The female usually produces one or two litters per year but may produce up to three litters. Average litter size is 5 or 6 young. Births generally occur from March through June. Pocket gophers have a maximum life span of about 5 years. Pocket gophers are extremely territorial and antisocial, living by themselves in an extensive underground burrow system that can cover an area from a few hundred square feet up to more than 1,000 square feet.
Territories are smaller in habitat with abundant food.
Mounds of fresh soil indicate their presence. The burrow system may be linear or highly branched. A single burrow system may be up to 200 yards long. Tunnels are 2 to 3 inches in diameter and usually from 6 to 12 inches below the ground, but they may be more than 6 feet deep. Tunnels are usually deeper in sandy soils than in clay soils.