List of fatal snake bites in the United States

This is a list of some people who were fatally bitten by snakes in the United States by decade in reverse chronological order. It is not a comprehensive list.



Snake species
The United States has about 30 species of venomous snakes, which include 23 species of rattlesnakes, three species of coral snakes, two species of cottonmouth, and two species of copperhead. At least one species of venomous snake is found in every state except Hawaii, Maine, Rhode Island, and Alaska. Timber Rattlesnakes once lived in Rhode Island and a small area of southern Maine; however, they have been extirpated from both states.

It has been estimated that 7,000–8,000 people per year receive venomous snake bites in the United States, and about five of those people die. Though most fatal bites are attributed to rattlesnakes, the copperhead accounts for more snakebite incidents than any other venomous North American species. Rattlesnake bites, by comparison, are approximately four times as likely to result in a death or major effects as a copperhead bite.

Venomous snakes are distributed unevenly throughout the United States — the vast majority of snake bites occur in warm weather states. States like Florida and Texas have a wide variety and large population of venomous snakes. Bites from venomous snakes are extremely rare in the states near the Canada–US border. Maine, for example, theoretically has only one species (timber rattlesnake); it is rarely seen, and then only in the southern part of the state, and the species is likely extirpated in Maine, with the last sighting in 1901.