National Black Bear Populations: How Does Colorado Rank?

As a state known for its high altitude, mountainous regions, and cold winters, it should come as no surprise that Colorado is home to a variety of wildlife known to thrive in these conditions.

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While some of the animals you'll find in the Colorado wilderness such as deer and bighorn sheep are relatively harmless to humans, the state is also home to its fair share of species that are widely considered dangerous including wolves, mountain lions, and bears.

In fact, a new study shows that although a handful of states are home to more black bears than the Centennial State, Colorado's black bear population is certainly not to be taken lightly.

Black Bear Populations Around the Country: Where Does Colorado Rank?

The new study places Colorado as the state with the 11th-highest population of black bears in 2024. This figure is just behind Pennsylvania, followed by North Carolina, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Maine, and California, and the largest population of black bears in the country is found in Alaska.

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In addition, Colorado's neighboring states of Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma all have significantly lower numbers of black bears in 2024 than the Centennial State.

In fact, all of the states that border Colorado have reported extremely low numbers, some of which are literally found to be zero.

Of the 50 states, 37 are home to black bears with obvious outliers like Hawaii not even showing up on the list and although black bear numbers have dwindled in numerous states over the years, the species maintains enough numbers to not be considered endangered at this time.