Where Do Prairie Dogs Actually Live in the US?
Prairie Dogs live in 12 US states and are confirmed absent from 26 more, based on 28,649 verified iNaturalist and GBIF records. This page covers every state at once instead of one near-identical page per state.
By Tim, founder of Easy Street Markets. I maintain the wildlife database and verify every animal and source myself.
The states with the strongest confirmed populations are Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and New Mexico, and 6 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Prairie Dogs have zero confirmed wild sightings in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Louisiana, or 16 other states, despite tens of thousands of nationwide observation records for the species. That is a real, checked absence, not a missing page.
A small number of states (1) have only a handful of unverified or vagrant records, too few to confirm prairie dogs as an established population there.
Confirmed states (12)
Not found (26)
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Unconfirmed (1)
Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for prairie dogs in Wisconsin, too few to confirm an established population.
Frequently asked questions
What states do prairie dogs live in?+
Prairie Dogs have confirmed wild populations in 12 US states: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Where are prairie dogs not found in the US?+
Prairie Dogs have no confirmed wild sightings in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.