I love Ohio. I grew up here and have lived here my entire life. One of the reasons I’ve always liked it so much is because it feels wholesome. It truly is the heart of the United States and, in my ways, represents the country as a whole.

But sometimes I feel like things have changed – at least in some areas. What I’m referring to is the growing drug problem. In the past few years, I’ve heard more about about drug use and overdoses than ever before. So, when this list by ArrestRecords.com came out, sadly, it was not that surprising. It’s a list of the 10 cities in the United States with the highest overdose rate.

Ohio, as a state, saw an 18.3% increase in overdose deaths. To make the list, a city has to have at least 400,000 people, and here are the three in Ohio that unfortunately made it.

Coming in at #1 on the list is Dayton, Ohio.

Flickr / Paul Hindemith There were 270 overdose deaths in Dayton.

Cincinnati even made the top 10 at #6.

Flickr / Doug Kerr With 264 overdose deaths, it was Cincinnati’s most fatal drug year.

Toledo has the 10th most overdoses of any city in the USA.

Flickr/C Hanchey Toledo has a smaller population, but the overdose death rate still made the top 10. There were 122 deaths.

There’s a heroin and pain killer epidemic across the nation, but it has hit the heartland really hard. In fact, the last year of data shows it had the most fatal drug overdoses in history.

Flickr / Paul Hindemith

There were 270 overdose deaths in Dayton.

Flickr / Doug Kerr

With 264 overdose deaths, it was Cincinnati’s most fatal drug year.

Flickr/C Hanchey

Toledo has a smaller population, but the overdose death rate still made the top 10. There were 122 deaths.

The full list is here:

  1. Dayton
  2. Baltimore, MD.
  3. Philadelphia, PA
  4. New Bedford, MA
  5. Birmingham, AL
  6. Cincinnati
  7. Warren, MI
  8. Knoxville, TN
  9. Albuquerque, NM
  10. Toledo

“It’s really sad and shocking to see how this opioid epidemic is destroying lives across the country”, said Jennifer McDonald, an ArrestRecords.com analyst. “Communities large and small are being torn apart, and this map and data really shows how bad it is.”

Have you noticed the epidemic in your area?

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