Last year, Washington recorded the state's largest decline in drug overdose deaths in almost a decade, preliminary federal data shows.
Nearly 3,200 Washingtonians died from overdoses in 2024, according to early data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week. That's almost a 12% drop from the prior year, which saw about 3,600 overdose deaths. While experts say they expect these numbers to fluctuate over time, similar trends have emerged in nearly every other state across the country — an encouraging sign after years of staggering totals for fatal fentanyl use.
Overdose deaths in Washington dropped from about 3,597 in 2023 to about 3,167 last year, according to preliminary federal data.
Nationwide, overdose deaths fell about 27% between 2023 and 2024, from about 110,000 to 80,000, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. Some states, like Virginia and Wisconsin, reported declines of more than 35%, CDC data shows.
Deaths involving opioids still account for the vast majority of overdoses.
About 80,000 people died from overdoses in the U.S. last year, reflecting a 27% decline from 2023, according to preliminary federal data. Deaths involving opioids make up the majority of fatal overdoses.
In King County, the most populous in Washington, epidemiologists also tracked significant decreases, according to public health officials. Last year, there were 1,042 overdose deaths in the county, down about 22% from 2023, according to data from Public Health — Seattle & King County.
"We're really happy to see this," said Brad Finegood, who leads the agency's opioid and overdose response. "We've done so much work in our county and our state to address overdoses. People aren't dying at the same rate."
Snohomish County reported an almost 10% decrease, from 336 fatal drug overdoses in 2023 to 303 last year.
The CDC data includes both "reported" and "predicted" counts of overdose deaths, and lags about four months due to delays between time of death and analysis, according to the agency. To account for the delay and present more accurate figures, the CDC includes states' predicted death counts, which it calculates with methodology based on how complete the preliminary data is.
Final death tolls for 2024 will likely change as more reporting comes in, local and federal health officials said.
While most states saw a decrease in overdose deaths last year, South Dakota and Nevada reported slight increases, between 2% and 4%.
Meanwhile, almost every state in the Northeast and Southeast similarly experienced far fewer fatal overdoses. Overdose deaths in New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania all fell more than 30%. In West Virginia, there were about 43% fewer fatal overdoses, falling from about 1,400 to 800 deaths.
Percentage declines were more modest in the Northwest, ranging from about a 7% decrease in Alaska to 13% in Idaho — though Oregon recorded a 22% drop.
A variety of factors likely contributed to the decline, but expanded access to naloxone and addiction treatment over the past year have made a huge difference locally, Finegood said. King County started to see early signs of a decrease last summer, following a boost in efforts to distribute medication for opioid use disorder in more accessible settings, he said.
Among available resources: free vending machines, packed with fentanyl test strips and naloxone, and a 24/7 tele-buprenorphine hotline (206-289-0287) launched in partnership with the University of Washington's Department of Emergency Medicine.
In 2024, the hotline received more than 2,600 calls from over 700 patients. In all, Public Health — Seattle & King County distributed almost 120,000 naloxone kits last year.
"That's a huge part of the story," Finegood said. At the same time, other factors, such as the amount of drugs in the area, are harder for public health teams to monitor, he added.
"We don't know how much drugs are in the community at a given time," he said. "It's also hard to tell the potency of any drugs," including counterfeit pills, he said.
And although public health teams welcome any news of declines in overdose deaths, local data shows some movement in the opposite direction at the end of 2024 and over the last few months.
In the third quarter of 2024, King County recorded 203 fatal overdoses. That number jumped to 250 in the last quarter of the year, and has continued to grow so far in 2025. In the first quarter of this year, the county saw about 290 overdose deaths, mostly involving fentanyl, according to public health data.
"This points to the need to continue to advance public health approaches to preventing overdose across our communities," Public Health — Seattle & King County spokesperson Sharon Bogan said Friday in a written statement.
State Health Officer Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett this week echoed the need to keep medication and addiction treatment accessible.
"It's too early to say that we're seeing a sustained decrease," Kwan-Gett said in a statement. "I certainly hope we are, but I think we have to continue being vigilant."
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