midwest to as far west as Kansas, with a disjunct population in North Carolina, though their populations are scattered and low-density. Historically, Henslow's sparrows were much more widespread and bred as far east as New England. They winter in weedy fields in the American south from Texas and Arkansas east to South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

The range and numbers of this bird are decreasing, probably due to habitat loss of the grasslands that it depends on. However, it has heavily benefited from the Conservation Reserve Program