Where Do Bears Actually Live in the US?
Bears live in 37 US states and are confirmed absent from 3 more, based on 42,907 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 Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California and Colorado, and 31 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Bears have zero confirmed wild sightings in Delaware, Hawaii and North Dakota, 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 (7) have only a handful of unverified or vagrant records, too few to confirm bears as an established population there.
Confirmed states (37)
- bears in Alabama
- bears in Alaska
- bears in Arizona
- bears in Arkansas
- bears in California
- bears in Colorado
- bears in Connecticut
- bears in Florida
- bears in Georgia
- bears in Idaho
- bears in Kentucky
- bears in Louisiana
- bears in Maine
- bears in Maryland
- bears in Massachusetts
- bears in Michigan
- bears in Minnesota
- bears in Missouri
- bears in Montana
- bears in New Mexico
- bears in New York
- bears in North Carolina
- bears in Ohio
- bears in Oklahoma
- bears in Oregon
- bears in Pennsylvania
- bears in Rhode Island
- bears in South Carolina
- bears in Tennessee
- bears in Texas
- bears in Utah
- bears in Vermont
- bears in Virginia
- bears in Washington
- bears in West Virginia
- bears in Wisconsin
- bears in Wyoming
Not found (3)
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- North Dakota
Unconfirmed (7)
Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for bears in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota, too few to confirm an established population.
Gear to see them
Frequently asked questions
What states do bears live in?+
Bears have confirmed wild populations in 37 US states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Where are bears not found in the US?+
Bears have no confirmed wild sightings in Delaware, Hawaii and North Dakota.
Full bears guides by state