How Bad is Colorado’s Drug Problem Compared to Other States?

When it comes to hard drugs and fatal overdoses, Colorado has a pretty bad problem. However, there are other states, one of which borders the Centennial State, in which it is much worse.

How Bad is Colorado’s Drug Problem in 2025?

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Colorado has a mortality rate of 30.6 per 100,000 people as a direct result of drug overdoses. In addition, there have been 1,872 drug-related deaths in Colorado so far in 2025 alone.

Which Neighboring States Have Lower Drug-Related Mortality Rates than Colorado?

Four of the seven states that border Colorado had lower drug-related mortality rates than Colorado in 2025. The CDC reports that Wyoming’s drug-related mortality rate in 2025 is 23.7, in Kansas, the figure drops to 22.8, in Utah, the rate is 21.4, and the drug-related mortality rate in Nebraska in 2025 is only 9.

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Wyoming has experienced 135 drug-related deaths in 2025, Kansas has experienced 653, Utah has experienced 693, and Nebraska has reported 172 drug-related deaths so far this year.

Which Neighboring States Have Higher Drug-Related Mortality Rates than Colorado?

In Oklahoma, the drug-related mortality rate is 32.4 in 2025, with 1,278 drug-related deaths reported this year. Arizona has a drug-related mortality rate of 36.1, with 2,624 reported deaths this year, and New Mexico has the highest drug-related mortality rate when it comes to states that border Colorado, with a figure of 48.9 per 100,000 people and 993 deaths this year.

Other states with a higher drug-related mortality rate than Colorado include Washington, Oregon, Louisiana, Alaska, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Vermont, Maine, Delaware, and West Virginia, which is the state with the highest drug-related mortality rate in 2025 at 81.9 per 100,000 people.

Check out the full report from the CDC here.