Anguilla, Antigua And Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Cuba, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St Kitts And Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Turks and Caicos Islands, USA (B).
Vagrant to Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, St Pierre and Miquelon (NB) (P), Virgin Islands (U.S.).
South-eastern Alaska south to Oregon; south-eastern Canada south to Mississippi valley.
 
Population
Estimated population is 270,000 - 390,000 (2010).
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) [XC477559]
by Michael Hurben from Lake Mariah State Park, Wright County, Minnesota, United States (call)
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) [XC841305]
by Ian Cruickshank from British Columbia: Galley Bay, Desolation Sound, Canada (flight call, wing noise)
Subspecies
Hybridization with other species of Mergus reported rarely in captivity.