Monarch butterflies live mainly in North America, but smaller, non‑migratory populations are also found in parts of Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.

Main places they live

  • Across North America from southern Canada through most of the United States and into northern South America, wherever there is milkweed for their caterpillars and nectar plants for adults.
  • Two big migratory groups: an eastern population (east of the Rocky Mountains) and a western population (west of the Rockies).

Summer habitat

  • In summer, eastern monarchs spread through the central and eastern U.S. and into southern Canada, especially along a central “flyway” through the Plains and Midwest.
  • Western monarchs breed in the western U.S., including California, the interior West, and up into British Columbia, using canyons, riparian areas, and inland valleys.

Winter and migration spots

  • Eastern monarchs migrate thousands of miles to high‑elevation forests in central Mexico, especially the Transvolcanic Mountains, and some winter along the U.S. Gulf Coast and in Florida.
  • Western monarchs gather in coastal groves along central and southern California and into northern Baja California, Mexico.

Outside North America

  • Non‑migratory monarchs also live on islands and coasts worldwide, including Hawaii, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, parts of the Pacific islands, Portugal, Spain’s Atlantic islands, and parts of North Africa and Southeast Asia.
  • In these regions they typically stay local year‑round instead of doing the long migrations seen in North America.

TL;DR: Monarch butterflies live wherever milkweed grows in North America and in several other warm regions worldwide, with famous long‑distance migrations in the eastern and western North American populations.

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