Groundhogs (also called woodchucks) live in lowland, open areas across much of North America, especially in fields, pastures, and the edges of forests where they can dig their burrows in well‑drained soil.

Where in North America?

Groundhogs are found throughout:

  • The eastern and central United States, from the Atlantic coast west to the eastern parts of the Great Plains.
  • Across southern and central Canada, from the Atlantic provinces across to British Columbia and into Alaska in the west.
  • Their southern range runs roughly from Arkansas and Mississippi up to the Atlantic states, with North Carolina being about the southernmost limit in the East.

They’re absent from the driest western deserts and the high Rocky Mountains, preferring lowlands over rocky, alpine marmot country.

Preferred Habitat

Groundhogs favor “edge” habitats — places where wooded areas meet open land. Typical spots include:

  • Meadows and pastures near woods or thickets.
  • Agricultural fields , especially clover, alfalfa, and vegetable fields (which also attract them to gardens and farms).
  • Stream banks, roadsides, and fencerows , where there’s cover nearby and loose, well‑drained soil for burrowing.

They avoid dense, unbroken forest and very wet, swampy ground, since their burrows must stay dry and won’t flood.

Where Their Burrows Are Found

Groundhogs spend most of their time in complex underground burrow systems, which they dig in:

  • Dry, loose soil on slopes, hillsides, or level ground.
  • Areas with nearby cover like trees, shrubs, fences, stone walls, or even foundations of buildings and sheds.
  • Often near the edge of a woodlot, a field, or along a road or stream.

A typical groundhog may have one main “winter” den (for hibernation) and one or more “summer” burrows scattered through its home range.

Quick Summary (Where to Find Them)

If you’re wondering where groundhogs live in simple terms:

  • 🌎 Region: Eastern and central U.S., Canada, and Alaska.
  • 🌾 Habitat: Open fields, meadows, pastures, and edges of woods.
  • 🦹 Burrows: Underground tunnels in dry, loose soil near trees, fences, or buildings.

So, if you live in a suburban yard, farm, or rural area in the eastern half of North America, there’s a good chance groundhogs are living nearby in the fields or along the woods edge.

Bottom line: Groundhogs are common, adaptable rodents that thrive anywhere with open land for grazing and dry soil for digging.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.