Ocean County Overdose Deaths and Treatment Data, 2019–2024

How many people die of overdoses in Ocean County each year?

Ocean County recorded 204 suspected overdose deaths in 2019. The number climbed to 245 in 2020 — the peak — and held nearly level at 242 in 2021. Then it began to fall: 186 in 2022 and 168 in 2023, a 10% drop in a single year and 31% below the peak. Partial data for January through July 2024 shows 66 suspected overdose deaths.

Every one of those numbers is a person, and a family in Toms River, Brick, Lacey or Barnegat living with the loss. But the direction is real and worth saying plainly: fewer Ocean County residents died of overdoses in 2023 than in any year since 2019. Progress is real, and the window to act on it is now.

This page brings together the county's overdose, naloxone and treatment admission figures in one place, with a source for every number at the bottom of the page.

Ocean County suspected overdose deaths, 2019–2024

Are overdose deaths going down across New Jersey?

Yes. Statewide, suspected overdose deaths fell from 2,892 in 2022 to 2,564 in 2023. The first half of 2024 brought a sharper drop: 1,007 suspected deaths compared with 1,366 in the first half of 2023, a 26% decline. Nationally, U.S. overdose deaths fell almost 27% in 2024.

Ocean County's share of the state total in 2022 was 186 of 2,892 deaths, or 6.4%. The county is moving in the same direction as the state and the country — but it is still a place where overdoses happen every day.

How often do overdoses happen in Ocean County?

An Ocean County Health Department analysis of ODMAP data found the county averages 5 fatal or non-fatal overdoses per day. Most of those are survived, often because someone nearby had naloxone.

The health department's records show naloxone deployments of 752 in 2019, 891 in 2020, 880 in 2021 and 748 in 2022. Narcan was administered 677 times in Ocean County in 2023 and 301 times in January through July 2024. Every reversal is a second chance — and the most useful thing that can follow a second chance is a path into care. For every local place to get naloxone, see the Ocean County naloxone and harm reduction guide.

What is xylazine, and is it in the Ocean County drug supply?

Xylazine is a veterinary sedative that has turned up mixed into New Jersey's illicit opioid supply. According to NJ Cares, xylazine was involved in about 8% of New Jersey overdose deaths in 2021, rising to 10% in January through June 2022. In the first quarter of 2023, 45% of suspected heroin and fentanyl seizures tested in New Jersey contained xylazine, up from about one-third in 2022 — and 99% of seizures containing xylazine also contained fentanyl.

The New Jersey Department of Health reports that the majority of overdose deaths in the state involve fentanyl or its analogs, increasingly complicated by xylazine and medetomidine. That matters for treatment: withdrawal from a mixed supply can be harder to predict, which is one reason medically supervised detox is usually the first step.

Which substances bring Ocean County residents into treatment?

NJ DMHAS recorded 6,599 treatment admissions of Ocean County residents in 2022, representing 3,653 unduplicated clients. By primary drug at admission:

• Alcohol: 42% (2,786 admissions)
• Heroin: 38% (2,509)
• Other opiates: 7% (437)
• Cocaine/crack: 5% (317)
• Other drugs: 4% (235)
• Marijuana: 3% (178)
• Methamphetamine/other stimulants: 2% (128)

Alcohol — not opioids — is the single largest reason Ocean County residents enter treatment, even though opioids drive most overdose deaths. Both deserve attention.

What levels of care do Ocean County residents use?

By level of care, the 2022 admissions broke down as outpatient 23%, residential detox 21% (1,367 admissions), intensive outpatient 19%, opioid maintenance 15%, short-term residential 13% (829) and long-term residential 6% (365).

Put another way, only about one in five admissions went to short- or long-term residential care, even though detox — which is a first step, not treatment on its own — accounted for 21%. Closing that gap between detox and ongoing care is where placement matters most. Learn what residential care involves on the inpatient rehab page.

Who is entering treatment in Ocean County?

In 2022, 59% of Ocean County admissions were self-referrals — people who made the call themselves. Corrections-related referrals accounted for 14%, and the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (DUI) program for 8%.

Admissions were 66% male and 34% female. The largest age group was 35–44, at 31% of admissions, followed by 30–34 at 19%. These are working-age adults — parents, commuters, tradespeople and shore workers — not a stereotype.

Which Ocean County towns have the most treatment admissions?

How should you read the town-level admission numbers?

Raw admissions follow population: Toms River, the county seat with 95,438 residents, had the most admissions at 1,338, or 20% of the county total. The per-1,000 rate tells a different story. Seaside Heights, with 2,440 year-round residents, had 131 admissions — 53.7 per 1,000, by far the highest rate among the 15 municipalities in the state's 2022 table. Ocean Township (Waretown) followed at 21.6 per 1,000, then Little Egg Harbor at 15.6.

Lakewood, the county's most populous municipality at 135,158 residents, had the lowest rate at 2.4 per 1,000. Small barrier-island towns can show high rates partly because seasonal workers and visitors are part of the picture while the population count reflects only year-round residents.

Two cautions: an admission is not a unique person, since one person can be admitted more than once in a year, and a high rate can also reflect better access to treatment. For a town-by-town overview, start at the Ocean County addiction treatment hub.

What do these numbers mean if you are worried about someone?

Data can feel distant when the person you are worried about is down the hall. Here is what the Ocean County figures say in practical terms. First, treatment is common: thousands of admissions a year means your family is far from alone, and most of those people walked in on their own. Second, alcohol is as much a part of the local picture as opioids, so a drinking problem deserves the same seriousness as drug use. Third, detox by itself is rarely enough — the step that follows it matters most.

And finally, the trend is moving in the right direction. Fewer overdose deaths, more naloxone in more hands and new harm-reduction services in Toms River and Brick mean there are more ways in than there were a few years ago. If you are not sure where to begin, the helping a loved one guide walks through how to start the conversation.

Why is now the time to act?

Ocean County's overdose deaths have fallen by nearly a third from their peak. Naloxone is more available than ever, harm-reduction services now reach Toms River and Brick, and New Jersey's Chapter 28 law means fully insured NJ plans may not require prior authorization for the first 180 days of addiction treatment each plan year at an in-network facility, with medical necessity set by the person's own physician, psychologist or psychiatrist. Some plan types, including self-funded employer plans, are excluded; self-funded employer plans follow different rules — a placement advisor can tell you which kind you have in one call.

The progress is real, but it holds only if people move from surviving an overdose to getting care. If you or someone you love is ready to talk, placement advisors at True Pathway Center can verify insurance and connect you with licensed programs that fit. When you're ready, we're available 24/7 at (732) 527-3250.