Where Do Sea Otters Actually Live in the US?
Sea Otters live in 3 US states and are confirmed absent from 1 more, based on 24,748 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, California and Washington. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Sea Otters have zero confirmed wild sightings in Oregon, despite tens of thousands of nationwide observation records for the species. That is a real, checked absence, not a missing page.
Confirmed states (3)
Not found (1)
- Oregon
Frequently asked questions
What states do sea otters live in?+
Sea Otters have confirmed wild populations in 3 US states: Alaska, California and Washington.
Where are sea otters not found in the US?+
Sea Otters have no confirmed wild sightings in Oregon.
Full sea otters guides by state