Data from the National Vital Statistics System, Mortality

• The rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine was stable between 2009 and 2013, then nearly tripled from 1.6 per 100,000 in 2013 to 4.5 in 2018.
• In 2018, rates were highest for adults aged 35–44 and lowest for those aged 65 and over.
• In 2018, the rate for the non-Hispanic black population (9.0) was nearly twice that for the non-Hispanic white (4.6) and three times that for the Hispanic (3.0) populations.
• From 2014 through 2018, the rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine with opioids increased at a faster pace than the rate of cocaine deaths without opioids.
• In 2018, the rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine was highest in urban counties in the Northeast and lowest in rural counties in the West.

Deaths from drug overdose continue to contribute to mortality in the United States. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine has increased in recent years (1–3). This Data Brief provides additional information on drug overdose deaths involving cocaine by examining trends in rates by sex, age group, race and Hispanic origin, and by concurrent involvement of opioids from 2009 through 2018. Rates by urbanicity and census region in 2018 are also examined.