Where Do Rattlesnakes Actually Live in the US?

Rattlesnakes live in 43 US states and are confirmed absent from 4 more, based on 138,759 verified iNaturalist and GBIF records. This page covers every state at once instead of one near-identical page per state.

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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, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado and Connecticut, and 37 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.

Rattlesnakes have zero confirmed wild sightings in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii and Rhode Island, 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 (3) have only a handful of unverified or vagrant records, too few to confirm rattlesnakes as an established population there.

Confirmed states (43)

Not found (4)

  • Alaska
  • Delaware
  • Hawaii
  • Rhode Island

Unconfirmed (3)

Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for rattlesnakes in Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, too few to confirm an established population.

Frequently asked questions

What states do rattlesnakes live in?+

Rattlesnakes have confirmed wild populations in 43 US states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Where are rattlesnakes not found in the US?+

Rattlesnakes have no confirmed wild sightings in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii and Rhode Island.