Where Do Starfishes Actually Live in the US?
Starfishes live in 19 US states and are confirmed absent from 1 more, based on 3,729,219 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, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida and Georgia, and 13 more. These are real, verified iNaturalist and GBIF occurrence records, not modeled range estimates.
Starfishes have zero confirmed wild sightings in Delaware, 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 starfishes as an established population there.
Confirmed states (19)
- starfishes in Alabama
- starfishes in Alaska
- starfishes in California
- starfishes in Connecticut
- starfishes in Florida
- starfishes in Georgia
- starfishes in Hawaii
- starfishes in Maine
- starfishes in Massachusetts
- starfishes in Mississippi
- starfishes in New Hampshire
- starfishes in New Jersey
- starfishes in New York
- starfishes in North Carolina
- starfishes in Oregon
- starfishes in Rhode Island
- starfishes in South Carolina
- starfishes in Texas
- starfishes in Washington
Not found (1)
- Delaware
Unconfirmed (3)
Only a handful of unverified or vagrant records exist for starfishes in Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, too few to confirm an established population.
Frequently asked questions
What states do starfishes live in?+
Starfishes have confirmed wild populations in 19 US states: Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.
Where are starfishes not found in the US?+
Starfishes have no confirmed wild sightings in Delaware.