼ Scroll through the story to learn more
The original data story — with full interactivity, narrative context, and visual design — was taken offline December 31, 2025. This is the best that could be recovered from the original source code. It is a pale shadow of what Delaware built and then threw away.
1
What is the scope of Delaware's drug overdose crisis?
2000–2019 | Delaware residents
Drug Overdose Deaths
By drug overdose death rates alone, the crisis continues to escalate. The rate of drug overdose deaths has increased from 6.7 per 100,000 to 48.4 per 100,000 in 2019, which is a seven-fold increase.
2011–2019 | Delaware residents
Drug Overdose Death Rates by Sex
2011–2019 | Delaware residents
Drug Overdose Death Rates by Drug Type
Opioids are fueling the overdose death rates in Delaware with a drastic increase in synthetic opioids in recent years.
2
Who is dying from drug overdoses?
2019 | Delaware Residents
Sex
People who died from a drug overdose
Employment
Male Employment (2017)
Female Employment (2017)
3 out of 4
were aged 25 to 54 years old at death.
4 out of 5
interacted with a health system* in the year prior to death.
*Defined as use of, encounter, or interaction with at least one of: ED visit, EMS encounter, PMP prescription, DSAMH contracted site services, or hospital discharge.
28%
had past or present hepatitis C infection.
3
Where are overdose deaths occurring?
2019 | United States Residents
National Drug Overdose Deaths
In 2019, a total of 70,630 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States. The age-adjusted rate of overdose deaths was 21.6 per 100,000. Source: CDC
21.6
national age-adjusted rate per 100,000 (2019)
2019 | Delaware Residents
Drug Overdose Deaths by County
Delaware has the second highest drug overdose death rate in the country with an age-adjusted drug overdose mortality rate of 48.4 per 100,000 in 2019. All three counties have rates higher than the national rate.
New Castle County
48.3
per 100,000
Kent County
42.5
per 100,000
Sussex County
54.9
per 100,000
66
deaths per 100,000 in Wilmington — the highest known rate in Delaware (2017)
Delaware Epidemiology, Health Data, and Informatics Section. Drug Overdose Mortality Surveillance Report, Delaware, 2017.
4
Is there an end in sight?
2019 | United States Residents
People who filled any opioid prescription in the US
The average national prescription rate in 2019 was 46.7 per 100 people, or approximately 15.4 prescriptions per month per 1,000 people. Source: CDC
2012–2019 | Delaware Residents
People who filled any opioid prescription in Delaware
Delaware's monthly prescription rate of 33 per 1,000 persons in December 2019 was above the national average, but rates have been declining.
New Castle County
31
per 1,000 (Dec 2019)
Kent County
34
per 1,000 (Dec 2019)
Sussex County
40
per 1,000 (Dec 2019)
5
What is Delaware doing to combat the opioid crisis?
2012
Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) started
Oct 2014
Help is Here Launched
Help is Here is launched as a single point where Delawareans can visit for resources to aid in their personal fights with the opioid crisis.
July 2017
Community access to naloxone is expanded
The opioid overdose-reversing medication naloxone became available without an individual prescription at all 20 CVS Pharmacy locations in Delaware, including those located inside Target stores.
Sep 2018
Behavioral Health Consortium established
March 2019
Overdose System of Care Act signed
Aug 2019
Drug Overdose Fatality Review Commission
6
Where can people get help?
Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741
Help is Here Delaware
helpisherede.com — Resources for substance use treatment and recovery.
Delaware 211
Dial 211 for information and referral to health and human services.
SAMHSA National Helpline
1-800-662-4357 — Free, confidential, 24/7 treatment referral.
Reconstruction from archived data
This data story was originally published on My Healthy Community (myhealthycommunity.dhss.delaware.gov), Delaware's public health data platform, in collaboration with Caroline Judd, MPH, Substance Use Disorder Epidemiologist, Division of Public Health.
The platform was decommissioned at the end of 2025. All data and narrative content in this reconstruction are extracted from the original source code preserved in the Wayback Machine (September 2023 capture). No data has been altered.
Reconstructed March 2026 by SDOH, LLC.