Where Older Americans Face the Highest Alcohol Death Rates

A new study from Woodlands Grove Recovery Campus found alcohol-related deaths among adults 65+ are disproportionately concentrated across Western and Mountain West metros highlighting what clinicians say is an often-overlooked addiction and mental health issue among older Americans.

The study analyzes CDC WONDER alcohol-induced mortality data and U.S. Census population estimates from 2020–2024 to identify: Where are Americans aged 65+ facing the highest alcohol-related mortality risk?

Key takeaways:

Eureka-Arcata, CA had the nation’s highest five-year alcohol-induced mortality rate among adults 65+, the equivalent of 1 in every 250 senior residents, followed by Roseburg (OR), Redding (CA), Eugene (OR), and Medford (OR).
25 of the top 30 highest-rate metros were located in the West or Mountain West, California (10) and Oregon (6) account for over half.
Seattle, Portland, Riverside, Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego all showed both high death counts and elevated mortality rates.
The study found that some smaller Western communities showed disproportionately high mortality rates despite having far fewer total deaths, reinforcing that rates can reveal concentrated risk patterns that raw counts miss, as well as highlight places where support may be more difficult to find.
Alcohol misuse among older adults may be more hidden than commonly recognized, as symptoms are often mistaken for grief, chronic illness, medication complications, isolation, or “normal aging.”

Please find the data study attached as well as a table of the 119 areas and an interactive map.