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Data Source

National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Substate Data Releases

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) produces substate estimates for a limited number of substance use and mental health indicators. They are based on three years of combined data and cover over 400 regions across the country.

Substate estimates are based on a small area estimation (SAE) methodology, in which state-level NSDUH data are combined with county and sub-county level census data from the state. Several methodological documents are released with these estimates. The Overview and Summary of Substate Region Estimation Methodology explains the methodological details. The NSDUH Substate Region Definitions document include tables and maps defining the substate regions. A Guide to Merging Definitions is also available for merging with external data sources.

You can find the latest available substate estimates in a number of formats: data tables, reports, and interactive maps. They are generally released every other year, although the 2018-2020 estimates are not available due to the impact of the Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on survey methodology.

Substate Result Data Tables

Three collections of tables provide substate estimates for substance use and mental health:

  • NSDUH Substate Region Estimates: Tables provide estimates for substates. Accompanying P-Value Tables let you see if the differences in substate estimates within and across states are statistically significant, or if changes over time are statistically significant.
  • NSDUH Substate Region Estimates by Age Group provide estimates for age groups: 12 to 17, 18 to 25, 26 or older, and 18 or older.
  • NSDUH Substate Region Estimates Categorized into Seven Groups by Age Group provide estimates by age, categorized into seven groups from lowest to highest estimate.

Interactive NSDUH Substate Estimates

The Interactive NSDUH Substate Estimates is an online data tool that displays the prevalence of mental health or substance use issues within different geographic areas using model-based estimates. Use this tool to compare between areas, look at how the outcome has changed over time, or compare the data to related issues.

NSDUH National Maps of Prevalence Estimates by Substate Region

The NSDUH National Maps of Prevalence Estimates by Substate Region display substance use and mental health estimates from the NSDUH Substate Region Estimates Categorized Into Seven Groups by Age in the form of colored maps of the United States overall and by age group.

Shapefile

The NSDUH Substate Region Shapefile is a file that can be used by geospatial software to create maps. It includes geographic boundaries, prevalence estimates, map group values, and the upper and lower bounds found in the map legends.

Available Years