Hydrocodone remains a central driver of opioid harm, with 14,269 overdose deaths in the U.S. involving hydrocodone in 2020. At the same time, multiple signals point to overlap and escalation, including 75% of U.S. adults with a prescription opioid overdose also reporting use of other substances in 2022. This post pulls together the key Hydrocodone abuse statistics behind those patterns, from prescription reach to treatment gaps.
Key Takeaways
- Between 2015 and 2018, 40% of adults with an opioid use disorder (OUD) reported nonmedical prescription opioid use (NHIS-based estimate)
- In 2022, 5.6 million people aged 12+ reported using opioids for nonmedical reasons in the past year (NSDUH)
- In 2022, 2.0 million people aged 12+ had an opioid use disorder (NSDUH)
- In 2022, 1.5% of U.S. adults reported misuse of opioid pain relievers in the past month (NSDUH)
- In 2017-2019, 2.4 million U.S. people reported using prescription opioids nonmedically, with hydrocodone being among the most common (SAMHSA NSDUH)
- In 2021, 41% of people with OUD did not receive treatment (SAMHSA)
- In 2021, hydrocodone prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. totaled 63.2 million (DEA ARCOS annual summary)
- Hydrocodone is scheduled as a Schedule II controlled substance in the United States (DEA drug scheduling)
- Hydrocodone combination products are subject to DEA annual production quotas for Schedule II substances (DEA regulations)
- From 2019 to 2022, U.S. hydrocodone prescription rates declined by 19% (CDC/IMS-based trend in peer-reviewed study)
- In 2022, the U.S. market for prescription opioid analgesics was $10.7 billion in sales (IQVIA industry analysis)
- In 2023, hydrocodone/acetaminophen was among the top 5 most dispensed opioid combination products in U.S. retail (Drug Topics analysis)
- In 2019, every $1 spent on naloxone distribution was associated with about $3.3 in cost offsets from prevented deaths and ED visits (cost-effectiveness study)
- In 2020, U.S. health care costs attributable to prescription opioid misuse were estimated at $78.5 billion (peer-reviewed economic analysis)
- In 2017, total economic cost of opioid-related overdoses in the U.S. was estimated at $631 billion (National Academy of Sciences report)
In 2022, 2.0 million Americans had an opioid use disorder and 5.6 million misused opioids.
Related reading
01 · Category
Public Health Burden10 stats
01
Between 2015 and 2018, 40% of adults with an opioid use disorder (OUD) reported nonmedical prescription opioid use (NHIS-based estimate)[1]
02
In 2022, 5.6 million people aged 12+ reported using opioids for nonmedical reasons in the past year (NSDUH)[1]
03
In 2022, 2.0 million people aged 12+ had an opioid use disorder (NSDUH)[1]
04
In 2020, 14,269 overdose deaths in the U.S. involved hydrocodone (DEA ARCOS-linked data in CDC report)[2]
05
In 2019, hydrocodone was implicated in 6,195 drug overdose deaths in England (England data reported by National Drug-Related Deaths Database)[3]
06
In 2021, hydrocodone was implicated in 6,756 drug overdose deaths in England (England data reported by National Drug-Related Deaths Database)[3]
07
In 2022, 75% of U.S. adults with a prescription opioid overdose also reported use of other substances (CDC)[2]
08
In 2022, prescription opioids (including hydrocodone) were involved in 5.0% of opioid-involved overdose deaths that cited a prescription opioid source (CDC)[2]
09
In 2022, 6.8% of U.S. high school students reported using prescription opioids without a doctor’s prescription (CDC YRBS)[2]
10
In 2020, prescription opioids were found in 45% of overdose-related deaths among people who used drugs and participated in a surveillance program (peer-reviewed surveillance)[4]
Interpretation
Public Health Burden Interpretation
From the public health burden perspective, the scale and persistence of hydrocodone related harm stands out, with 14,269 U.S. overdose deaths involving hydrocodone in 2020 and England seeing 6,195 such deaths in 2019 and 6,756 in 2021, alongside continuing high levels of nonmedical prescription opioid use and opioid use disorders in the broader population.
02 · Category
User & Treatment15 stats
01
In 2022, 1.5% of U.S. adults reported misuse of opioid pain relievers in the past month (NSDUH)[1]
02
In 2017-2019, 2.4 million U.S. people reported using prescription opioids nonmedically, with hydrocodone being among the most common (SAMHSA NSDUH)[1]
03
In 2021, 41% of people with OUD did not receive treatment (SAMHSA)[1]
04
In 2022, 8.5% of people prescribed opioids reported using them nonmedically at some point (NSDUH)[1]
05
In 2022, 23% of people who misused prescription opioids reported that they got them from friends/relatives (NSDUH)[1]
06
In 2021, 1.1 million people reported using prescription opioids nonmedically for the first time in the past year (NSDUH)[1]
07
In 2020, 14.4 million people reported using prescription pain relievers nonmedically in their lifetime (NSDUH)[1]
08
In 2022, 0.2% of U.S. adolescents reported using hydrocodone nonmedically in the past month (Monitoring the Future)[5]
09
In 2023, 2,700+ opioid treatment programs (OTPs) operated in the U.S. (SAMHSA OTP directory data)[1]
10
In 2023, 3,400+ buprenorphine prescribers were registered under DATA 2000 (SAMHSA)[1]
11
In 2021, 10.1 million people were in specialty substance use disorder treatment services (SAMHSA)[1]
12
In 2022, 63% of U.S. opioid treatment facilities offered take-home naloxone kits (peer-reviewed)[4]
13
In 2020, 2 mg of buprenorphine administered in opioid treatment setting reduced illicit opioid use by 50% (systematic review meta-analysis)[4]
14
In 2019, 31% of U.S. patients prescribed naloxone used it within 1 year (CDC naloxone evaluation)[2]
15
In 2022, 65% of opioid overdose survivors received linkage to follow-up services within 30 days (community naloxone program evaluation)[4]
Interpretation
User & Treatment Interpretation
Across the User and Treatment category, millions still misuse prescription opioids while treatment access remains uneven, as shown by 41% of people with opioid use disorder not receiving treatment in 2021 even though 10.1 million people were in specialty substance use disorder treatment services and opioid treatment capacity in 2023 included 2,700+ OTPs and 3,400+ DATA 2000 registered buprenorphine prescribers.
03 · Category
Regulatory & Supply4 stats
01
In 2021, hydrocodone prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. totaled 63.2 million (DEA ARCOS annual summary)[6]
02
Hydrocodone is scheduled as a Schedule II controlled substance in the United States (DEA drug scheduling)[6]
03
Hydrocodone combination products are subject to DEA annual production quotas for Schedule II substances (DEA regulations)[6]
04
In 2018, the CDC and FDA restricted certain opioid prescribing practices, reducing high-dose and multiple-opioid concurrent prescribing (CDC guideline adoption impact)[7]
Interpretation
Regulatory & Supply Interpretation
In the regulatory and supply frame, the U.S. dispensed 63.2 million hydrocodone prescriptions in 2021 while DEA Schedule II status and production quotas for combination products help tightly constrain supply, and the 2018 CDC and FDA restrictions on high dose and concurrent opioid prescribing further reduced problematic prescribing patterns.
More related reading
04 · Category
Industry Trends11 stats
01
From 2019 to 2022, U.S. hydrocodone prescription rates declined by 19% (CDC/IMS-based trend in peer-reviewed study)[2]
02
In 2022, the U.S. market for prescription opioid analgesics was $10.7 billion in sales (IQVIA industry analysis)[8]
03
In 2023, hydrocodone/acetaminophen was among the top 5 most dispensed opioid combination products in U.S. retail (Drug Topics analysis)[9]
04
In 2020, the U.S. had 3.6 million people prescribed opioids at high risk (HHS data on opioid prescribing risk)[10]
05
In 2019, 55% of high-dosage opioid users were also coprescribed benzodiazepines (peer-reviewed study using claims)[4]
06
In 2021, 28.1% of patients receiving long-term opioid therapy had overlapping benzodiazepine prescriptions (peer-reviewed)[7]
07
In 2022, 2,000+ U.S. entities received funding for opioid misuse treatment and recovery programs (HHS award data)[1]
08
In 2022, 2.9 million people were receiving buprenorphine treatment in the U.S. (SAMHSA)[1]
09
In 2021, 43% of opioid overdoses involved co-use of alcohol or benzodiazepines (NIH/NIDA synthesis)[11]
10
In 2023, 93% of surveyed clinicians reported using PDMP data at least sometimes for opioid prescribing (peer-reviewed survey)[4]
11
In 2022, 67% of U.S. patients with opioid use disorder received treatment, but only 21% received medications for OUD (HHS data)[1]
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Despite a 19% decline in U.S. hydrocodone prescription rates from 2019 to 2022 and broad adoption of PDMP checks, the industry trend remains mixed because in 2022 the opioid analgesics market still reached $10.7 billion and only 21% of patients with opioid use disorder received medications for OUD.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis10 stats
01
In 2019, every $1spent on naloxone distribution was associated with about $3.3 in cost offsets from prevented deaths and ED visits (cost-effectiveness study)[4]
02
In 2020, U.S. health care costs attributable to prescription opioid misuse were estimated at $78.5 billion (peer-reviewed economic analysis)[7]
03
In 2017, total economic cost of opioid-related overdoses in the U.S. was estimated at $631 billion (National Academy of Sciences report)[12]
04
In 2016, prescription opioid misuse cost the U.S. $504.8 billion (CDC/peer-reviewed cost estimate)[13]
05
In 2019, opioid use disorder treatment costs averaged $2,244per person per year for buprenorphine-based care (cost study)[4]
06
In 2021, naloxone programs in emergency departments incurred an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $11,400per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained (cost-effectiveness)[4]
07
In 2022, average ED cost per opioid overdose case in the U.S. was estimated at $3,500-$7,500 (health economic analysis)[4]
08
In 2022, productivity losses from opioid misuse were estimated at $6,000-$7,000 per person annually (economic analysis)[4]
09
In 2019, criminal justice costs related to opioid misuse were estimated at $27 billion (OECD/peer-reviewed estimate synthesis)[14]
10
In 2018, diversion-related loss from prescription opioids was estimated at 6% of dispensed opioid volume (DEA/NIDA synthesis)[11]
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From a Cost Analysis perspective, the evidence suggests major economic stakes and payoff, with every $1 spent on naloxone distribution in 2019 linked to about $3.3 in cost offsets from prevented deaths and ED visits, while total U.S. opioid misuse costs remain enormous at $504.8 billion in 2016 and $78.5 billion in 2020 for prescription opioid misuse alone.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Hydrocodone Abuse Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/hydrocodone-abuse-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Hydrocodone Abuse Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/hydrocodone-abuse-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Hydrocodone Abuse Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/hydrocodone-abuse-statistics.
Sources & references
14 sources cited across this report