Sure, a Saturday morning right after a foot of fluffy snow is the best thing ever. But that same amount of snow on Tuesday in Michigan can make a commute last forever. Imagine it’s the dead of winter and the time of year when the ground is frozen, the air is bone-chilling, and there are piles of dirty, nasty, ice-encrusted snow all over the place.
This is about the time of year when you’re just about ready for spring — especially in Houghton, the snowiest place in Michigan.
So, put on your parkas, snow boots, and gloves, and let’s go outside to see which Michigan cities get dumped on the most every year. After analyzing all the cities in Michigan with Saturday Night Science, we came up with this list as the 10 snowiest cities in Wolverine State.
207.4 inches of snow per year
Located in
Houghton County, Michigan
Houghton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,708. It is the county seat of Houghton County. It has been listed as one of the “100 Best Small Towns in America.”
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
176.2 inches of snow per year
Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the U.S. state of Michigan, about 18 miles south of Lake Superior. The population was 5,387 at the 2010 census. The city is on US 2 and is situated opposite the Montreal River from Hurley, Wisconsin. It is the westernmost city in Michigan, situated on the same line of longitude as Clinton, Iowa and St. Louis, Missouri.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
161.1 inches of snow per year
Located in
Marquette County, Michigan
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
128.0 inches of snow per year
Located in
Marquette County, Michigan
Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city of the state’s Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, known primarily for shipping iron ore, and is the home of Northern Michigan University. In 2012, Marquette was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the U.S. by CBS MoneyWatch.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
117.0 inches of snow per year
Located in
Chippewa County, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in, and the county seat of, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the northeastern end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, on the Canada-US border, and separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River. The city is relatively isolated from other communities in Michigan and is 346 miles from Detroit. The population was 14,144 at the 2010 census, making it the second most populous city in the Upper Peninsula. By contrast, the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie is much larger, with more than 75,000 residents, based on more extensive industry developed in the 20th century and an economy with closer connections to other communities.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
113.5 inches of snow per year
Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse City micropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
103.0 inches of snow per year
Located in
Emmet County, Michigan
Petoskey is a city and coastal resort community in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,670 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Emmet County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
94.4 inches of snow per year
Located in
Manistee County, Michigan
Manistee is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,226 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Manistee County. The name “Manistee” is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. The derivation is not certain, but it may be from ministigweyaa, “river with islands at its mouth”. Other sources claim that it was an Ojibwe term meaning “spirit of the woods”.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
89.7 inches of snow per year
Located in
Muskegon County, Michigan
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
88.5 inches of snow per year
Located in
Muskegon County, Michigan
Norton Shores is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,994 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Michigan’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Michigan’s snowiest cities are
Saturday Night Science
How We Determined The Cities In Michigan With The Most Snow
In order to rank the snowiest cities in Michigan, we used Saturday Night Science and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) database, to see which cities in the Wolverine State get the most annual snowfall.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our second time ranking the snowiest cities in Michigan.
Before we get too far, here are the annual snowfall rates for major cities: Detroit (32.5 inches), Grand Rapids (65.7 inches), and Warren (31.3 inches).
The snowiest cities in Michigan are Houghton, Ironwood, Ishpeming, Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, Traverse City, Petoskey, Manistee, Muskegon Heights, and Norton Shores.
There’s a complete chart at the bottom.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Snowiest Places In Michigan
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Snow (Inches) | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houghton | 207.4 | 7,942 |
| 2 | Ironwood | 176.2 | 5,153 |
| 3 | Ishpeming | 161.1 | 6,517 |
| 4 | Marquette | 128.0 | 21,444 |
| 5 | Sault Ste. Marie | 117.0 | 14,048 |
| 6 | Traverse City | 113.5 | 15,168 |
| 7 | Petoskey | 103.0 | 5,725 |
| 8 | Manistee | 94.4 | 6,136 |
| 9 | Muskegon Heights | 89.7 | 10,809 |
| 10 | Norton Shores | 88.5 | 23,982 |
| 11 | Cadillac | 86.9 | 10,327 |
| 12 | Muskegon | 86.1 | 37,861 |
| 13 | Allegan | 83.2 | 5,036 |
| 14 | St. Joseph | 80.6 | 8,311 |
| 15 | Alpena | 78.7 | 10,273 |
| 16 | Holland | 75.8 | 33,526 |
| 17 | Ludington | 75.1 | 8,055 |
| 18 | Niles | 73.1 | 11,450 |
| 19 | Benton Harbor | 73.1 | 10,014 |
| 20 | Fair Plain | 73.1 | 7,706 |
| 21 | Allendale | 72.6 | 18,456 |
| 22 | Jenison | 72.6 | 17,004 |
| 23 | Grand Haven | 72.6 | 10,819 |
| 24 | Hudsonville | 72.6 | 7,271 |
| 25 | Zeeland | 72.6 | 5,591 |
| 26 | Kentwood | 72.5 | 50,286 |
| 27 | Greenville | 71.6 | 8,443 |
| 28 | Forest Hills | 71.2 | 27,415 |
| 29 | Wyoming | 70.8 | 74,105 |
| 30 | Grandville | 69.2 | 15,739 |
| 31 | Dowagiac | 67.8 | 5,866 |
| 32 | Cutlerville | 66.4 | 15,142 |
| 33 | East Grand Rapids | 66.4 | 11,128 |
| 34 | Comstock Park | 66.4 | 10,431 |
| 35 | Byron Center | 66.4 | 6,391 |
| 36 | Rockford | 66.4 | 5,956 |
| 37 | Belding | 66.1 | 5,771 |
| 38 | Grand Rapids | 65.7 | 192,416 |
| 39 | Northview | 64.8 | 15,278 |
| 40 | Walker | 63.7 | 24,242 |
| 41 | Hastings | 62.3 | 7,304 |
| 42 | Big Rapids | 62.0 | 10,532 |
| 43 | Kingsford | 58.4 | 5,104 |
| 44 | Iron Mountain | 58.3 | 7,571 |
| 45 | Kalamazoo | 57.4 | 75,499 |
| 46 | Battle Creek | 57.0 | 51,830 |
| 47 | Ionia | 56.8 | 11,384 |
| 48 | Westwood | 54.5 | 9,372 |
| 49 | Eastwood | 54.5 | 6,254 |
| 50 | Comstock Northwest | 54.5 | 5,140 |
| 51 | Ann Arbor | 52.8 | 116,194 |
| 52 | Springfield | 51.7 | 5,216 |
| 53 | Coldwater | 49.5 | 10,866 |
| 54 | Escanaba | 49.1 | 12,468 |
| 55 | Marshall | 48.8 | 7,038 |
| 56 | Waverly | 47.7 | 24,535 |
| 57 | Ypsilanti | 46.7 | 19,874 |
| 58 | Lansing | 46.6 | 114,485 |
| 59 | Portage | 46.2 | 47,496 |
| 60 | Milan | 45.8 | 5,929 |
| 61 | Wixom | 45.4 | 13,690 |
| 62 | Menominee | 45.3 | 8,456 |
| 63 | Saline | 44.9 | 9,020 |
| 64 | South Lyon | 44.7 | 11,616 |
| 65 | Hillsdale | 44.2 | 8,203 |
| 66 | Eaton Rapids | 44.2 | 5,221 |
| 67 | Charlotte | 44.1 | 9,057 |
| 68 | Mason | 43.5 | 8,317 |
| 69 | Whitmore Lake | 43.5 | 6,653 |
| 70 | East Lansing | 43.4 | 48,669 |
| 71 | Holt | 43.1 | 24,289 |
| 72 | Okemos | 43.1 | 22,073 |
| 73 | Haslett | 42.8 | 20,057 |
| 74 | Grand Ledge | 42.2 | 7,792 |
| 75 | Mount Pleasant | 41.9 | 26,134 |
| 76 | Saginaw | 41.7 | 50,288 |
| 77 | Romulus | 41.7 | 23,557 |
| 78 | Albion | 41.3 | 8,316 |
| 79 | Bay City | 41.2 | 34,402 |
| 80 | Wayne | 41.2 | 17,251 |
| 81 | Flat Rock | 41.2 | 9,879 |
| 82 | Midland | 40.8 | 41,995 |
| 83 | Monroe | 40.7 | 20,335 |
| 84 | Lambertville | 40.7 | 9,731 |
| 85 | Temperance | 40.7 | 9,369 |
| 86 | South Monroe | 40.7 | 6,177 |
| 87 | St. Louis | 40.5 | 7,355 |
| 88 | Freeland | 40.5 | 7,241 |
| 89 | Bridgeport | 40.5 | 6,574 |
| 90 | Buena Vista | 40.5 | 6,192 |
| 91 | Shields | 40.5 | 6,192 |
| 92 | St. Johns | 40.2 | 7,954 |
| 93 | Brighton | 40.1 | 7,555 |
| 94 | Alma | 40.0 | 9,264 |
| 95 | Swartz Creek | 39.9 | 5,632 |
| 96 | Novi | 39.8 | 57,577 |
| 97 | Westland | 39.1 | 82,642 |
| 98 | Howell | 38.4 | 9,502 |
| 99 | Flint | 38.2 | 99,802 |
| 100 | Taylor | 37.9 | 62,021 |
Source: NOAA snowfall data via Saturday Night Science. 174 Michigan cities ranked.
Summary
Summary: The Snowiest Cities In Michigan For 2026
If you’re looking for the Michigan cities that get buried in snow each winter, this is an accurate list.
The snowiest cities in Michigan are Houghton, Ironwood, Ishpeming, Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, Traverse City, Petoskey, Manistee, Muskegon Heights, and Norton Shores.
