Opioid settlement payments benefitted some rural counties more than urban ones

Pennsylvania counties received more than $85 million in opioid settlement payments for 2022.

Payment amounts varied based on the county's role in opioid litigation and a formula that accounted for the impact of the opioid epidemic in an area. In some cases, local district attorneys received their own payments from the trust based on their role in litigation.

The above map does not include other agencies, such as municipalities, that received payments. These payments were allocated for 2022, but at least one county didn't receive the payments until early 2023. To determine county payments per resident, the analysis included both payments specifically for district attorney offices, as well as the larger pool of money that went to county commissioners, executives, or councils.
Chart: Ed Mahon and Matt Dempsey / Spotlight PA analysisSource: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and Pennsylvania Misuse Addiction and Abatement TrustGet the dataCreated with Datawrapper