Seven states are still seeing increases in drug overdose deaths, even as much of the country begins to show signs of improvement in what remains the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history.
Where those increases are happening, however, has changed.
Earlier in the fentanyl-driven wave, which accelerated around 2013, many of the hardest-hit states were on the East Coast, including Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, West Virginia and Rhode Island. Other states such as Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio and Tennessee also saw significant impacts.
But the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a different pattern emerging.
From February 2025 to February 2026, New Mexico recorded a 27% increase in overdose deaths, the largest jump in the country. Colorado saw a 14% increase during that same period, followed by South Dakota (12%), Arizona (8%), North Dakota (7%), Minnesota (2%) and Montana (1%).
The data suggests the nation’s drug death burden may be shifting west.
A recent report from The New York Times found Arizona’s drug death rate is now nearly twice the national average. Researchers say the shift may be tied in part to changes in the illicit drug supply.
For years, Arizona’s opioid market was dominated by counterfeit pills made to resemble oxycodone. But the Times reports that that began to change about two years ago, as powdered fentanyl, often more potent and harder to dose, became more common. Health officials in neighboring New Mexico say they are seeing a similar transition.
Even as some states report declines, experts caution that the national decrease in overdose deaths is not fully understood.
“Epidemic curves can only go up for so long,” Caleb Banta-Green, a research professor at the University of Washington, told The New York Times.
Still, some researchers warn against viewing recent improvements as a sign the crisis is under control.
In a recent episode of the Grieving Out Loud podcast, Stanford addiction researcher Dr. Wayne Kepner noted that roughly 72,000 overdose deaths per year is far from a success.
That number still exceeds the total number of Americans who died in the Vietnam War.
“Ten years ago, when we reached 50,000, it was a crisis,” Kepner said. “Now people would love to see 50,000. That’s tragedy.”
Kepner argues that not only are too many people still dying, but that complacency could reverse recent progress.
