The variegate darter is a wide-ranging species, occurring across the upper and middle Ohio River Valley in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. However, its range in Virginia is restricted to the south-west corner of the state (in the Levisa Fork and its tributaries) in the upper Big Sandy River drainage. It is listed as endangered in Virginia primarily because of its limited range and current and historical impacts in the watershed. Millions of tons of coal are mined annually in this watershed, and mining has historically been the top economic force in the county. Both surface and subsurface mining occurs in the watershed.