Addiction statistics

Relapse is common. Recovery is more common.

Addiction is a chronic illness, and like any chronic illness it comes back. After time sober the body loses its tolerance, so a single relapse can be fatal. That's why the days after treatment need a plan and a person.

Updated October 2026. Every figure links to its source below.

The odds

40–60%

of people treated for addiction relapse, about the same as asthma or high blood pressure2

44.6M

Americans 12 and older had a substance use disorder in the past year3

11%

of them got any treatment; about 9 in 10 got none3

69,973

Americans died of a drug overdose in 20254

provisional

What changes the odds

Millions of Americans live in recovery today, and about half of them got there with help: a meeting, a treatment program, a peer who'd been there. Recovery housing and medication cut relapse and deaths sharply. A plan for the first weeks out of treatment saves lives.

72.8%

of adults who ever had a drug or alcohol problem consider themselves in recovery or recovered1

2022–2024 national survey

22.35M

American adults have resolved a significant alcohol or drug problem5

~1 in 2

got there with help: mutual-help groups (45%), treatment (28%), or recovery support services (22%)5

54% used an assisted pathway

31% vs 65%

substance use at two years for people in recovery homes, against usual care6

randomized study

~59%

lower risk of an opioid overdose death for overdose survivors on methadone7

Massachusetts; an association, from a hazard ratio of 0.41

They need help. They need you.

They need a sober place to live, a ride to the first meeting, naloxone in the house, and someone who checks in during the weeks when the risk is highest. RISEaid walks with people through it: they do the work, and we connect them with the resources to get there.

Give Volunteer or mentor Get help: addiction

Need help yourself? Call or text 888-860-RISE. In an emergency call 911; for a mental health crisis call or text 988.

Questions people ask

What is the relapse rate for addiction?

The National Institute on Drug Abuse puts relapse rates for substance use disorders at 40 to 60%, similar to hypertension and asthma (50 to 70%). Relapse means treatment needs adjusting, not that it failed.

How many people recover from addiction?

In SAMHSA's 2022–2024 national survey, 72.8% of adults who had ever had a drug or alcohol problem considered themselves in recovery or recovered. A 2017 national study estimated 22.35 million American adults have resolved a significant substance problem.

Why is overdose risk high after treatment?

After a period without using, the body loses its tolerance. If a person uses as much as before, they can easily overdose, NIDA explains. Medication for opioid use disorder is associated with much lower overdose death rates.

The other five transitions

Incarceration statistics Foster Care statistics Homelessness statistics Domestic Violence statistics Human Trafficking statistics

Sources

Figures were read on each source in October 2026. Where data is older, preliminary, from one state, or from a small study, the figure says so.

1.SAMHSA (2025). Recovery from a Drug or Alcohol Use Problem or a Mental Health Issue among Adults (NSDUH 2022–2024)
2.National Institute on Drug Abuse. Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: Treatment and Recovery
3.SAMHSA. 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, annual national report
4.CDC National Center for Health Statistics. Provisional drug overdose deaths, 2025 (May 2026 release)
5.Drug and Alcohol Dependence (Kelly et al., 2017). Prevalence and pathways of recovery from drug and alcohol problems in the United States population
6.DePaul University Center for Community Research (Jason et al.). Oxford House recovery home randomized study
7.Annals of Internal Medicine (Larochelle et al., 2018). Medication for Opioid Use Disorder After Nonfatal Opioid Overdose and Association With Mortality