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How many people have died depends on whether we look at one year or at the entire period for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been coding fentanyl-type deaths (the ICD-10 category “synthetic opioids other than methadone,” which today is almost entirely illicit fentanyl and its analogs).
Deaths in the most recent year on record
• 2022 (final NCHS data): 73,654 Americans died of an overdose involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (i.e., fentanyl) — about 70 % of all U.S. overdose deaths that year [1][2].
Cumulative deaths since national tracking began
• If the yearly CDC counts from 1999 (the first year the category was used) through 2022 are added together, the total comes to roughly 370,000 U.S. deaths attributable to fentanyl-type synthetic opioids [2].
• Provisional figures for 2023 (12-months ending November 2023) indicate another 75,000 deaths, which would bring the running total to well over 400,000 Americans lost to fentanyl since 1999 [1].
In short, fentanyl is now killing more than 70,000 Americans every year, and the cumulative death toll since 1999 has surpassed 370,000 (and is on track to top 400,000 once 2023 data are finalized).
Sources
[1] NCHS Data Brief No. 522 (CDC) – final 2022 death counts and provisional 2023 update. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db522.htm
• Shows 73,654 deaths involving synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) in 2022 and provides the most recent provisional 12-month total for 2023.
[2] National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Drug Overdose Death Rates.” https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates
• Lists the annual number of U.S. deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone for every year from 1999 onward, allowing the cumulative total (~370 k) to be calculated.
[3] USAFacts, “Are fentanyl overdose deaths rising in the US?” https://usafacts.org/articles/are-fentanyl-overdose-deaths-rising-in-the-us/
• Provides context on the growth of fentanyl deaths and notes that the substance is now involved in the vast majority of opioid overdoses.