Addiction Statistics in the United States

In 2024, an estimated 48.4 million Americans aged 12 and older — about one in six people — had a substance use disorder. That makes addiction more common than diabetes. Yet of the 52.6 million people who needed treatment that year, only about 1 in 5 received any. The gap between how many people are affected and how many get help is the defining story in these numbers, and it is the reason this directory exists.

The figures below come from the federal government's own surveys and death records — the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (its most recent release), the CDC's overdose mortality data, and cost research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. We have cited every number so you can check it yourself, and we update the page as new releases land.

This is the number that should define the conversation. In 2024, 52.6 million Americans needed substance use treatment. Only 10.2 million — about 1 in 5 (19.3%) — received any. The other 42.4 million, roughly 4 in 5, did not.

The reasons are rarely a lack of desire. Surveys point to the same barriers year after year: not knowing where to go, cost and insurance worries, fear of judgment, and not being ready to stop. Most of those are solvable with the right information at the right moment — which is exactly what a directory is for. Every town and city page on this site lists verified, licensed centers near a given location, with the care levels and insurance options each one accepts.

Different substances drive very different patterns of harm. The table below pairs past-year use with the number of people who developed a disorder, where federal data reports both.

Roughly half of people with a substance use disorder also live with a mental health condition in the same year — depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder and others. Treating one while ignoring the other is a recipe for relapse, which is why the field now favors integrated, dual-diagnosis care that addresses both at once. If you are searching for yourself or someone else, it is worth asking every program whether a psychiatric prescriber is on staff.

Headlines dwell on overdose and relapse, but the most important number is also the most hopeful: roughly 7 in 10 adults who ever had a substance use problem consider themselves to be recovering or fully recovered. Addiction is a treatable, chronic condition — much like diabetes or heart disease — and the tools that work are well established: counseling, medication for opioid and alcohol use disorder, peer support, and time. Recovery is not the exception. It is the norm.

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary federal source and cited at the point it appears. Prevalence and treatment figures come from SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2024, released July 2025 — the most recent full release), a nationally representative survey of Americans aged 12 and older. Overdose mortality comes from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics; 2024 figures are provisional and will be revised as records are finalized. Cost estimates come from NIDA and NIAAA. We review this page as new data is published.