Drug Overdose Statistics New Hampshire

New Hampshire continues to struggle with a serious drug overdose crisis. This fact sheet provides an overview of the latest statistics and trends on drug overdoses in the state.
Key Takeaways:
- One person dies of a drug overdose almost every day in New Hampshire.
- New Hampshire is among the top three states with the highest drug overdose death rates, along with West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
- In 2022, New Hampshire’s drug overdose mortality rate was 36 per 100,000, with 486 fatalities.
- New Hampshire ranks second in the nation for opioid-related overdose death rates.
- In 2023, there were 385 opioid overdose deaths in New Hampshire. Opioid overdoses constituted 31% of all unintentional injury deaths in New Hampshire in 2023.
- Drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire decreased by 12% from 2022 to 2023, the first decrease in four years.
- In 2021, opioid overdoses made up 87% of New Hampshire’s total drug overdose fatalities, higher than the national rate of 75%.
- Males accounted for nearly 70% of total drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2023.
- In 2022, males of all ages had a higher opioid overdose death rate (43.9 per 100,000) compared to females (16.9 per 100,000).
- Males aged 25-29 had the highest rate of opioid overdose hospital visits in 2021, with 1,193 emergency department visits.
- In 2021, males had nearly three times the rate of opioid-overdose hospital visits compared to females, with 962 cases versus 393.
- Belknap County had the highest rate of suspected drug overdose deaths in 2023, with 3.87 deaths per 10,000 people.
- Fentanyl was the most commonly abused drug in New Hampshire in 2023, with 1,577 overdose deaths attributed to it.
- Between 2017 and 2020, fentanyl-related overdose deaths in New Hampshire increased by 1590%.
General Insights
Here are general statistics about drug overdoses in New Hampshire:
- According to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, one person dies of a drug overdose nearly every day in New Hampshire.
- The Centers for Disease Control reports that New Hampshire is one of the top three states with the highest drug overdose deaths, alongside West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control, New Hampshire’s drug overdose mortality rate was 36 per 100,000 population in 2022, with 486 lives lost to drug overdoses that year.
- Data from the New Hampshire Governor Commission Action Plan shows that New Hampshire’s drug overdose death rate was 31.7 per 100,000 population in 2021, with 436 drug overdose deaths that year.
- According to the New Hampshire Information & Analysis Center (NHIAC), there were 430 drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2023. This is a drop of 12% from 2022, the first decrease in the last four years.
- Fentanyl was the most commonly abused drug in New Hampshire in 2023, with 1577 drug overdose deaths attributed to fentanyl that year.
- In New Hampshire, Belknap County had the highest rate of suspected drug overdose deaths in 2023, with 3.87 deaths per 10,000 people. Hillsborough County is close behind with a rate of 3.79 deaths per 10,000 people.
- The age group most affected by drug overdose deaths in 2023 was 30-39 years old, accounting for nearly 32% of all fatalities.
- The NHIAC reports that there were approximately 4308 fatal and non-fatal drug overdose incidents reported to emergency medical services in New Hampshire. This is a decrease from 5046 incidents in 2022.
- According to the NHIAC, in March 2023, 56% of those experiencing a drug overdose or abuse incident were male.
- In March 2023, Hillsborough County had the highest per capita rate of drug overdose or abuse incidents, with 2.40 incidents per 10,000 people, followed by Strafford County at 1.67 incidents per 10,000 people.
- According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), the drug overdose death rate in New Hampshire has surged dramatically, rising from 15.3 per 100,000 residents in 2011 to 32.3 per 100,000 residents in 2021.
- The Vera Institute reports that between 2000 and 2018, New Hampshire’s overdose death rate surged from 3 per 100,000 to 36 per 100,000, marking an increase of 953%.
Opioid Overdoses in New Hampshire
Here’s what you need to know about opioid overdoses in New Hampshire:
- According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), New Hampshire ranks second in the nation for opioid-related overdose death rates.
- According to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, opioid overdoses constituted 31% of all unintentional injury deaths in New Hampshire in 2023, accounting for 53% of unintentional deaths among individuals aged 18 to 34.
- According to NIDA, New Hampshire ranked in the top five states for opioid-related fatalities in 2017, with 424 overdose deaths linked to opioids.
- In 2023, there were 811 overdose deaths attributed to cocaine in New Hampshire and 63 attributed to heroin.
- The KFF reports that New Hampshire recorded 382 opioid overdose deaths in 2021, making up 87% of the state’s total drug overdose fatalities. This was higher than the U.S. rate of 75%.
- New Hampshire’s death rate from opioid overdoses rose significantly from 11.5 per 100,000 in 2011 to 28.4 per 100,000 in 2021.
- In 2022, males of all ages in New Hampshire had a much higher opioid overdose death rate (43.9 per 100,000) compared to women of all ages (16.9 per 100,000), according to the New Hampshire DHHS.
- In New Hampshire, men aged 35 to 39 had the highest rate of drug overdose deaths involving opioids in 2022, with 211 cases that year.
- In 2021, males in New Hampshire had a nearly three times higher rate of opioid-overdose hospital visits than females, with 962 cases compared to 393.
- In 2021, males aged 25 to 29 had the highest rate of opioid overdose hospital visits among all genders and age groups, with 1193 cases of opioid overdose emergency department visits.
- Between 2018 and 2022, Coos County had the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths involving females among all other New Hampshire regions, at 30.8 per 100,000 population.
- Between 2018 and 2022, Manchester had the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths involving males among all other New Hampshire regions, with a rate of 84.0 per 100,000 population.
- From October 2019 to October 2020, there were 359 fatalities in New Hampshire attributed to opioid overdoses. Opioid overdose deaths saw a 1.7% increase in the state between 2018 and 2020.
- In Manchester, New Hampshire, there were 697 opioid overdose deaths in 2023, a slight decrease from 701 deaths in 2022.
- Coos County had the highest rate of opioid-related emergency department visits in New Hampshire, with 2.54 visits per 10,000 residents in January 2023. Belknap County followed closely behind, with a rate of 2.08 visits per 10,000 residents.
- According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were involved in 80% of drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2017.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl-related overdose deaths in New Hampshire have risen by a staggering 1590% between 2017 and 2020, and have increased by over 50% since 2014.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is There an Opiate Crisis in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire’s opioid overdose rates are significantly higher than national rates, and it is recognized as one of the top three states with synthetic opioid deaths in the U.S.
What Is the Most Commonly Abused Drug in New Hampshire?
Meth, cocaine, and opioids are some of the most commonly abused drugs in New Hampshire. Authorities have also pointed to MDMA (known as molly or ecstasy) as a drug of growing concern in the state. Learn more in our post on New Hampshire addiction statistics.
Data Sources
- https://www.kff.org/statedata/mental-health-and-substance-use-state-fact-sheets/new-hampshire/#:~:text=As%20shown%20in%20the%20figure%20below%2C%20drug%20overdose%20death%20rates,per%20100%2C000%20in%20the%20U.S.
- https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents2/dmi-march2024.pdf
- https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/bdas-dmi-oct-2020.pdf
- https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/bdas-dmi-august-2019.pdf
- https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/drug_poisoning_mortality/drug_poisoning.htm
- https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents2/dmi-january2023.pdf
- https://cdn.wildapricot.com/191152/resources/Documents/Opioid%20Crisis%20FACTSheet_FINAL.pdf?version=1452616482000&Policy=eyJTdGF0ZW1lbnQiOiBbeyJSZXNvdXJjZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vY2RuLndpbGRhcHJpY290LmNvbS8xOTExNTIvcmVzb3VyY2VzL0RvY3VtZW50cy9PcGlvaWQlMjBDcmlzaXMlMjBGQUNUU2hlZXRfRklOQUwucGRmP3ZlcnNpb249MTQ1MjYxNjQ4MjAwMC
- https://www.rivier.edu/academics/blog-posts/a-look-at-the-new-hampshire-opioid-crisis/
- https://www.vera.org/publications/overdose-deaths-and-jail-incarceration/nh
- https://nida.nih.gov/sites/default/files/21974-new-hampshire-opioid-summary_0.pdf
- https://nida.nih.gov/sites/default/files/new_hampshire_2018.pdf
- https://nonopioidchoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NewHampshire.pdf
- https://bipartisanpolicy.org/download/?file=/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/New-Hampshire-Case-Study.pdf
- https://wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov/wisdom/dashboard.html?category=substance-misuse&topic=opioid-misuse&subtopic=opioid-crisis&indicator=opioid-crisis-overview
- https://wisdom.dhhs.nh.gov/wisdom/dashboard.html?topic=opioid-misuse&subtopic=misuse-hospitalizations-and-deaths&indicator=opioid-overdose-hospital-visits-(emergency-dept.)