In the wild, raccoons are found across most of North America. They inhabit wetlands, plains and, primarily, forests. However, as civilization moves in on them and destroys their habitats, raccoons adapt quite well to living in urban areas and are among the most common wildlife species found in cities and towns. Their ideal habitat would be heavily wooded areas with a mixture of evergreen and hardwood trees in various stages of growth, with rivers, streams or lakes. Bottomland hardwoods provide hard mast, insects, and aquatic animal life.

Raccoons are omnivorous and opportunistic carnivores. In spring they eat primarily animal matter such as: crayfish, fish, arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, a few small mammals and rodents, birds, and eggs. In the summer and fall they eat large amounts of grains, acorns, other nuts, and fruits. In the winter, they live off their fat store as well as carion, an occasional small mammal or rodent and sometimes even bark . Foraging occurs in all saline and freshwater riparian habitats, shallow water, vegetation, and on the ground.