Drug & Alcohol Rehab For Hartford City, Indiana

Hartford City, Indiana is located at the intersection of Highways 26 and 3, in the heart of Blackford County. Serving as the county seat of Blackford County, Hartford City is a relatively small municipality that has undergone major transformations since its founding in 1838. Originally a small farming community, Hartford City played a major role in the Indiana Gas Boom of the late 19th Century. Agriculture was complemented, though not fully replaced by manufacturing, which attracted workers, highways, railroads, and a long period of economic prosperity.

In more recent years, the city government tried to hold on to manufacturing subsidies and growth, but a lack of housing led many younger residents to move to larger cities. As a result, the population has been in a steady decline, and the economy has not been as prosperous as of late. According to the latest census data, Hartford City has a population of 5,974, having contracted by roughly 13.3% since the year 2000.

The median household income in Hartford City is just $36,868, which is only slightly over half of the median household income across the state of Indiana. Even worse, the poverty rate in Hartford City is an astounding 22.7%, compared to just 12.3% statewide. [1] The declining economy has only exacerbated the ongoing substance abuse crisis in Hartford City and the rest of Blackford County. Based on the most recent data, meth and marijuana are the two most commonly abused substances in Hartford City, Indiana. The city also sees the abuse of other addictive substances, such as alcohol, prescription opioids, cocaine, and heroin.

Continue reading to learn about substance abuse and addiction in Hartford City, Indiana. And remember, if you or a loved one are fighting addiction in Hartford City or the surrounding area, you can always reach out to Addiction Rehab Centers for help.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction in Hartford City

Hartford City is a small city, but it’s the largest city by far in Blackford County. The county is among the smallest in the state, with a population of just 11,893. This means that Hartford City accounts for half the county’s population, but despite its size, Hartford City relies on county authorities to collect its substance abuse data. The consequence of this process is that substance abuse cases in other nearby towns and cities, like Montpelier and Shamrock Lakes, are combined with cases originating in Hartford City.

However, it’s important to note that Blackford County is sparsely populated, with many ghost towns and relatively few incorporated cities and municipalities. Hartford City accounts for the majority of substance abuse cases in the county, with some experts estimating that the city accounts for nearly 70% of all Blackford County substance abuse cases. As a result, evaluating county data still provides a very accurate picture of the substance abuse crisis in Hartford City.

Due to the small population, Blackford County sees relatively few overdose deaths each year. However, it’s still important to examine fatal overdoses, particularly in relation to non-fatal overdoses (more on that later). The table below shows how deaths involving all drugs (including alcohol) have changed in the county over the past few years. [2]

*Data for 2023 and 2024 is provisional and may be subject to change. The last date that data was collected was 09/04/2024.

Like many smaller cities in Indiana, Hartford City saw some of its highest fatality figures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The worst year for substance abuse deaths in Blackford County was 2020 with 8 deaths. The second worst year was 2016 with 6 deaths. The only year to record no deaths was 2019. Fortunately, despite the sudden increase in deaths during the pandemic, fatalities have shown a consistent downward trend since 2016. While the data for 2023 and 2024 is still provisional, both years have recorded less than 5 deaths each, which may indicate that the downward trend in fatal overdoses will continue.

In small population areas, non-fatal overdoses are far more useful for evaluating substance abuse crises. This is because non-fatal overdoses are, generally speaking, far more common. They are also easier to calculate, as they can be collected via hospital discharges and emergency department visits involving addictive substances. The table below shows the relevant overdose data in Blackford County between 2016 and 2024: [3]

*Data for 2023 and 2024 is provisional and may be subject to change. The last date that data was collected was 09/04/2024.

As you can see from the table above, Blackford County records a much higher number of non-fatal overdoses each year (when compared to fatal overdoses). Nonetheless, non-fatal overdoses have still seen a general decline in the region, much like fatal overdoses. When looking at the two statistics side by side, there were a total of 47 overdoses (fatal plus non-fatal) in Blackford County in 2016. This meant that 12.7% of overdoses were fatal that year. By 2022 (the most recent year with finalized data), there were 41 total overdoses, 4 (9.7%) of which were fatal.

This indicates that fatality rates have generally declined as well. However, specific years have shown that this reduction in fatalities has not been steady. In 2020, for example, there were 39 total overdoses, 8 (25.8%) of which were fatal. However, this year can largely be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw an increase in fatal overdoses throughout most of Indiana.

Types of Substance Abuse in Hartford City

In 2023 and 2024, meth and marijuana were the most abused substances in Blackford County. In most of Indiana, alcohol is the most heavily abused substance, but it has been surpassed by other substances in certain regions — like meth and marijuana — as more recent data comes to light. We gathered this data based on arrests and re-arrests involving addictive substances. While this doesn’t account for all substance abuse cases, it does provide an overview of substance abuse and how abuse of different substances has shifted in Hartford City and the rest of the county over the years.

Here is the latest data from Indiana’s Next Level Recovery program showing the arrests involving different kinds of addictive substances between 2016 and 2024 in Blackford County:

*Statistics for 2023 and 2024 are still preliminary and do not account for the entire calendar year(s).

Between 2016 and 2022, alcohol arrests declined slightly in Blackford County. Over the same time period, marijuana arrests nearly doubled and meth arrests more than quadrupled. It’s also important to take note of the relatively high number of opioid arrests for such a small population. Many larger counties report a relatively low number of opioid arrests, while the numbers for Blackford County are extremely high when taking its population into consideration. The county has also recorded varying numbers of drug paraphernalia arrests from year to year, and these are most often linked to meth and heroin abuse.