It is endemic to the Yocona River watershed of north-central Mississippi in the United States.

[4] Further genetic and morphological analyses determined the two populations were different species, with E. raneyi in the Little Tallahatchie River watershed, while the population in the Yocona River watershed was described as a new species, E.

[3] The Yoknapatawpha darter inhabits small, clear, mostly spring-fed streams with substrates that include clay, sand, gravel, or silt.

Its range encompasses headwater streams in the Yocona River's watershed, in Lafayette, Yalobusha, and Calhoun counties; it may also occur in southwestern Panola County.

[3] Etheostoma faulkneri is named for William Faulkner, a native of Lafayette County, Mississippi.