The 10 Snowiest Cities In Michigan For 2024


The snowiest cities in Michigan are Houghton and Ironwood for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

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.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table


Best Places To Buy A House In Michigan Map

What’s the snowiest place in Michigan with more than 5,000 people? That would be Houghton with an average annual snowfall of 207.4 inches.

Read on below to see where your town ranked, you snow angels.

And if you already knew these places were snowy, check out the best places to live in Michigan or the cheapest places in Michigan.

The 10 Snowiest Cities In Michigan For 2024

Houghton, MI

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,942
Average Annual Snowfall: 207.4 inches
More on Houghton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Ironwood, MI

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,153
Average Annual Snowfall: 176.2 inches
More on Ironwood: Data | Crime | Real Estate

Ishpeming, MI

Source: Flickr User bgreenlee | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,517
Average Annual Snowfall: 161.1 inches
More on Ishpeming: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Marquette, MI

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 21,444
Average Annual Snowfall: 128.0 inches
More on Marquette: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Sault Ste. Marie, MI

Source: Wikipedia User P199 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 14,048
Average Annual Snowfall: 117.0 inches
More on Sault Ste. Marie: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Traverse City, MI

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 15,168
Average Annual Snowfall: 113.5 inches
More on Traverse City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Petoskey, MI

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 5,725
Average Annual Snowfall: 103.0 inches
More on Petoskey: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Manistee, MI

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 6,136
Average Annual Snowfall: 94.4 inches
More on Manistee: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Muskegon Heights, MI

Source: Flickr User dsrins_syb | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 10,809
Average Annual Snowfall: 89.7 inches
More on Muskegon Heights: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 23,982
Average Annual Snowfall: 88.5 inches
More on Norton Shores: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

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 2024. 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
  • 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.

If you’re curious, here are the places that get the least amount of snow in Michigan with at least snow snowfall:

  1. Adrian — 28.8 inches
  2. Grosse Pointe Woods — 28.9 inches
  3. Grosse Pointe Park — 29.2 inches

For more Michigan reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Snowiest Places In Michigan

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
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.