Over and above the lives it has destroyed, the opioid epidemic cost Virginia’s economy about $3.5 billion in 2020, according to data published by the Virginia Department of Health. The major costs calculated include lost labor, health care and crime.
Mapping the costs by locality, the database shows per-capita costs ranging from $132 in Falls Church and $152 in Highland County to $971 in Petersburg and $954 in Richmond. One trend that stands out is how the highest cost of crime is concentrated in the Richmond region and counties to the southwest, and to a lesser degree in the state’s Tidewater region. The maps below show the breakdown by locality and cost category. –JAB
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