Type locality, Arkansas, Clark County, Caddo River at AR Hwy 182, 3.2 km N Amity, UAIC 10302.09 (holotype of Etheostoma clinton, breeding male, 3.37 cm SL). Known only from the upper Caddo (upstream of DeGray Reservoir) and upper Ouachita rivers upstream of the Fall Line in the Ouachita Mountains province of Arkansas. In the Ouachita River it occurs upstream of Lake Ouachita in the upper Ouachita and South Fork Ouachita rivers. It may also occur in tributaries of lakes Hamilton and Catherine, which are situated above the Fall Line (Ref. 92294).