New York City Drug Overdose Statistics — 2024

Last reviewed: 2026-10-29

New York City recorded 2,192 unintentional drug overdose deaths in 2024, a 28% decrease from 3,056 deaths in 2023. The Health Department calls the size of this decrease unprecedented, after a nearly ten-year period of rising overdose deaths. Even so, about six New Yorkers died from overdose every day in 2024, and significant racial and geographic inequities persist. Source: NYC DOHMH Epi Data Brief No. 150 (October 2025).

NYC Overdose Deaths by Year

New York City overdose deaths rose sharply over the past decade as illicit fentanyl entered the drug supply. NYC recorded 638 overdose deaths in 2000 and 3,070 at the 2022 peak, more than four times as many, before falling to 3,056 in 2023 and 2,192 in 2024, according to the NYC Health Department. The 2024 decline mirrors a national trend: the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics estimated 80,391 U.S. overdose deaths in 2024, a decrease of 26.9% from 2023.

NYC Overdose Deaths by Borough

Overdose deaths decreased in all five boroughs in 2024. Bronx residents continued to have the highest overdose death rate, more than twice the rate of Manhattan residents, who had the second-highest rate (60.1 vs. 26.8 per 100,000). Staten Island residents saw the largest decline, with the rate falling 49%, while Bronx residents saw the smallest, 24%. The neighborhoods with the highest rates in 2024 were Hunts Point-Mott Haven, Highbridge-Morrisania, Crotona-Tremont and Fordham-Bronx Park (all in the Bronx) and East Harlem (Manhattan). Source: NYC DOHMH Epi Data Brief No. 150.

Dominant Substances in NYC Overdose Deaths

Fentanyl was involved in 73% of NYC overdose deaths in 2024, down from 80% in 2023. Xylazine — the veterinary sedative that cannot be reversed by naloxone — was present in 21% of 2024 deaths. Cocaine was involved in 57% of deaths, and Bronx residents had the highest rate of cocaine-involved overdose death of any borough. Alcohol was involved in 35% of deaths and benzodiazepines in 17%, most often in combination with opioids. Amphetamines, including methamphetamine, were involved in 9% (206 deaths). Source: NYC Health Department data tables.

Racial and Demographic Disparities

Overdose deaths fell 29% among both Black and Latino New Yorkers in 2024, the first decrease among Black New Yorkers since 2018, but both groups still died of overdose at about twice the rate of white New Yorkers. This disparity reflects decades of structural inequity in access to treatment, housing stability, and harm reduction resources. More than three-quarters of overdose deaths in NYC occurred among males in 2024. Black New Yorkers ages 55 to 64 had the highest overdose death rate of any group. Source: NYC DOHMH Epi Data Brief No. 150.

Where Do Overdoses Happen in NYC?

About 72% of New York City overdose deaths in 2024 happened in a residence, mostly private homes, not on the street or in public spaces, according to the NYC Health Department. This means many overdoses happen where no one with naloxone is nearby in the critical window. Fentanyl test strips, naloxone distribution, and overdose prevention centers are harm reduction strategies designed to reach people who use alone. OnPoint NYC runs the city's two overdose prevention centers, in East Harlem and Washington Heights, according to OnPoint NYC; they serve an important role but reach only a fraction of those at risk.