Snowbelt States 2025

What Makes a State a Snowbelt State?

Because the United States is such a large place, it is helpful to break up the geography into different components. Certain parts of the country receive a lot of snow; this area of the country is often referred to as the snowbelt. It represents a belt of states that receive a tremendous amount of snow every year.

If a state receives an appreciable amount of annual snowfall, it is considered to be a part of the snowbelt. Many states in the snowbelt have infrastructure that has been specifically designed to handle snow, and many of these states even have their own ski resorts.

What States are in the Snowbelt?

Many states in the Northeastern United States receive a lot of snow every year. However, the only states that are part of the snowball are New York and Pennsylvania.

Additionally, states that are traditionally a part of the Rust Belt are also often included in the snowbelt, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Even though Illinois does not receive as much snow as many of the other states, the northern part of Illinois, including Chicago, receives plenty of snow every year. Therefore, there are some categories that include Illinois on this list.

Are There Snowbelt States in the Southeast?

As soon as you get beneath Pennsylvania, which is where the Mason-Dixon line is located, the amount of snowfall drops significantly. That does not necessarily mean that states that are outside of the snowbelt do not receive snow at all. For example, Virginia still receives plenty of snow every year. It simply does not receive as much snow as many of the other states listed above.

As a result, states in the Southeast are not considered to be a part of the snowbelt. States such as West Virginia, Virginia, and even North Carolina still have ski resorts that people can use during the winter, but many of these states have to manufacture their own snow to keep the resorts open.