Where Do Bison Actually Live in the US?
Bison live in 21 US states and are confirmed absent from 17 more, based on 27,512 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 Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida and Illinois, and 15 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Bison have zero confirmed wild sightings in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey and North Carolina, or 7 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 (11) have only a handful of unverified or vagrant records, too few to confirm bison as an established population there.
Confirmed states (21)
- bison in Alaska
- bison in Arizona
- bison in California
- bison in Colorado
- bison in Florida
- bison in Illinois
- bison in Indiana
- bison in Iowa
- bison in Kansas
- bison in Kentucky
- bison in Missouri
- bison in Montana
- bison in Nebraska
- bison in New Mexico
- bison in North Dakota
- bison in Oklahoma
- bison in Oregon
- bison in South Dakota
- bison in Texas
- bison in Utah
- bison in Wyoming
Not found (17)
- Alabama
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Unconfirmed (11)
Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for bison in Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia, Washington, too few to confirm an established population.
Gear to see them
Frequently asked questions
What states do bison live in?+
Bison have confirmed wild populations in 21 US states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Where are bison not found in the US?+
Bison have no confirmed wild sightings in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Full bison guides by state