Coastal dunes are the preferred habitat based on historical records.
The high degree of vegetation disturbance to the entire Southern California coastal strand accounts for the likely local extirpation of this species. In Monterey County the population is subject to repeated, dense fogs. This is another beach dune species whose habitat is extremely degraded in San Diego County. It is presumed extirpated in Los Angeles County where collected at Santa Monica in 1891 by Hasse, and at Hyde Park. The Coastal Dune Milk Vetch is presumed extirpated in the Southern California and close to extinction.