Overdose deaths in King County subsidized housing rose 68% since 2021; beds rose 25%

What this chart asks

Did deaths at King County's subsidized housing sites grow faster than the housing and than deaths elsewhere in the county?

Why it is shown this way

• Horizontal bars from zero compare percent changes of different measures on one scale.
• The two measures the finding rests on, housing-site overdose deaths and housing beds, are highlighted; the rest are context.

Chart annotations

These markers provide relevant context for interpreting the chart. Their timing or position does not, by itself, establish causation.

No change

Threshold: 0

Why this is marked: Marks the line between rising and falling.

Data and accessibility

The chart's data and images are in the strip under it.

Dataset kcme-housing-site-deaths, analysis change-2021-2025

Sources

This chart draws on the sources of the dataset versions it visualizes.

Deaths the King County Medical Examiner investigated at housing service sites, 2021-2026, by manner of death

1. King County Medical Examiner's Office, KCMEO Annual Report dashboard: Characteristics of Deaths Investigated by KCMEO (last updated October 29, 2026) 2025 deaths at housing service sites by manner of death (Decedent Characteristics tab, PresumedLivingSituation = Housing service site)

   Retrieved November 7, 2026. Public government data. Counts are public government statistics; FactHub redistributes the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. The county Medical Examiner's own public dashboard of the deaths it investigates; its notes say the deaths are not representative of all county deaths and that it does not take all natural deaths.

2. Public Health - Seattle & King County, Methods Report: Documentation and Analysis of Fatal Overdose Data Definition of the housing service site category

   Retrieved November 7, 2026. Public government document. Linked; FactHub repeats only the definition it read.

   Reliability: Government. The county health department's description of how its death data assign a presumed living situation; it defines housing service site as permanent supportive housing, income-restricted units and recovery housing.

3. King County Medical Examiner's Office, KCMEO Annual Report dashboard: Overview and Notes tabs (last updated October 29, 2026) All deaths the Medical Examiner investigated countywide by year, and COVID-19 surveillance counts

   Retrieved November 11, 2026. Public government data. Counts are public government statistics; FactHub redistributes the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. The Medical Examiner's own dashboard. The Overview tab gives all deaths it investigated by year; the Notes tab gives how many of those were COVID-19 surveillance cases and says it does not take all natural deaths.

4. Public Health - Seattle & King County, King County fatal overdose dashboard Overdose deaths by year, countywide and at housing service sites

   Retrieved November 6, 2026. Public government data. Counts are public government statistics; FactHub redistributes the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. The county's dashboard of overdose deaths investigated by the Medical Examiner, by presumed living situation. The county funds much of the housing in the housing service site category.

5. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2007-2025 Housing Inventory Count by CoC Permanent supportive housing and other permanent housing beds for Seattle/King County (WA-500)

   Retrieved October 10, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Public domain.

   Reliability: Government. A one-night inventory of beds reported each year by the local homelessness system to HUD; it counts beds, not occupants, and excludes most income-restricted and recovery housing.

Limitations

• Beds are a one-night HUD count of permanent supportive and other permanent housing; they are not residents and leave out most income-restricted and recovery housing.
• Other investigated deaths excludes 620 COVID-19 surveillance cases in 2021 and the housing site deaths themselves.
• Descriptive comparison of two years; it does not show why deaths changed.
• The worst-case bar holds the housing sites' 2021 share of overdose deaths among housed people (housing sites plus private homes) fixed; it shows how much of the rise a change in how investigators code living situations could explain, not a measured count.