The species occurs in large Atlantic coast rivers in eastern North America, from Massachusetts to Virginia.

The first record of this species in the Great Lakes drainage dates from around 1856–1860,[6] when it was found in the Erie Canal near Mohawk, New York State.

Thus Elimia virginica is now virtually absent from the Oswego drainage, and is possibly very reduced in abundance in other localities where it was introduced, due to such interspecific competition.

[1] Specimens of this species often vary in coloration: in general, Elimia virginica is yellow to chestnut in hue, but it sometimes has 2 darker brown spiral bands.

Elimia virginica usually inhabits slow to medium velocity rivers and streams with firm and clean gravel, cobble and rock substrate.

[13] In the Connecticut River, the shell of Elimia virginica is often used as substrate by epizootic algae and the entoproct Urnatella gracilis.

However, there is an evolutionary trade-off between predator defense and rapid growth and reproduction amongst snail populations found in this river.

[14] Hybridization and introgression of this kind can put the genetic integrity of a species at severe risk, especially when the population is already small.