Poecile carolinensis is native to the American Southeast, and is divided into four races: P. c. carolinensis, P. c. extima, P. c. atricapilloides, and P. c. agilis.  Poecile c. carolinensis is found in the southeastern United States; its range covers all of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina; northern half of Florida; eastern regions of Arkansas and Louisiana; and the central eastern and northern regions of Tennessee and North Carolina. Poecile c. extima is the northernmost sub species, extending from the southern half of New Jersey across lower Pennsylvania, the central and lower counties of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and the southeastern corner of Missouri. The southern boundary of extimus is the Kentucky – Tennessee border and the Virginia – North Carolina boundary. The species does not occur in the southeastern section of Virginia and in the higher elevations of the Appalachian Mountains. Poecile c. atricapilloides, the westernmost chickadee race, is found along the Kansas – Oklahoma border, central Oklahoma, and the eastern half of the Texas panhandle, extending south almost to the Mexican border. Poecile c. agilis resides in the regions between P. c. carolinensis and P. c. atricapilloides.

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )