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.

Pennsylvania Sidewalk Snow Removal: 3 to 48 Hours

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

The rules collected here are sidewalk rules, and the great majority of Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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.

Nothing

What state law sets

37 states are in the same position

3 to 48h

The range across its cities

[object Object] is the tightest

7 of 7

Cities with an ordinance

2 clear it themselves and bill

September 23, 2026

Read

2 publish a penalty

The short answer

Pennsylvania runs from three hours in Erie to two days in Wilkes-Barre

Pennsylvania has no sidewalk clearing statute that any of the codes read here relies on. The clock is a city's instead, and seven Pennsylvania cities count in hours. The tightest is Erie at three hours and the loosest Wilkes-Barre at two days, a gap of 45 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.

Two of the Pennsylvania cities below publish 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.

Nothing found7 of 7 cities with an ordinance7 counting in hours2 clear it themselves

City by city, in each city’s own words

The 7 Pennsylvania cities that publish an ordinance

Seven Pennsylvania cities publish a count of hours, and each one below is quoted from the ordinance or the city page it was read from. A day is the commonest figure in Pennsylvania as it is nationally: 74 of the 150 cities that count in hours land on exactly that.

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.

Erie
Up to 6h
within three hours of the snowfall
Per City Ordinance,it is the responsibility of the occupant of any home, apartment, store, storehouse, shop, garage, factory, church, schoolhouse, or other building to remove, or hire someone to remove, all snow, ice, or sleet from the sidewalk in front of the respective premises within three hours of the snowfall.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
the occupant of any home, apartment, store, storehouse, shop, garage, factory, church, schoolhouse, or other building
What it says about ice
If ice or snow is so hardened or frozen that it cannot be removed without injury to the sidewalk, occupant should sprinkle with sand, sawdust, or rock salt to make the surface of the sidewalk safe, and remove the ice and snow as soon as it is possible to do so.
- If it is not done the city may clear it and charge the property
- Published by City of Erie, Department of Public Works
Winter Regulations, Department of Public Works, City of Erie, read September 23, 2026
Philadelphia
Up to 6h
within six hours after snowfall stops
Remove snow from sidewalk within six hours after snowfall stops.
- Width a path at least 36 inches wide
- Penalty Minimum of $50, but up to $300 for each violation
- Section Philadelphia Code 10-720
- Published by City of Philadelphia, Department of Streets
Snow events, Department of Streets, City of Philadelphia, read September 23, 2026 Where the city takes reports
York
7h to 12h
within twelve (12) hours of the end of the precipitation
Mayor Michael Helfrich would like to remind residents and property owners that the Property Maintenance Code requires that snow and ice be removed from sidewalks within twelve (12) hours of the end of the precipitation.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
residents and property owners
- Width a cleared pathway at least thirty six inches in width for the entire length of the sidewalk in front of and abutting the property, or on a narrower sidewalk a path that allows one pedestrian to pass at a time
- Section City of York Property Maintenance Code
- Published by City of York, Property Maintenance
Snow Removal Requirements, City of York, read September 23, 2026
Altoona
13h to 24h
within 24 hours following each snowstorm
By City Ordinance, property owners are responsible for clearing their sidewalks of snow/ice within 24 hours following each snowstorm. A citation or fine may be issued if the property owner fails to comply.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
property owners
- Section Chapter 663, Article IV, Snow and Ice Removal
- Published by City of Altoona, Public Works Department
Winter Weather Services, Public Works Department, City of Altoona, read September 23, 2026 Where the city takes reports
Bethlehem
13h to 24h
within twenty-four (24) hours after it shall have ceased snowing, sleeting or raining
Under City Codified Ordinance all persons owning, controlling or occupying any private property, premises, lot or tract of land adjoining or fronting upon any of the streets of the City shall remove snow and ice from the sidewalk area or footways of such premises within twenty-four (24) hours after it shall have ceased snowing, sleeting or raining.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
all persons owning, controlling or occupying any private property, premises, lot or tract of land adjoining or fronting upon any of the streets of the City
What it says about ice
The same FAQ states that the abutting property owner is responsible to clean the handicapped ramp to make safe passage to the roadway pavement
- Published by City of Bethlehem, Department of Public Works
Snow Plowing and Removal Frequently Asked Questions, City of Bethlehem, read September 23, 2026
State College
13h to 24h
within 24 hours after a winter storm
Borough Ordinances require sidewalks to be kept clear of snow, ice and debris. Snow and ice must be removed within 24 hours after a winter storm. Property owners who fail to keep sidewalks clear of snow and ice may be issued a citation.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
property owners
- Published by State College Borough, Public Works
Snow Removal, Public Works, State College Borough, read September 23, 2026
Wilkes-Barre
Over 24h
within forty-eight (48) hours after the cessation of any storm or fall of snow, and within four (4) hours for a place of business; where the snow or ice ceases during the hours of darkness the quality of life rule starts the clock at daybreak
It shall be the duty of the owner, tenant or occupant of any lot or land or real estate in the city to clear the sidewalks contiguous thereto of all snow or ice within forty-eight (48) hours after the cessation of any storm or fall of snow.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
the owner, tenant or occupant of any lot or land or real estate in the city
What it says about ice
The quality of life rule at Section 19-203(q) treats ice on the same clock as snow and sets daybreak as the start where the fall ceases during the hours of darkness
- Width a path, free from any snow or ice, of three (3) feet, with the entire sidewalk cleared at a place of business
- Penalty $300.00, listed as violation QOL-017 Snow and ice removal from sidewalks on the quality of life fine schedule, payment due in 48 hours
- If it is not done the city may clear it and charge the property
- Section Section 26-7, with the quality of life rule at Section 19-203(q) and the fine schedule at Section 19-209
- Published by City of Wilkes-Barre Code of Ordinances, Chapter 26 Streets, Sidewalks and Other Public Places
Section 26-7 Responsibility of abutting property owners to clean snow and ice from sidewalks, City of Wilkes-Barre Code of Ordinances, read September 23, 2026

Why one Pennsylvania answer does not exist

Erie and Wilkes-Barre are 45 hours apart

A house on one side of a city line in Pennsylvania has three hours and a house on the other has two days, 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania itself did

Pennsylvania has written nothing on this

Pennsylvania sets no statewide sidewalk clearing deadline; every deadline in this record is a city or borough rule and the clocks read here run from three hours to forty eight.

That is the national pattern rather than a Pennsylvania 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.

No statute found, and the cities cite none

No Pennsylvania statute was found on this

has no sidewalk clearing statute that any of the codes read here relies on

What happens if it is not done

A bill or a penalty, depending on the Pennsylvania city

Two Pennsylvania cities publish 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.

Two Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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

Pennsylvania sidewalk snow removal questions

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

Pennsylvania has no sidewalk clearing statute that any of the codes read here relies on. The clock is a city's instead, and seven Pennsylvania cities count in hours. The tightest is Erie at three hours and the loosest Wilkes-Barre at two days, a gap of 45 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. Seven Pennsylvania cities publish a count of hours, and each one below is quoted from the ordinance or the city page it was read from. A day is the commonest figure in Pennsylvania as it is nationally: 74 of the 150 cities that count in hours land on exactly that.

Does Pennsylvania have a state law about clearing sidewalks?

Why do two Pennsylvania cities give different deadlines?

A house on one side of a city line in Pennsylvania has three hours and a house on the other has two days, 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. Erie writes: “Per City Ordinance,it is the responsibility of the occupant of any home, apartment, store, storehouse, shop, garage, factory, church, schoolhouse, or other building to remove, or hire someone to remove, all snow, ice, or sleet from the sidewalk in front of the respective premises within three hours of the snowfall.”

Will the city clear my sidewalk in Pennsylvania?

Two Pennsylvania cities publish 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. Erie sets it out this way: “In the event of failure to remove the snow, ice, or sleet, the City reserves the right to have the snow removed at the expense of the owner.”

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

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

Which cities in the country give you the least time?

How current is this?

Sidewalk snow removal rules in every state

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

Pennsylvania read September 23, 2026: the municipal code and the city published pages of the 7 cities above. 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.