New Mexico ranks as the state with the highest drug use and addiction burden, while Utah ranks lowest overall, according to an April 29 ranking from WalletHub.
The analysis compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 20 key metrics, based on factors such as drug use rates, law enforcement metrics, and drug health issues including oversdose deaths per capita and share of adults who used illicit drugs in the past month.
WalletHub calculated a weighted average across these metrics to determine each state’s overall score, with the No. 1 state reflecting the most significant drug problem based on the data analyzed.
Here are the 50 states and the District of Columbia ranked by drug use and addiction burden:
- New Mexico: 60.78
- Arkansas: 53.42
- Alaska: 52.91
- Nevada: 52.85
- Missouri: 51.95
- West Virginia: 51.47
- Colorado: 49.24
- District of Columbia: 47.20
- Oklahoma: 46.53
- Mississippi: 46.25
- Wyoming: 46.00
- Maine: 45.98
- Montana: 45.91
- Louisiana: 45.38
- Vermont: 45.22
- Washington: 43.64
- Michigan: 43.25
- Oregon: 43.08
- South Carolina: 42.87
- Alabama: 42.32
- Rhode Island: 41.99
- North Carolina: 41.35
- Kentucky: 41.16
- New York: 41.04
- Georgia: 40.98
- Delaware: 40.16
- Idaho: 39.59
- Texas: 39.14
- Tennessee: 39.05
- Illinois: 38.87
- California: 38.84
- North Dakota: 38.79
- Indiana: 38.35
- South Dakota: 37.94
- Arizona: 37.84
- Pennsylvania: 37.58
- Wisconsin: 37.55
- Massachusetts: 37.47
- Kansas: 37.36
- New Hampshire: 36.25
- New Jersey: 34.67
- Nebraska: 34.16
- Connecticut: 33.22
- Hawaii: 31.63
- Ohio: 31.28
- Virginia: 30.82
- Iowa: 29.34
- Maryland: 28.82
- Minnesota: 28.51
- Florida: 28.10
- Utah: 22.48
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