Every deadline, width and penalty here was read on September 23, 2026, off the city's own page or the municipal code that city hosts, and each one is quoted and linked beside the line it supports. Cities amend these ordinances between winters and several publish the deadline on a seasonal page that changes in autumn, so the link beside a line is what governs on the day.

Massachusetts Sidewalk Snow Removal: 3 to 12 Hours

Q: Does snow have to be cleared from the sidewalk or the street in Massachusetts?

The rules collected here are sidewalk rules, and the great majority of Massachusetts cities publish a second one about where the snow may go once it has been moved, most often forbidding it on the travelled part of the road. Both come off the same city pages linked below, and the Massachusetts cities that publish only the second are listed as such rather than folded in with the rest.

Q: Which cities in the country give you the least time?

St. Louis, Santa Fe, Sheridan, where the ordinance allows no hours at all. Above them, 57 of the 150 cities that count in hours give twelve hours or less, 74 give exactly a day, and 18 give more than a day. The widest gap inside a single state is Maine, from four hours to three days.

A rule, not a clock

What state law sets

G.L. c. 85, § 5

3 to 12h

The range across its cities

[object Object] is the tightest

8 of 8

Cities with an ordinance

1 clear it themselves and bill

September 23, 2026

Read

5 publish a penalty

The short answer

Massachusetts runs from three hours in Boston to twelve hours in Cambridge

Massachusetts has a statute that does one thing only, which is to let a local government pass a rule of its own. The clock is a city's instead, and eight Massachusetts cities count in hours. The tightest is Boston at three hours and the loosest Cambridge at twelve hours, a gap of nine hours inside one state. Nationally the deadlines run from no hours at all to three days across 150 cities, and no state legislature anywhere has put a number on it.

One of the Massachusetts cities below publishes somewhere to report a walk that has not been cleared, linked on its own line. The city that publishes the rule is the city that answers questions about it.

A city may8 of 8 cities with an ordinance8 counting in hours1 clear it themselves

City by city, in each city’s own words

The 8 Massachusetts cities that publish an ordinance

Eight Massachusetts cities publish a count of hours, and each one below is quoted from the ordinance or the city page it was read from. The middle of the Massachusetts figures is eight hours, against a day nationally.

Each card below carries what that city published and nothing else: the deadline in its own sentence, the sentence it was read from, and the width, the penalty and the wording about ice where the city printed them. The chip is a band derived from the wording for sorting, not a restatement of it.

Boston
Up to 6h
within three hours after it stopped snowing, or within three hours after sunrise when it snowed overnight
Clear sidewalks and curb ramps within three hours after it stopped snowing.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
a property owner in Boston
What it says about ice
As a property owner in Boston, you must clear snow, sleet, and ice from sidewalks and curb ramps abutting your property.
- Width at least a 42-inch-wide path
- Penalty $200 commercial, $100 residential with more than 16 units, $50 residential with 16 or fewer units, for failure to remove snow or ice from a sidewalk
- Section Boston Code of Ordinances, 16-12.16
- Published by City of Boston Public Works Department
Rules on clearing snow, City of Boston Public Works Department, read September 23, 2026
New Bedford
Up to 6h
within a reasonable time after such snow has ceased to fall, and under unusual or extraordinary circumstances within four hours if the snow falls in the day time or before 11:00 in the forenoon next succeeding if it falls in the night time
Every owner or occupant of a building or lot of land abutting upon a sidewalk in any street or public place in the city shall cause the snow to be removed from such sidewalk within a reasonable time after such snow has ceased to fall; except that under unusual or extraordinary circumstances a reasonable time shall be held to be as follows: If snow falls in the day time, it shall be removed from the sidewalk within four (4) hours from time it shall have ceased falling; if in the night time, it shall be removed on or before 11:00 in the forenoon next succeeding.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
every owner or occupant of a building or lot of land abutting upon a sidewalk
- Penalty a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00)
- Section Sec. 22-15
- Published by City of New Bedford
Sec. 22-15 Snow and ice, Removal from sidewalks, required, New Bedford Code of Ordinances, read September 23, 2026
Salem
Up to 6h
within six hours after the snow ceases to fall or the city's snow emergency lights are turned off, whichever time is later
The owner of any building, structure or lot of land bordering on any street, lane, court, square or public place within the city where there is a sidewalk, including any curb ramp/cut, shall cause all snow that may be on such sidewalk and curb ramp/cut to be removed there from within six hours after the snow ceases to fall or the city's snow emergency lights are turned off, whichever time is later.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
the owner of any building, structure or lot of land bordering on any street, lane, court, square or public place within the city
- Width three feet wide or the width of the sidewalk, whichever is less
- Penalty $50.00 for the first offense and $100.00 for each subsequent offense
- Section Sec. 38-13
- Published by City of Salem
Sec. 38-13 Removal of snow from sidewalks, Salem Code of Ordinances, read September 23, 2026
Somerville
Up to 6h
within six daylight hours after the snow stops
Sidewalks must be cleared within six daylight hours after the snow stops.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
all property owners
What it says about ice
All property owners are responsible for removing all ice and snow from sidewalks and accessible ramps that abut their property.
- Width at least 36 inches (three feet) wide
- Published by City of Somerville
Snow Info: Emergency Policies, Parking Rules, Shoveling Requirements, City of Somerville, read September 23, 2026
Brockton
7h to 12h
within eight (8) hours after each fall of snow
All snow shall be removed from such sidewalks within eight (8) hours after each fall of snow, such removal of snow to be made whether the same accumulates from the roof of adjacent buildings or from any other cause.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
the owner, occupant or tenant of any building or lot of land abutting upon public ways upon which sidewalks have been constructed
- Penalty a sum not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00)
- Section Sec. 20-14
- Published by City of Brockton
Sec. 20-14 Snow and ice on sidewalks; penalty, Brockton Code of Ordinances, read September 23, 2026
Medford
7h to 12h
within eight daylight hours after the snow stops falling or a snow emergency has been lifted, whichever is later
The owner, tenant, occupant, or agent thereof shall remove snow and ice within eight daylight hours after the snow stops falling or a snow emergency has been lifted, whichever is later, and the city may extend the deadlines set forth above in its discretion.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
the owner, tenant, occupant, or agent thereof
- Width a minimum passage of 36 inches
- Section Sec. 74-114
- Published by City of Medford
Sec. 74-114 Removal of snow and ice, Medford Code of Ordinances, read September 23, 2026
Worcester
7h to 12h
within 10 hours after snow ceases to fall
Worcester's Ordinance states sidewalks must be cleared with a 4-foot wide path for safe pedestrian travel within 10 hours after snow ceases to fall.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
property owners or occupants
What it says about ice
Property owners or occupants are responsible for keeping the sidewalk in front of and adjacent to their property clear of snow and ice.
- Width a 4-foot wide path
- Penalty $75.00 per day
- If it is not done the city may clear it and charge the property
- Published by City of Worcester Department of Public Works and Parks
Snow Removal, City of Worcester, read September 23, 2026 Where the city takes reports
Cambridge
7h to 12h
within twelve hours after snow ceases to fall in the daytime and before one p.m. after a fall of snow during the night
A. Removal of Snow from Sidewalks. The owner or occupant of private property bordering on a street where there is a sidewalk or footway shall, within twelve hours after snow ceases to fall in the daytime and before one p.m. after a fall of snow during the night, cause all snow that may be on such sidewalk or footway to be removed therefrom.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
the owner or occupant of private property bordering on a street where there is a sidewalk or footway
What it says about ice
B. Removal of Ice from Sidewalks. The owner or occupant of private property bordering on a street where there is a sidewalk or footway any portion of which is encumbered by ice shall within six hours after the sidewalk or footway becomes encumbered with ice cause such sidewalk or footway to be made safe and convenient by removing the ice therefrom, or by keeping the same covered with sand or some other suitable substance.
- Section 12.16.110
- Published by City of Cambridge
12.16.110 Sidewalks, Snow and ice removal, Cambridge Municipal Code, read September 23, 2026

Why one Massachusetts answer does not exist

Boston and Cambridge are 9 hours apart

A house on one side of a city line in Massachusetts has three hours and a house on the other has twelve hours, which is the whole reason a state level answer to this question is no answer. 23 states carry a gap like it, the widest being Maine at 68 hours.

Neither city is wrong and neither is unusual. A sidewalk ordinance is written by a council for the street outside its own window, and nothing above it in Massachusetts obliges one council to look at what the next one wrote. The figure that applies to a reader is the one their own city published, which is why every card above carries the city’s name before it carries a number.

A sidewalk cleared earlier in the day with fresh wind blown snow already lying back across the outer half of it, a plowed road to one side and an unbroken snow field to the other — Almost every hour count on these pages runs from the end of the snowfall rather than from its start, which is the one drafting choice the ordinances broadly share. What counts as the end of it, and what a fresh drift across a cleared walk does to the clock, is left to the wording each city chose, and that wording is quoted in full on the state pages. “Snow drifting onto a shoveled sidewalk, Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, 2024-01-20”, Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0

What Massachusetts itself did

The Massachusetts statute, and what it does not do

Massachusetts sets no statewide shovelling deadline; the General Laws let each city and town decide by ordinance or by-law which sidewalks are covered, how long an abutting owner has, and what the penalty is.

That is the national pattern rather than a Massachusetts quirk. 13 of the 50 legislatures have a statute that touches sidewalk snow at all, 10 of those do nothing but let a city decide, and not one of them sets a deadline. The clock is a municipal ordinance everywhere in the country.

Permission for a local government to write one

G.L. c. 85, § 5

Massachusetts General Court

has a statute that does one thing only, which is to let a local government pass a rule of its own

Section 5. Cities by ordinance and towns by by-laws may provide for the removal of snow and ice from sidewalks within such portions of the city or town as they consider expedient by the owner or occupant of land abutting upon such sidewalks. Such ordinances and by-laws shall determine the time and manner of removal and shall affix penalties, not exceeding fifty dollars in the case of a city or ten dollars in the case of a town, for each violation thereof.

Massachusetts General Court, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

What happens if it is not done

A bill or a penalty, depending on the Massachusetts city

One Massachusetts city publishes a rule letting the city clear the walk and put the cost on the property. That is the commoner enforcement route nationally: 102 of the 187 cities with an ordinance carry one, against 105 that publish a penalty.

Five Massachusetts cities print a penalty beside the rule, each as a dollar figure. Each is reproduced below in the words its own ordinance used.

Both routes are printed on the cards above in the sentence each was read from, because a penalty clause paraphrased is a different statement than the one the city made. Where a city publishes a page for reporting a walk that has not been cleared, that link is on its card too.

How Massachusetts compares

The same question in the other forty nine

150 cities nationally count in hours, and the counts run from no hours at all to 72. 74 land on exactly a day, 57 give twelve hours or less, and 18 give more than a day. A further 22 set a time of day or a depth of snow rather than a count of hours at all.

The bar splits those 150 cities by how long they allow, and the table beneath it orders the states by how tight their tightest city is, which is a different ranking from how much snow a state gets.

3 of 150No hours allowed
23 of 150Six hours or less
31 of 150Within twelve hours
75 of 150Within a day
18 of 150More than a day

Fifty states and 267 cities, read September 23, 2026.
State	What the legislature did	What its cities do	With an ordinance	Tightest city
Missouri	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	ImmediatelySt. Louis
Wyoming	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 3	ImmediatelySheridan
New Mexico	A cross reference	Cities count in hours	1 of 4	ImmediatelySanta Fe
Michigan	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	2hMarquette
Maryland	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	3hAnnapolis
Massachusetts	A city may	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	3hBoston
Pennsylvania	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	3hErie
Virginia	A city may	Cities count in hours	6 of 7	3hRoanoke
Connecticut	A city may	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	4hDanbury
Ohio	A city may	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	4hAthens
New York	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	4hNew York City
Maine	A city may	Cities count in hours	4 of 8	4hWaterville
Vermont	A city may	Cities count in hours	1 of 6	4hWinooski
Rhode Island	A city may	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	5hNewport
Indiana	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	6hWest Lafayette
Nebraska	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	8hFremont
New Jersey	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	8hJersey City
Utah	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	8hPark City
Iowa	Owner duty, no clock	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	10hAmes
Kansas	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	12hSalina
Delaware	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	12hMilford
Washington	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 4	12hSeattle
California	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	1 of 2	12hSouth Lake Tahoe
North Dakota	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	24hBismarck
Wisconsin	The city clears it	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	24hGreen Bay
Colorado	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	24hAurora
Illinois	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	24hChampaign
Minnesota	A city may	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	24hDuluth
Montana	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	24hBillings
South Dakota	A city may	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	24hWatertown
Oklahoma	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 7	24hTulsa
West Virginia	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 4	24hMorgantown
Alaska	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	2 of 3	24hSeward
Idaho	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	2 of 3	24hIdaho Falls
Texas	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	2 of 7	24hAmarillo
Arizona	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	1 of 5	24hFlagstaff
Oregon	Nothing at state level	Required, no time named	2 of 3	None published
Arkansas	Nothing at state level	Set by the clock or a depth	1 of 7	None published
Kentucky	Nothing at state level	Set by the clock or a depth	1 of 3	None published
Tennessee	Nothing at state level	Required, no time named	1 of 4	None published
Alabama	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Florida	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Georgia	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Hawaii	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 2	None published
Louisiana	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 6	None published
Mississippi	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Nevada	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
New Hampshire	A city may	No city rule found	0 of 7	None published
North Carolina	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 4	None published
South Carolina	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published

Massachusetts sidewalk snow removal questions

How long do you have to shovel your sidewalk in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has a statute that does one thing only, which is to let a local government pass a rule of its own. The clock is a city's instead, and eight Massachusetts cities count in hours. The tightest is Boston at three hours and the loosest Cambridge at twelve hours, a gap of nine hours inside one state. Nationally the deadlines run from no hours at all to three days across 150 cities, and no state legislature anywhere has put a number on it. Eight Massachusetts cities publish a count of hours, and each one below is quoted from the ordinance or the city page it was read from. The middle of the Massachusetts figures is eight hours, against a day nationally.

Does Massachusetts have a state law about clearing sidewalks?

Massachusetts sets no statewide shovelling deadline; the General Laws let each city and town decide by ordinance or by-law which sidewalks are covered, how long an abutting owner has, and what the penalty is. The section is G.L. c. 85, § 5, published by Massachusetts General Court. It reads: “Section 5. Cities by ordinance and towns by by-laws may provide for the removal of snow and ice from sidewalks within such portions of the city or town as they consider expedient by the owner or occupant of land abutting upon such sidewalks. Such ordinances and by-laws shall determine the time and manner of removal and shall affix penalties, not exceeding fifty dollars in the case of a city or ten dollars in the case of a town, for each violation thereof.”

Why do two Massachusetts cities give different deadlines?

Will the city clear my sidewalk in Massachusetts?

One Massachusetts city publishes a rule letting the city clear the walk and put the cost on the property. That is the commoner enforcement route nationally: 102 of the 187 cities with an ordinance carry one, against 105 that publish a penalty. Worcester sets it out this way: “If the owner or occupant fails to clear the sidewalk of snow within the time allowed, the city may remove the snow and clear the sidewalk. The city may then seek reimbursement of the expense incurred from the owner or occupant.”

What is the fine for not shovelling a sidewalk in Massachusetts?

Five Massachusetts cities print a penalty beside the rule, each as a dollar figure. Each is reproduced below in the words its own ordinance used. Boston prints $200 commercial, $100 residential with more than 16 units, $50 residential with 16 or fewer units, for failure to remove snow or ice from a sidewalk: “Failure to remove snow/ice from a sidewalk. Commercial $200. Residential with more than 16 units $100. Residential with 16 or fewer units $50.”

Does snow have to be cleared from the sidewalk or the street in Massachusetts?

Which cities in the country give you the least time?

How current is this?

Sidewalk snow removal rules in every state

Massachusetts ice damsWhat builds at the eaves while the walk is being cleared, and the conditions that put it there.Massachusetts ground snow loadThe other winter number a city sets and the state usually does not, and who publishes it where.Massachusetts snowpackWhat is actually on the ground this winter, measured daily, against the years behind it.Massachusetts frozen pipesThe other thing a long cold spell does to a building, and the temperatures it starts at.

Massachusetts read September 23, 2026: the municipal code and the city published pages of the 8 cities above, and G.L. c. 85, § 5. Every deadline, width, penalty and duty above links to the document it was published in and is reproduced in that document’s own wording. An hour count on this site is a sorting key derived from a city’s sentence and never a replacement for it. Councils amend ordinances on their own schedule, so the section linked beside a line is what governs on the day. What a particular property owes, and to whom, is a question for the city that published the ordinance.