See how the opioid crisis has impacted Appalachia

The University of Chicago’s NORC recently debuted an interactive map that breaks down the rate of opioid overdose deaths in Appalachia, in the process cutting to the core of the opioid crisis that’s enveloped the region in recent years.

In Appalachia, counties with higher median household incomes have been less affected by overdoses. Via NORC’s Overdose Mapping Tool

The map allows you to see how socioeconomic factors correlate with overdose deaths by county. Appalachian counties with high poverty and unemployment rates often also have high overdose rates. Additionally, high-overdose counties tend to have low rates of college attendance but high rates of disabilities. These factors are especially prevalent in a stretch of counties running from West Virginia, through Kentucky, and into Tennessee.

Opioid overdoses have clustered in counties where disability rates are high. Via NORC’s Overdose Mapping Tool

For more on the impact of opiates outside of Appalachia, read Paul Blest’s report on the opioid crisis in Delaware.

Power

Delaware’s opioid crisis

“It is perhaps the defining feature of someone my age and from my state to have a friend, sibling, or cousin who has died from opioid addiction.”

See how the opioid crisis has impacted Appalachia

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