Bison Population by State 2025

South Dakota
33,995
Nebraska
32,206
Montana
20,466
North Dakota
12,487
Colorado
9,555
Wyoming
8,715
Kansas
8,672
Texas
8,187
Oklahoma
7,137
Wisconsin
6,754
Idaho
5,361
Kentucky
4,865
New Mexico
4,412
New York
3,230
Minnesota
3,109
Michigan
2,789
Indiana
2,032
Missouri
1,979
Pennsylvania
1,686
Alaska
1,489
Oregon
1,489
Ohio
1,451
Virginia
1,366
Iowa
1,337
Washington
1,037
Illinois
952
Utah
805
California
595
Tennessee
536
West Virginia
521
South Carolina
374
Alabama
311
North Carolina
274
Arkansas
273
Maine
247
Georgia
234
Vermont
219
Florida
205
Maryland
159
Arizona
112
New Hampshire
93
Connecticut
91
Nevada
54
Mississippi
52
  • Posted rates are for bison kept in commercial herds per the USDA’s 2017 and 2022 Census of Agriculture.
  • It is estimated that between 30 million and 60 million bison lived in North America during the mid-1800s. However, they were heavily hunted during the late 1800s, and by 1889 fewer than 600 remained. Careful conservation and breeding efforts enabled the species to avoid extinction. Today, population estimates range from approximately 200,000 to 500,000 bison, with roughly 30,000 living in the wild and the rest in commercial herds.
  • In 2017, the National Bison Association set a goal of expanding the bison population to 1 million by 2027.