The gray-collared chipmunk inhabits mountain coniferous forests in central and eastern Arizona and in central and western New Mexico. Its range extends from the Bill Williams Mountains, San Francisco Mountains and White Mountains to the Datil Mountains, Magdalena Mountains and San Mateo Mountains. Its altitudinal range is but it is primarily found between . The gray-collared chipmunk is found in ponderosa pine and spruce-fir forests, often up to the timberline. It is commonest where pine and Douglas fir intermix, and is also found in oak juniper forest.