It is found from the coastal areas of California through much of the interior western United States and along the Gulf of Mexico as far east as Florida, then south through Central America and the Caribbean to Brazil, Peru and the Galápagos Islands, with an isolated population, the Hawaiian stilt, in Hawaii.

There, it forms a cap covering the entire head from the top to just below eye-level, with the exception of the areas surrounding the bill and a small white spot above the eye.

Vagrants of the northern American form in turn are hard to tell apart from the resident Hawaiian stilt, in which only the eye-spot is markedly smaller.

But though many stilt populations are long-distance migrants and during their movements can be found hundreds of miles offshore,[6] actual trans-oceanic vagrants are nonetheless a rare occurrence.

In Arizona, black-necked stilts may be seen along artificially created lakes and drainage basins in the Phoenix metropolitan area, in remnant riparian habitat.

Fall migration of the northernly birds takes place from July to September, and they return to the breeding grounds between March and May.

[12] The black-necked stilt forages by probing and gleaning primarily in mudflats and lakeshores, but also in very shallow waters near shores; it seeks out a range of aquatic invertebrates – mainly crustaceans (such as shrimp)[13] and other arthropods (such as worms and flies),[13] and mollusks – and small fish, tadpoles and very rarely plant seeds.

[7] For roosting and resting needs, this bird selects alkali flats (even flooded ones), lake shores, and islands surrounded by shallow water.

[5] This stilt chooses mudflats, desiccated lacustrine verges, and levees for nest locations, as long as the soil is friable.

Reproduction occurs from late April through August in North America, with peak activity in June,[14] while tropical populations usually breed after the rainy season.

[5] Particularly the North American populations of the black-necked stilt have somewhat declined in the 20th century, mainly due to conversion of habitat for human use and pollution affecting both the birds directly as well as their food stocks.

[5] Predation by the small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata), introduced to hunt rats, is suspected to have contributed to its decline.