IN OTHER NEWS – Georgia recently ranked in the top 10 states with the best drug and alcohol addiction treatment facilities, according to a new study.

Release:

• California was found to have the highest percentage of drug and alcohol treatment facilities rated 4.5 stars and above 
• Texas and Florida ranked second and third, respectively  
• Minnesota ranked last with just 18% of the state’s rehab clinics rated over 4.5

A new study has revealed the US states with the best drug and alcohol addiction treatment facilities, with California topping the list. 

The research, carried out by addiction recovery resource, Addiction Treatment Magazine, used Google data to analyze the number of facilities in each state and calculated a percentage of those with a rating of 4.5 and above. 

Rank	State	Percentage of centers with a 4.5*+ rating
1	California	76.92
2	Texas	66.67
3	Florida & Indiana	60.83
4	Kentucky	59.32
5	Massachusetts	57.85
6	Tennessee	57.02
7	Alabama	55.56
8	New Jersey	55.46
9	Ohio	53.85
10	Georgia	51.75

California ranks in first place, with 90 of its 117 rehab clinics listed on Google having a rating of 4.5 stars and above, equating to 76.92%, which is the most by a significant margin of 10.25%. Overall, the addiction rate amongst all adults in the state’s population is said to be 9%, which is lower than the country’s national average of 14.7%.  

Texas follows in second place, with 66.67% of addiction treatment centers rated 4.5 stars or above. This works out at 80 of its 120 clinics and 0.39 per 100,000 people, servicing a state with a reported addiction rate of 12.6% of the population.  

Two states share third place, with Florida and Indiana each having 60.83% of their rehab clinics above the rating threshold. They also both have 120 treatment facilities statewide, with 73 of them being rated 4.5 stars or above.  

Kentucky places fourth, with 59.32% of the state’s 118 rehab clinics listed on Google in the 4.5 star and above bracket. A population of over 4.5 million means this equates to 2.61 per capita, one of the highest compared to the other ranking states.  

Massachusetts rounds out the top five with 70 (57.85%) of its 121 drug and alcohol treatment centers scoring a rating of 4.5 or higher on Google, equaling to one facility above the threshold per 100,000 citizens.   

Close behind is Tennessee, with 57.02% of its facilities having a rating of 4.5 and above, this being 69 out of 121. Despite being one of the only three dry states in the country, the alcohol addiction rate is reported to be one in 20 adults.  

Neighboring state Alabama is next, with 18 listed rehab establishments, meaning there are 0.35 per 100,000 people. 10 of those are above 4.5 stars, equaling 55.56%, which has to serve a state with a population of over 5.1 million.  

New Jersey ranks marginally behind as 55.46% of its clinics scored above the threshold, just 0.1% less than seventh-place Alabama. With 119 centers in total, there are 1.28 per 100,000 of the state’s population.  

Ohio places ninth, having 53.85% (63) of 117 facilities in the state scoring a 4.5 or above. 2021’s figures from the state’s Department of Health statistics show the state as having close to 5,400 drug-related deaths, which was the seventh highest across the nation. 

Georgia completes the top 10 with 59 of its 114 addiction treatment clinics in the highly rated bracket. This gives a percentage figure of 51.75%, the last state to have a figure above 50%, with all others scoring below. 

A spokesperson for Addiction Treatment Magazine commented on the findings: “It’s interesting to see the vast differences in quality of facilities from the top of the list to the bottom. The gap between first place California and tenth place Georgia for instance is over 25%, which is quite large considering both are in the upper echelons of the list.” 

“With all of the states ranking outside of the top 10 having under 50% of their facilities rated less than the threshold, it would suggest improvement is needed to give those facing addiction the care that is needed.”