Jun 4, 2025 - News
What opioid use disorder costs Texas
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Texas bore an estimated $187.5 billion cost from opioid use disorder in 2024, according to a comprehensive new analysis.
Why it matters: Opioid abuse is not only a public health crisis — it's an economic one.
- Opioid use disorder, defined as frequent opioid use and unsuccessful efforts to quit, affects more than 6 million people nationwide.
The big picture: Opioid use disorder cost the U.S. an estimated $4 trillion last year, per Avalere Health, which used 2017 figures to project 2024 net costs.
- The estimates include lost income, health care and criminal justice costs, and early deaths.
By the numbers: The biggest share of Texas' total cost — more than $145 billion of the $187.5 billion — reflects the intangible price paid by people struggling with addiction themselves. It's not in actual spending, but in the form of lost income, poorer health and shortened lives.
- The projected cost per opioid use disorder case in Texas is about $477,000, on the lower end nationally. (For comparison: Idaho is around $420,000 per case, while D.C. tops $2.4 million.)