Where Do Badgers Actually Live in the US?
Badgers live in 20 US states and are confirmed absent from 16 more, based on 8,698 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, Idaho, Illinois and Iowa, and 14 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Badgers have zero confirmed wild sightings in Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi and New Hampshire, or 6 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 badgers as an established population there.
Confirmed states (20)
- badgers in Arizona
- badgers in California
- badgers in Colorado
- badgers in Idaho
- badgers in Illinois
- badgers in Iowa
- badgers in Kansas
- badgers in Michigan
- badgers in Minnesota
- badgers in Missouri
- badgers in New Mexico
- badgers in North Dakota
- badgers in Oklahoma
- badgers in Oregon
- badgers in South Dakota
- badgers in Texas
- badgers in Utah
- badgers in Washington
- badgers in Wisconsin
- badgers in Wyoming
Not found (16)
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Mississippi
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Vermont
- Virginia
Unconfirmed (11)
Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for badgers in Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, too few to confirm an established population.
Frequently asked questions
What states do badgers live in?+
Badgers have confirmed wild populations in 20 US states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Where are badgers not found in the US?+
Badgers have no confirmed wild sightings in Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.
Full badgers guides by state