Where Do Mountain Lions Actually Live in the US?
Mountain Lions live in 15 US states and are confirmed absent from 12 more, based on 11,617 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, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho and Montana, and 9 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Mountain Lions have zero confirmed wild sightings in Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and North Dakota, or 2 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 (22) have only a handful of unverified or vagrant records, too few to confirm mountain lions as an established population there.
Confirmed states (15)
- mountain lions in Arizona
- mountain lions in California
- mountain lions in Colorado
- mountain lions in Florida
- mountain lions in Idaho
- mountain lions in Montana
- mountain lions in Nebraska
- mountain lions in Nevada
- mountain lions in New York
- mountain lions in Oregon
- mountain lions in South Dakota
- mountain lions in Texas
- mountain lions in Utah
- mountain lions in Washington
- mountain lions in Wyoming
Not found (12)
- Alabama
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
Unconfirmed (22)
Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for mountain lions in Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, too few to confirm an established population.
Frequently asked questions
What states do mountain lions live in?+
Mountain Lions have confirmed wild populations in 15 US states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Where are mountain lions not found in the US?+
Mountain Lions have no confirmed wild sightings in Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.