Alcohol Continues to Lead U.S. Treatment Admissions, Followed by Methamphetamine and Synthetic Opioids
A recent report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides a comprehensive look at substance use disorder (SUD) treatment across the United States, including who is entering treatment, what substances are most commonly involved, and what services are being utilized.
Drawing on data from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), the annual report captures admissions and discharges among individuals ages 12 and older receiving treatment at facilities licensed or certified by Single State Agencies (SSAs). The report includes episode-level data—meaning each record reflects a treatment episode rather than a unique individual, as some people may have multiple admissions within a year.
TEDS also reports substance use trends, demographics, treatment types and duration, and key outcomes such as housing stability, employment, criminal justice involvement, social support, and abstinence. The dataset presents aggregate data from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2024, which includes more than 7.32 million admissions and 7.18 million discharges, offering a broader view of trends over time.
This 2026 report presents data on admission and discharge episodes from substance use treatment services in 2024, which includes over 1.58 million admissions and 1.28 million discharges.
Key Findings
Alcohol remains the leading substance for treatment admissions. In 2024, 36.5% of admissions were for alcohol use, followed by methamphetamine (14.2%), other opiates/synthetics (13.8%), heroin (11.0%), marijuana/hashish use (8.8%), and cocaine (7.4%).
Outpatient care was the most common treatment setting. Admission rates were highest in non-intensive outpatient services (40.7%), followed by residential detoxification services (12.5%), intensive outpatient services (11.4%), medications for addiction treatment (MAT) outpatient services (10.3%), short-term residential rehabilitation services (10.2%), and long-term residential rehabilitation services (7.5%).
Additional Findings
Admission Referrals: 50.4% of admissions were referred to treatment by self or friends and family, and 24.6% were by criminal justice/DUI
Age: 63.3% of admissions and 63.7% of discharges were among individuals aged 21-44 years.
Gender: 65.6% of admissions and 65.4% of discharges were male, while females accounted for 34.4% of admissions and 34.6% of discharges.
Employment Status: 74.5% of admissions were unemployed or not in the labor force.
Arrests: 91.4% of admissions had no arrests in the past 30 days, 6.9% had one arrest, and 1.7% had two or more arrests.
Criminal Justice Referrals: 37.2% of admissions were referred through probation or parole, 15.0% through state or federal court, 14.6% through other recognized legal entities, 11.8% through DUI/DWI, 7.4% through other criminal justice referrals, 7.3% through formal adjudication processes, 3.4% through diversionary programs, and 3.3% through prison.
Self-Help Group Attendance: 75.5% of admissions reported no attendance at self-help groups in the past 30 days, 9.4% reported attending self-help groups 8-30 times, 5.9% reported attending self-help groups 1-3 times, and 5.3% reported some attendance in the past month, however, the frequency was unknown.
State Concentration: Ten states accounted for 64.9% of admissions to treatment services: New York (11.7%), Arizona (11.0%), Maryland (9.5%), California (7.7%), New Jersey (5.1), Minnesota (4.2%), Michigan (4.1%), Oregon (4.0%), Colorado (3.8%), and Massachusetts (3.8%).
Reasons for Discharge: 47.8% completed treatment, 24.9% dropped out, 17.0% were transferred to further treatment, 4.5% were terminated, 4.3% were discharged for other reasons, 1.3% were incarcerated, and 0.3% died.
To see how these trends have evolved over time, see our previous summary of SAMHSA’s 2025 TEDS report.
The Report
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2026). Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) 2024: Admissions to and Discharges from Substance Use Treatment Services Reported by Single State Agencies. Publication No. PEP26-07-013. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/data-we-collect/teds-treatment-episode-data-set/annual-report/2024
