The species is native to the southern United States.

The Pascagoula map turtle is restricted to the Pascagoula River system in the state of Mississippi in the United States.

[4] It formerly included a population in the Pearl River, but in 2010, that population was described as a separate species, the Pearl River map turtle, Graptemys pearlensis.

[5] The Pascagoula map turtle shares its range with the yellow-blotched map turtle, G. flavimaculata.

The specific name, gibbonsi, is in honor of American herpetologist "Whit" Gibbons.