Snakes in New Jersey
New Jersey has 18 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 1,126 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the common garter snake, the northern water snake and the eastern rat snake. Two of them are venomous.
Rattlesnakes in New Jersey
One species of this group is listed for New Jersey: the timber rattlesnake, with 17 records (2% of the state's snake records).
Copperheads and cottonmouths in New Jersey
One species of this group is listed for New Jersey: the eastern copperhead, with 10 records (0.9% of the state's snake records).
Water snakes and swamp snakes in New Jersey
One species of this group is listed for New Jersey: the northern water snake, with 219 records (19% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the northern water snake in New Jersey run mostly April through September, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Morris County, Atlantic County and Burlington County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in New Jersey
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes dominate the snake record of New Jersey: two species and 28% of all records. The most recorded is the common garter snake (292), ahead of the eastern ribbonsnake (20).
Observation records of the common garter snake in New Jersey run mostly March through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Middlesex County, Morris County and Bergen County.
Rat snakes and corn snakes in New Jersey
Rat snakes and corn snakes: two species are listed for New Jersey, with 112 records (10% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern rat snake (109), ahead of the corn snake (3).
Observation records of the eastern rat snake in New Jersey run mostly May through October, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Cape May County, Burlington County and Cumberland County.
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in New Jersey
Kingsnakes and milksnakes: two species are listed for New Jersey, with 66 records (6% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern milksnake (41), ahead of the eastern kingsnake (25).
Most licensed records of the eastern milksnake in New Jersey come from Hunterdon County, Morris County and Somerset County.
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in New Jersey
One species of this group is listed for New Jersey: the eastern racer, with 92 records (8% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern racer in New Jersey run mostly April through October, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Atlantic County, Burlington County and Cape May County.
Gopher snakes, bullsnakes and pine snakes in New Jersey
One species of this group is listed for New Jersey: the pine snake, with 48 records (4% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the pine snake in New Jersey come from Burlington County, Ocean County and Cape May County.
Hognose snakes in New Jersey
One species of this group is listed for New Jersey: the eastern hog-nosed snake, with 34 records (3% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the eastern hog-nosed snake in New Jersey come from Atlantic County, Burlington County and Cape May County.
Green snakes in New Jersey
One species of this group is listed for New Jersey: the rough greensnake, with 19 records (2% of the state's snake records).
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in New Jersey
Small woodland and burrowing snakes: five species are listed for New Jersey, with 183 records (16% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the DeKay's brown snake (84), ahead of the eastern wormsnake (41).
Observation records of the DeKay's brown snake in New Jersey run mostly March through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Middlesex County, Burlington County and Monmouth County. Most licensed records of the eastern wormsnake in New Jersey come from Ocean County, Cape May County and Cumberland County. Most licensed records of the ring-necked snake in New Jersey come from Sussex County, Atlantic County and Salem County.
Where in New Jersey are snakes recorded most?
Burlington County leads with 150 records (13%), followed by Atlantic County and Cape May County; the top five counties hold 52% of the total. 21 of New Jersey's 21 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burlington County | 150 | 13.3% |
| 2 | Atlantic County | 134 | 11.9% |
| 3 | Cape May County | 133 | 11.8% |
| 4 | Morris County | 97 | 8.6% |
| 5 | Middlesex County | 74 | 6.6% |
| 6 | Ocean County | 68 | 6.0% |
| 7 | Sussex County | 66 | 5.9% |
| 8 | Bergen County | 58 | 5.2% |
| 9 | Cumberland County | 45 | 4.0% |
| 10 | Monmouth County | 42 | 3.7% |
| 11 | Somerset County | 39 | 3.5% |
| 12 | Mercer County | 38 | 3.4% |
When do snakes come out in New Jersey?
Observation records of snakes in New Jersey run mostly March through October, peaking in May with 23% of them. December through February together hold under 2% of the records, so snakes in New Jersey are rarely recorded in winter. The sharpest rise comes from March to April.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 1% | 6% | 18% | 23% | 12% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 3% | 0% |
Snakes: New Jersey compared with its neighbors
New Jersey ranks 29th of 50 states by the number of snake species listed, level with West Virginia; Texas leads with 86 species.
Of the three states bordering New Jersey, Pennsylvania lists more snake species (New Jersey: 18 species; Pennsylvania 20, New York 17, Delaware 14).
What snakes are in New Jersey? All 18 species
Ranked by licensed records in New Jersey. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 292 | 25.9% |
| 2 | Northern water snake Nerodia sipedon | Colubridae | 219 | 19.4% |
| 3 | Eastern rat snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis | Colubridae | 109 | 9.7% |
| 4 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 92 | 8.2% |
| 5 | DeKay's brown snake Storeria dekayi | Colubridae | 84 | 7.5% |
| 6 | Pine snake Pituophis melanoleucus | Colubridae | 48 | 4.3% |
| 7 | Eastern milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum | Colubridae | 41 | 3.6% |
| 8 | Eastern wormsnake Carphophis amoenus | Colubridae | 41 | 3.6% |
| 9 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 39 | 3.5% |
| 10 | Eastern hog-nosed snake Heterodon platirhinos | Colubridae | 34 | 3.0% |
| 11 | Eastern kingsnake Lampropeltis getula | Colubridae | 25 | 2.2% |
| 12 | Eastern ribbonsnake Thamnophis saurita | Colubridae | 20 | 1.8% |
| 13 | Red-bellied snake Storeria occipitomaculata | Colubridae | 19 | 1.7% |
| 14 | Rough greensnake Opheodrys aestivus | Colubridae | 19 | 1.7% |
| 15 | Timber rattlesnake venomous Crotalus horridus | Viperidae | 17 | 1.5% |
| 16 | Eastern copperhead venomous Agkistrodon contortrix | Viperidae | 10 | 0.9% |
| 17 | Corn snake Pantherophis guttatus | Colubridae | 3 | 0.3% |
| 18 | Scarlet snake Cemophora coccinea | Colubridae | 0 | 0.0% |
Also recorded in New Jersey, fewer than 10 times
Beyond the main list, two snake species are known from New Jersey by only 3 to 9 records each. Some are genuine rarities at the edge of their range; others may be strays, released pets or old misidentifications, so treat them as unconfirmed.
Related pages
GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.