States with the most expensive drugs

 The U.S. spends the most on pharmaceuticals, in both total and per capita, of any country in the world. The prices paid for a given prescription, however, can vary wildly between and even within markets nationwide.

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By: Staff

Texas, California and New York are home to some of the nation’s top hospitals, and many of them are academic medical centers or specialized cancer research centers. That means they’re more likely to use costly experimental drugs, which drives up total prescription charges.

Population size can also affect total prescription charges within a state. In larger patient populations, providers need to write more prescriptions, meaning providers in large, populous states are more likely to have higher pharmaceutical charges than those in less populous states.

Nonetheless, payers forked over the most money for prescription drugs per capita in North Dakota., closely followed by Louisiana, according to Definitive Healthcare. Both states’ figures are more than 10 times that of Maine, the lowest state on this list.

 

Note: Data for Utah was not available. 

 

State

Total Prescription Charges

Population

Drug charges per capita

1

North Dakota

$761,125,451

779,261

$977

2

Louisiana

$4,473,505,451

4,590,241

$975

3

Arkansas

$2,647,439,647

3,045,637

$869

4

West Virginia

$1,440,207,416

1,775,156

$811

5

Kentucky

$3,317,254,416

4,512,310

$735

6

Mississippi

$1,998,426,493

2,940,057

$680

7

Montana

$702,619,437

1,122,867

$626

8

Idaho

$1,075,276,874

1,939,033

$555

9

North Carolina

$5,808,267,312

10,698,973

$543

10

Missouri

$3,218,784,444

6,177,957

$521

11

Texas

$15,296,874,840

30,029,572

$509

12

Minnesota

$2,851,241,351

5,717,184

$499

13

Tennessee

$3,477,966,886

7,051,339

$493

14

Alabama

$2,373,850,787

5,074,296

$468

15

Wyoming

$268,078,403

581,381

$461

16

Ohio

$5,243,465,726

11,756,058

$446

17

Michigan

$4,052,091,681

10,034,113

$404

18

Washington

$2,972,389,009

7,785,786

$382

19

Kansas

$1,118,612,169

2,937,150

$381

20

Pennsylvania

$4,904,703,760

12,972,008

$378

21

Iowa

$1,198,832,749

3,200,517

$375

22

Oklahoma

$1,503,752,134

4,019,800

$374

23

New Hampshire

$501,737,785

1,395,231

$360

24

Georgia

$3,809,371,686

10,912,876

$349

25

South Carolina

$1,836,182,988

5,282,634

$348

26

Wisconsin

$2,040,658,994

5,892,539

$346

27

New York

$6,798,356,500

19,677,151

$345

28

Nebraska

$671,577,797

1,967,923

$341

29

Vermont

$212,211,475

647,064

$328

30

Nevada

$1,022,473,032

3,177,772

$322

31

Massachusetts

$2,172,800,006

6,981,974

$311

32

Alaska

$226,700,385

733,583

$309

33

South Dakota

$277,057,763

909,824

$305

34

Colorado

$1,710,138,091

5,839,926

$293

35

New Jersey

$2,701,597,303

9,261,699

$292

36

Oregon

$1,194,354,681

4,240,137

$282

37

New Mexico

$595,225,947

2,113,344

$282

38

Virginia

$2,267,730,242

8,683,619

$261

39

Delaware

$261,607,430

1,018,396

$257

40

California

$9,951,025,118

39,029,342

$255

41

Illinois

$3,200,037,741

12,582,032

$254

42

Maryland

$1,545,773,980

6,164,660

$251

43

Florida

$5,371,434,832

22,244,823

$241

44

Indiana

$1,645,380,370

6,833,037

$241

45

Rhode Island

$259,583,443

1,093,734

$237

46

Hawaii

$331,796,743

1,440,196

$230

47

Arizona

$1,498,567,035

7,359,197

$204

48

Connecticut

$671,367,574

3,626,205

$185

49

Maine

$133,053,466

1,385,340

$96
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