Where Do Bobcats Actually Live in the US?
Bobcats live in 44 US states and are confirmed absent from 2 more, based on 98,111 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, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado and Connecticut, and 38 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Bobcats have zero confirmed wild sightings in Delaware and Hawaii, 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 (1) have only a handful of unverified or vagrant records, too few to confirm bobcats as an established population there.
Confirmed states (44)
- bobcats in Alabama
- bobcats in Arizona
- bobcats in Arkansas
- bobcats in California
- bobcats in Colorado
- bobcats in Connecticut
- bobcats in Florida
- bobcats in Georgia
- bobcats in Idaho
- bobcats in Illinois
- bobcats in Indiana
- bobcats in Iowa
- bobcats in Kansas
- bobcats in Kentucky
- bobcats in Louisiana
- bobcats in Maine
- bobcats in Maryland
- bobcats in Massachusetts
- bobcats in Michigan
- bobcats in Minnesota
- bobcats in Mississippi
- bobcats in Missouri
- bobcats in Montana
- bobcats in Nebraska
- bobcats in Nevada
- bobcats in New Hampshire
- bobcats in New Jersey
- bobcats in New Mexico
- bobcats in New York
- bobcats in North Carolina
- bobcats in North Dakota
- bobcats in Ohio
- bobcats in Oregon
- bobcats in Pennsylvania
- bobcats in Rhode Island
- bobcats in South Carolina
- bobcats in Tennessee
- bobcats in Utah
- bobcats in Vermont
- bobcats in Virginia
- bobcats in Washington
- bobcats in West Virginia
- bobcats in Wisconsin
- bobcats in Wyoming
Not found (2)
- Delaware
- Hawaii
Unconfirmed (1)
Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for bobcats in Alaska, too few to confirm an established population.
Frequently asked questions
What states do bobcats live in?+
Bobcats have confirmed wild populations in 44 US states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Where are bobcats not found in the US?+
Bobcats have no confirmed wild sightings in Delaware and Hawaii.
Full bobcats guides by state