Essex County Received $10.6 Million in Opioid Settlements Despite Highest State Death Toll
Local governments in Essex County received roughly $9,800 per overdose death between 2022 and 2024, a figure far below the statewide average.
By Naomi Tesfaye ·
Residents in Essex County lost more neighbors to overdose than any other community in New Jersey between 2022 and 2024, yet their local governments received some of the least settlement money per death in the state.
Federal mortality data show that overdose deaths among state residents dropped from 2,985 in 2022 to 1,992 in 2024. Essex County recorded 1,087 of those deaths over the same period. That figure represented about 14% of the statewide total. In 2024 alone, the county logged 268 deaths, which remained the highest count among all New Jersey counties.
The county was one of only two in the state where overdose rates from 2022 to 2024 exceeded the rates recorded from 2018 to 2021. Atlantic County was the other. Despite this sustained high level of mortality, local governments in Essex received approximately $10.6 million in national opioid settlement payments from 2022 through 2024, according to the KFF Health News payout tracker.
This amount accounted for about 7% of the total settlement funds distributed to New Jersey counties and towns during that window. When calculated per death, Essex received roughly $9,800. The statewide average stood at about $18,900 per death. Bergen County local governments received approximately $29,000 per death. Morris, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties each received more than $28,000 per death. Atlantic County, which had the state's highest overdose death rate of about 61 per 100,000 residents annually, received about $13,700 per death.
County officials in Essex stated that they developed a framework and recommendations for the funds but had not finalized specific spending allocations by year. In its report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, the county reported no expenditures of settlement funds. The government received about $3.2 million since 2022. A December 2025 review by the National Center for Advocacy and Recovery found that counties across New Jersey still held roughly $70 million in unspent settlement funds.
The distribution of the money follows a fixed formula. Half of New Jersey's settlement money, which will total at least $1 billion through 2038, goes directly to 262 counties and municipalities. These shares are based on a national formula that weighed opioid shipments, overdose deaths, and opioid use disorder. The percentages are not recalculated annually as death rates change. The state government controls the other half of the funds.
As of June 30, 2026, the state government had received about $246 million in settlement funds. State officials committed much of that money to harm reduction centers and housing for people in recovery. However, the state's latest settlement report answered "No" when asked if it had completed a risk assessment for demographic or geographic impact. The report noted that the state plans to conduct such an assessment in the future.
An analysis of 546 counties in 38 states, including New Jersey, found that counties allocated more settlement money per resident did not experience faster declines in overdose deaths through 2024. The data suggests that dollars alone do not close the gap. The location of the funds and the speed of their deployment appear to be key factors. Residents in high-mortality areas like Essex are waiting for that deployment to begin.
