Venomous snakes by state

27 venomous snake species reach our listing threshold somewhere in the U.S. Arizona has the most, 14; five list none: Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. GBIF still holds a few venomous snake records for three of them, too few to list: Hawaii (pelagic sea snake: 5 records), Maine (timber rattlesnake: 3 records) and New Hampshire (timber rattlesnake: 2 records).

Bitten? Call 911 for a venomous snakebite or any bite with trouble breathing. For advice on any bite or sting, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (free, 24/7, U.S.-wide). Do not cut the wound, suck out venom or use a tourniquet. General information, not medical advice. Do not handle or try to identify a snake or spider by this page; if unsure, treat it as venomous.

Every state, ranked

States ranked by the number of venomous snake species with at least 10 GBIF records inside the state; states with the same number share a place.

Source: GBIF licensed records, read 2026-09-29.
#	State	Species	Venomous snakes
1	Arizona	14	Western diamondback rattlesnake, Mohave rattlesnake, Sidewinder, Black-tailed rattlesnake, Sonoran coralsnake, Tiger rattlesnake, Prairie rattlesnake, Arizona black rattlesnake, Southwestern speckled rattlesnake, Rock rattlesnake, Twin-spotted rattlesnake, Western rattlesnake, Western massasauga, Ridge-nosed rattlesnake
2	Texas	12	Western diamondback rattlesnake, Eastern copperhead, Northern cottonmouth, Texas coral snake, Prairie rattlesnake, Eastern black-tailed rattlesnake, Broad-banded copperhead, Mohave rattlesnake, Rock rattlesnake, Western massasauga, Timber rattlesnake, Pygmy rattlesnake
3	New Mexico	10	Western diamondback rattlesnake, Prairie rattlesnake, Mohave rattlesnake, Black-tailed rattlesnake, Rock rattlesnake, Eastern black-tailed rattlesnake, Western massasauga, Ridge-nosed rattlesnake, Sonoran coralsnake, Arizona black rattlesnake
4	Oklahoma	8	Northern cottonmouth, Western diamondback rattlesnake, Eastern copperhead, Broad-banded copperhead, Timber rattlesnake, Pygmy rattlesnake, Western massasauga, Prairie rattlesnake
5	California	7	Western rattlesnake, Sidewinder, Red diamond rattlesnake, Mohave rattlesnake, Southwestern speckled rattlesnake, Panamint rattlesnake, Western diamondback rattlesnake
5	Florida	7	Florida cottonmouth, Pygmy rattlesnake, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, Northern cottonmouth, Eastern coral snake, Timber rattlesnake, Eastern copperhead
5	Georgia	7	Timber rattlesnake, Eastern copperhead, Northern cottonmouth, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, Pygmy rattlesnake, Eastern coral snake, Florida cottonmouth
8	Alabama	6	Timber rattlesnake, Northern cottonmouth, Eastern copperhead, Pygmy rattlesnake, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, Eastern coral snake
8	Kansas	6	Eastern copperhead, Western massasauga, Prairie rattlesnake, Timber rattlesnake, Northern cottonmouth, Broad-banded copperhead
8	Nevada	6	Western rattlesnake, Sidewinder, Panamint rattlesnake, Mohave rattlesnake, Southwestern speckled rattlesnake, Western diamondback rattlesnake
8	South Carolina	6	Northern cottonmouth, Eastern copperhead, Timber rattlesnake, Eastern coral snake, Pygmy rattlesnake, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake
12	Arkansas	5	Northern cottonmouth, Eastern copperhead, Timber rattlesnake, Pygmy rattlesnake, Western diamondback rattlesnake
12	Louisiana	5	Northern cottonmouth, Eastern copperhead, Pygmy rattlesnake, Texas coral snake, Timber rattlesnake
12	Mississippi	5	Northern cottonmouth, Eastern copperhead, Timber rattlesnake, Pygmy rattlesnake, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake
12	Missouri	5	Northern cottonmouth, Eastern copperhead, Timber rattlesnake, Pygmy rattlesnake, Western massasauga
12	North Carolina	5	Eastern copperhead, Northern cottonmouth, Timber rattlesnake, Eastern coral snake, Pygmy rattlesnake
12	Utah	5	Western rattlesnake, Prairie rattlesnake, Sidewinder, Mohave rattlesnake, Southwestern speckled rattlesnake
18	Illinois	4	Northern cottonmouth, Eastern copperhead, Eastern massasauga, Timber rattlesnake
18	Nebraska	4	Prairie rattlesnake, Western massasauga, Eastern copperhead, Timber rattlesnake
20	Colorado	3	Prairie rattlesnake, Western rattlesnake, Western massasauga
20	Indiana	3	Eastern copperhead, Eastern massasauga, Timber rattlesnake
20	Iowa	3	Timber rattlesnake, Prairie rattlesnake, Eastern massasauga
20	Kentucky	3	Eastern copperhead, Timber rattlesnake, Northern cottonmouth
20	New York	3	Eastern copperhead, Timber rattlesnake, Eastern massasauga
20	Ohio	3	Eastern copperhead, Eastern massasauga, Timber rattlesnake
20	Pennsylvania	3	Timber rattlesnake, Eastern copperhead, Eastern massasauga
20	Tennessee	3	Eastern copperhead, Northern cottonmouth, Timber rattlesnake
20	Virginia	3	Eastern copperhead, Northern cottonmouth, Timber rattlesnake
29	Connecticut	2	Eastern copperhead, Timber rattlesnake
29	Idaho	2	Western rattlesnake, Prairie rattlesnake
29	Maryland	2	Eastern copperhead, Timber rattlesnake
29	Massachusetts	2	Timber rattlesnake, Eastern copperhead
29	New Jersey	2	Timber rattlesnake, Eastern copperhead
29	West Virginia	2	Timber rattlesnake, Eastern copperhead
29	Wisconsin	2	Timber rattlesnake, Eastern massasauga
29	Wyoming	2	Prairie rattlesnake, Western rattlesnake
37	Delaware	1	Eastern copperhead
37	Michigan	1	Eastern massasauga
37	Minnesota	1	Timber rattlesnake
37	Montana	1	Prairie rattlesnake
37	North Dakota	1	Prairie rattlesnake
37	Oregon	1	Western rattlesnake
37	South Dakota	1	Prairie rattlesnake
37	Vermont	1	Timber rattlesnake
37	Washington	1	Western rattlesnake
46	Alaska	0	—
46	Hawaii	0	—
46	Maine	0	—
46	New Hampshire	0	—
46	Rhode Island	0	—

Which venomous snakes are most widespread?

The timber rattlesnake is listed in more states than any other venomous snake: 30. Three species are listed in a single state only: the red diamond rattlesnake (California), the tiger rattlesnake (Arizona) and the twin-spotted rattlesnake (Arizona).

Source: GBIF licensed records, read 2026-09-29.
Species	Scientific name	States	U.S. records
Timber rattlesnake	Crotalus horridus	30	2,571
Eastern copperhead	Agkistrodon contortrix	27	6,591
Northern cottonmouth	Agkistrodon piscivorus	16	4,396
Prairie rattlesnake	Crotalus viridis	14	5,081
Pygmy rattlesnake	Sistrurus miliarius	11	927
Western rattlesnake	Crotalus oreganus	9	7,526
Eastern massasauga	Sistrurus catenatus	8	489
Western massasauga	Sistrurus tergeminus	8	1,051
Western diamondback rattlesnake	Crotalus atrox	7	5,763
Mohave rattlesnake	Crotalus scutulatus	6	2,423
Eastern coral snake	Micrurus fulvius	5	366
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake	Crotalus adamanteus	5	533
Sidewinder	Crotalus cerastes	4	3,119
Southwestern speckled rattlesnake	Crotalus pyrrhus	4	491
Broad-banded copperhead	Agkistrodon laticinctus	3	564
Rock rattlesnake	Crotalus lepidus	3	507
Arizona black rattlesnake	Crotalus cerberus	2	226
Black-tailed rattlesnake	Crotalus molossus	2	865
Eastern black-tailed rattlesnake	Crotalus ornatus	2	459
Florida cottonmouth	Agkistrodon conanti	2	468
Panamint rattlesnake	Crotalus stephensi	2	286
Ridge-nosed rattlesnake	Crotalus willardi	2	77
Sonoran coralsnake	Micruroides euryxanthus	2	364
Texas coral snake	Micrurus tener	2	613
Red diamond rattlesnake	Crotalus ruber	1	918
Tiger rattlesnake	Crotalus tigris	1	337
Twin-spotted rattlesnake	Crotalus pricei	1	152

Timber rattlesnakeCrotalus horridusvenomous

Eastern copperheadAgkistrodon contortrixvenomous

Northern cottonmouthAgkistrodon piscivorusvenomous

Prairie rattlesnakeCrotalus viridisvenomous

Pygmy rattlesnakeSistrurus miliariusvenomous

Western rattlesnakeCrotalus oreganusvenomous

Eastern massasaugaSistrurus catenatusvenomous

Western massasaugaSistrurus tergeminusvenomous

Western diamondback rattlesnakeCrotalus atroxvenomous

Mohave rattlesnakeCrotalus scutulatusvenomous

Eastern coral snakeMicrurus fulviusvenomous

Eastern diamondback rattlesnakeCrotalus adamanteusvenomous

Rattlesnakes, copperheads and coral snakes by state

Rattlesnakes are listed in 44 states; Arizona has the most species, 13. Copperheads and cottonmouths are listed in 27 states; Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas have the most species, three each. Coral snakes are listed in 9 states, one species in each. States with no rattlesnake on the list: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Black widows and brown recluses by state

Widow spiders reach the listing threshold in 45 states and recluse spiders in 20: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Texas has the most medically significant spiders, eight.

Source: GBIF licensed records, read 2026-09-29.
State	Widow and recluse species
Texas	Southern black widow, Western black widow, Brown recluse, Brown widow, Texas recluse, Big Bend recluse, Northern black widow, Apache recluse
Alabama	Southern black widow, Brown recluse, Brown widow, Northern black widow
Arizona	Western black widow, Arizona recluse, Desert recluse, Brown widow
Florida	Brown widow, Southern black widow, Red widow, Northern black widow
Georgia	Brown widow, Southern black widow, Northern black widow, Brown recluse
Kansas	Brown recluse, Western black widow, Northern black widow, Southern black widow
Louisiana	Brown widow, Southern black widow, Northern black widow, Brown recluse
Mississippi	Southern black widow, Brown recluse, Brown widow, Northern black widow
Oklahoma	Brown recluse, Southern black widow, Western black widow, Northern black widow
Arkansas	Brown recluse, Southern black widow, Northern black widow
California	Western black widow, Brown widow, Desert recluse
Illinois	Brown recluse, Southern black widow, Northern black widow
Kentucky	Northern black widow, Brown recluse, Southern black widow
Missouri	Brown recluse, Northern black widow, Southern black widow
North Carolina	Southern black widow, Northern black widow, Brown widow
Ohio	Northern black widow, Southern black widow, Brown recluse
South Carolina	Southern black widow, Brown widow, Northern black widow
Tennessee	Brown recluse, Northern black widow, Southern black widow
Delaware	Southern black widow, Northern black widow
Hawaii	Western black widow, Brown widow
Indiana	Brown recluse, Northern black widow
Maryland	Northern black widow, Southern black widow
Nebraska	Brown recluse, Western black widow
Nevada	Western black widow, Desert recluse
New Jersey	Northern black widow, Southern black widow
New Mexico	Western black widow, Apache recluse
Pennsylvania	Northern black widow, Southern black widow
Virginia	Northern black widow, Southern black widow
West Virginia	Northern black widow, Southern black widow
Colorado	Western black widow
Connecticut	Northern black widow
Idaho	Western black widow
Iowa	Brown recluse
Massachusetts	Northern black widow
Michigan	Northern black widow
Montana	Western black widow
New York	Northern black widow
North Dakota	Western black widow
Oregon	Western black widow
Rhode Island	Northern black widow
South Dakota	Western black widow
Utah	Western black widow
Vermont	Northern black widow
Washington	Western black widow
Wisconsin	Northern black widow
Wyoming	Western black widow
Alaska	—
Maine	—
Minnesota	—
New Hampshire	—

Which states have scorpions?

Scorpion species reach the listing threshold in 28 states: California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, Tennessee, Alabama, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Georgia, Utah, Oregon, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Hawaii, Washington, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Mississippi. The Arizona bark scorpion, the one U.S. scorpion with a medically significant sting, is listed in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.

About these numbers

A species is listed for a state once GBIF holds at least 10 records of it located inside the state by coordinates, under any license. Every count, share, month and county shown is computed only from records published under CC0 or CC BY, so a listed species can show few or no counted records. Monthly patterns show when people record snakes, which also reflects when people are outdoors. Venomous status follows taxonomy: pit vipers and coral snakes; widow and recluse spiders; the Arizona bark scorpion. Records filed under older names count for the species they belong to today. Full methodology.