Even as most Massachusetts communities saw a decline in opioid-related overdose deaths for the first time in two decades, rates for Black men and reported deaths in the state’s most rural stretches increased.

The state Department of Public Health released the overdose numbers for 2023 Wednesday, with a 10% decline in overall deaths from 2022 to 2023. The biggest decrease in deaths was seen among white men; the rate declined 16%.

“This is a snapshot in time,” said Dr. Robbie Goldstein, commissioner of the state’s Department of Public Health, which released the report. The trend has continued through the first quarter of the new year, with 507 deaths reported so far, down from 557 during the same three months in 2023.

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