Yellow bullhead are bottom dwellers, living in areas with muck, rock, sand, or clay substrates. Its habitat includes river pools, backwaters, and sluggish current over soft or mildly rocky substrate in creeks, small to larger rivers, and shallow portions of lakes and ponds. Their habitat can vary from a slow current with poorly oxygenated, highly silted, and highly polluted water to a more swift current with clean and clear water that has aquatic vegetation.
Yellow bullhead range throughout the central and eastern US from central Texas, north into North Dakota, and east through the Great Lakes region to the East Coast. In Minnesota, Yellow bullheads are found on the eastern and central portions of the state and are absent in the top third of the state.

Habitat and distribution