N. albisetosus is native to Mexico and the southwestern United States, including the U.S. states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. In Mexico, the ant is found in the states of Chihuahua, Durango and Sonora. The ant is less common than N. cockerelli. The eastern range of N. albisetosus is not well known, but it does not coincide with N. cockerelli. The eastern-most record of N. albisetosus is near the Cernas Ranch in the Chisos Mountains of Texas. The mountains are close to northern Coahuila, so the ant is likely found in the Mexican ranges. In comparison to N. cockerelli, N. albisetosus is not found as far north and is found much further south. Both ants are found on the eastern side of the Sierra Madre Occidental until the topography changes in northwestern Chihuahua. Up north, the Sierra Madre Occidental breaks up into a number of ranges that communicate on the east of the Mexican Plateau, and, to the west, with the narrow Sonoran coastal plain where N. albisetosus and N. cockerelli are abundant. However, N. albisetosus is less widespread than N. cockerelli. The northern limit is mostly determined by its inability to survive in highland areas in central Arizona and New Mexico. In southeastern Wickenburg, Arizona, the range of N. albisetosus runs along the southern end of the area where the rise of the Mogollon Mesa begins; N. albisetosus is not found on top of the Mogollon Mesa. Nests are found at altitudes of between above sea level.