Report: California’s Young Adult Mortality Rate Higher Than Pre-Pandemic Levels

The young adult mortality rate in California remains significantly higher than the pre-pandemic rate, with officials attributing the majority of the spike in deaths to drug overdoses.

Calling it a “worrisome trend,” the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) dropped a report on Tuesday revealing that residents aged 15 to 44 died at a rate of 128 per 100,000 people in 2023 — a nearly 30 percent jump from the 99 per 100,000 in 2019.

Fatal drug overdoses accounted for 60 percent of the recent spike, and alcohol‑induced deaths and vehicle crashes accounted for ten percent each. 

Gun violence, illnesses, and other causes made up smaller portions of the recorded deaths in that age range, the LAO said. 

While California has “long had a lower age 15 to 44 mortality rate than the rest of the United States,” the report explained that the state’s young adult mortality rate has failed to fall as quickly from its peak in 2021 compared to the rest of the nation. 

The report went on to say that one of the “major factors” attributed to California’s youth and young adult deaths is the “growing presence of fentanyl.”

“Due to fentanyl’s low cost, high potency, and ubiquity in drug markets, people often intentionally or unintentionally use it along with other drugs,” LAO researchers found. “As a result, many fentanyl overdose deaths involve other drugs as well. One of the most common pairings consists of fentanyl and a psychostimulant, typically methamphetamine … this pairing of drugs has played a large and growing role in the fentanyl overdose crisis.”

Arguing that the alarming mortality rate “warrants substantial attention from state leaders and researchers,” the LAO said that officials should look for opportunities to address the problem in “health policy and public safety policy.”