National Household Survey on Drug Abuse Substance Use in the 10 Largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas
October 17, 2003

Substance Use in the 10 Largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas

In Brief

  • Among the 10 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the United States, the rate of past month illicit drug use was higher than the national average in the Boston, Detroit, and Chicago MSAs during the combined years of 1999 to 2001

  • Among the 10 largest MSAs, the Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia MSAs had higher rates of binge drinking than the national average

  • Among the 10 largest MSAs, only the Detroit MSA had a rate of past month cigarette use that was higher than the national average
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The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), predecessor to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), asks persons aged 12 or older to report on illicit drug use, binge alcohol use, and cigarette use in the month prior to the survey interview. Illicit drugs refer to marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, or prescription-type drugs used nonmedically. Binge alcohol use is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion (i.e., at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) on at least 1 day in the past 30 days.1

This report presents comparisons of the prevalence of illicit drug use, binge alcohol use, and cigarette use among the 10 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) using the most recent definitions issued by the Office of Management and Budget.2,3 All estimates of substance use in this report are annual averages based on combined data from the 1999, 2000, and 2001 NHSDAs.

Figure 1. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Past Month Use of Any Illicit Drug,* by MSA: Annual Averages Based on 1999–2001 NHSDAs

Figure 2. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Past Month Binge Alcohol Use,** by MSA: Annual Averages Based on 1999–2001 NHSDAs
Figure 1. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Past Month Use of Any Illicit Drug,* by MSA: Annual Averages Based on 1999-2001 NHSDAs Figure 2. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Past Month Binge Alcohol Use,** by MSA: Annual Averages Based on 1999-2001 NHSDAs

The 10 Largest MSAs
The 10 largest MSAs in the United States based on 2000 population totals are presented in Table 1.4 More than one fourth (26 percent) of the total U.S. population of 281 million lived in the 10 largest MSAs in 2000.

Illicit Drug Use
In the Nation as a whole, an annual average of 6.5 percent of persons aged 12 or older reported past month illicit drug use during the combined years of 1999 to 2001 (Figure 1). Among the 10 largest MSAs, the Boston, Detroit, and Chicago MSAs had rates of past month illicit drug use that were higher than the rate for the Nation as a whole. This rate was especially high in the Boston MSA (12 percent), where 29 percent of young adults aged 18 to 25 reported past month illicit drug use (data not shown). The rates of past month illicit drug use were lower than the national average in the New York, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, and Washington, DC, MSAs.

Figure 3. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Past Month Cigarette Use, by MSA: Annual Averages Based on 1999–2001 NHSDAs

Table 1. 2000 Population (in Millions) and NHSDA Sample Sizes (Combined 1999–2001) of the 10 Largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States
Figure 3. Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Past Month Cigarette Use, by MSA: Annual Averages Based on 1999-2001 NHSDAs Table 1. 2000 Population (in Millions) and NHSDA Sample Sizes (Combined 1999-2001) of the 10 Largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States

Binge Alcohol Use
In the Nation as a whole, an annual average of 21 percent of persons aged 12 or older reported past month binge alcohol use during the combined years of 1999 to 2001 (Figure 2). Among the 10 largest MSAs, the Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia MSAs all had higher rates than the Nation as a whole. The rates of binge drinking were lower than the national average in the New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, DC, MSAs.

Cigarette Use
In the Nation as a whole, an annual average of 25 percent of persons aged 12 or older reported past month cigarette use during the combined years of 1999 to 2001 (Figure 3). Among the 10 largest MSAs, only Detroit (28 percent) had a rate of past month cigarette use that was higher than the national average. The New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, DC, MSAs all had lower rates of past month cigarette use than the Nation as a whole.

End Notes
  1. A "drink" is defined as a can or bottle of beer, a glass of wine or a wine cooler, a shot of liquor, or a mixed drink containing liquor.


  2. An MSA is a city or urbanized area with 50,000 or more inhabitants, together with surrounding communities that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that city or urbanized area. U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2003, June 12). About metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. Retrieved July 30, 2003, from http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/aboutmetro.html


  3. Office of Management and Budget. (2003, June 6). OMB Bulletin No. 03–04: Revised definitions of metropolitan statistical areas, new definitions of micropolitan statistical areas and combined statistical areas, and guidance on uses of the statistical definitions of these areas. Retrieved July 30, 2003, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/b03–04.html


  4. Populations for these MSAs were computed by summing the 2000 populations of the counties that comprise these MSAs. The components of these MSAs and the 2000 populations from the counties that comprise these MSAs were retrieved from the following:

    U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2003, July 10). Metropolitan statistical areas and components, 2003, with codes. Retrieved on July 29, 2003, from http://www.census.gov//population/estimates/metro-city/03msa.txt

    U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2003, April 4). Population estimates by county: County population estimates: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2002. Retrieved on July 29, 2003, from http://eire.census.gov/popest/data/counties/tables/CO–EST2002/CO–EST2002–01.php

Table and Figure Notes
* Illicit drugs refer to marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, or prescription-type drugs used nonmedically.

** Binge drinking is drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion (i.e., at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) on at least 1 day in the past 30 days.

Sources (Table 1): U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000; SAMHSA 1999, 2000, and 2001 NHSDAs.

Source (all figures): SAMHSA 1999, 2000, and 2001 NHSDAs.
The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) is an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In 2002, this survey was changed to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The 1999, 2000, and 2001 data are based on information obtained from more than 207,000 persons aged 12 or older (about 70,000 each year). The survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of the population through face-to-face interviews at their place of residence.

The NHSDA Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS), SAMHSA, and by RTI in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Information and data for this issue are based on the following publication and statistics:

Office of Applied Studies. (2000). Summary of findings from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (DHHS Publication No. SMA 00–3466, NHSDA Series H–12). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Office of Applied Studies. (2001). Summary of findings from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (DHHS Publication No. SMA 01–3549, NHSDA Series H–13). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Office of Applied Studies. (2002). Results from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Volume I. Summary of national findings (DHHS Publication No. SMA 02–3758, NHSDA Series H–17). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Also available on-line: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov.

Additional tables available upon request.

The NHSDA Report (predecessor to The NSDUH Report) is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are available online: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated.

This page was last updated on December 30, 2008.