West Virginia has the highest rate of children affected by the opioid epidemic, with 54 of every 1,000 children in the state affected in 2017, according to a Nov. 13 report from United Hospital Fund and Boston Consulting Group.
Researchers examined peer-reviewed literature and conducted expert interviews to estimate the amount of children under age 18 who:
- Are living with a parent who has opioid use disorder.
- Have had a parent die from an opioid overdose.
- Have a parent in prison for a heroin-related offense.
- Are in foster care or living with relatives due to household opioid abuse.
- Have opioid use disorder or accidentally ingested an opioid.
The national rate of adolescents affected by the opioid epidemic was 28 per 1,000 children in 2017.
Here's how each state stacks up:
Note: The list includes ties and results in a numerical listing of 23.
1. West Virginia: 54 per 1,000 children affected
2. New Hampshire: 51
3. Vermont: 46
4. Kentucky: 42
5. Delaware: 41
6. Oregon: 39
- Alaska: 39
- Connecticut: 39
7. Maine: 38
8. District of Columbia: 37
- Alabama: 37
9. Rhode Island: 35
- Indiana: 35
10. Mississippi: 34
- Washington: 34
11. Pennsylvania: 33
12. New Jersey: 32
- Maryland: 32
- Missouri: 32
- Ohio: 32
13. Montana: 31
- Tennessee: 31
- Florida: 31
- Arizona: 31
- Massachusetts: 31
- Michigan: 31
14. New Mexico: 30
- Arkansas: 30
- Oklahoma: 30
- North Carolina: 30
15. Colorado: 29
- South Carolina: 29
16. New York: 28
- Wyoming: 28
17. Nevada: 27
- Virginia: 27
- North Dakota: 27
18. Wisconsin: 25
- South Dakota: 25
- Idaho: 25
- Kansas: 25
19. Hawaii: 24
- Minnesota: 24
- Iowa: 24
- Utah: 24
- Louisiana: 24
20. Georgia: 23
- Texas: 23
21. Nebraska: 22
22. Illinois: 21
23. California: 20