Seasonal property work · United States
How to Start a Snow Removal Business (Costs, Permits, and Price per Driveway)
Price the driveway, the drive between houses, and where the snow is allowed to sit.
- 117,969NAICS 561730 establishments, Census 2023
- 70.6%of those have fewer than 5 employees (83,241 ÷ 117,969)
- $132/mogeneral liability in the Insureon snow sample
- $25Shaker Heights permit, per vehicle
Decision summary
- The 2022 NAICS index file lists “Snow plowing services combined with landscaping services” under 561730, and “Snow plowing driveways and parking lots (i.e., not combined with any other service)” under 561790.
- Census County Business Patterns 2023, legal form
-: 117,969 establishments and 802,899 employees in 561730. 83,241 establishments have fewer than 5 employees, which is 70.6% (83,241 ÷ 117,969). Read from cbp23us.zip on November 6, 2026. The same lawn-care count is on the lawn report. It is not a count of plow-only firms. - The same file counts 18,069 establishments in 561790. That wider building-services code is where the index puts plowing that is not combined with another service. Do not add 117,969 and 18,069.
- Insureon’s snow and ice page, updated September 30, 2026, says customers pay on average $132 a month for general liability. Insureon. The method note uses the median.
On this page
0. One set of driveways
- Pick houses you can reach in one storm without a long unpaid drive.
- Decide whether this is a winter add-on to mowing or plowing by itself. The Census index treats those as different codes.
- Ask where the city allows the snow to be piled. The street and the sidewalk are not a storage pile in the cities read below.
Snow removal startup costs
A national startup total is not on this page. No plow or salt-spreader shelf price opened on November 6, 2026. The truck you already use for lawn work is not free in winter if the permit and the insurance change. Type those bills as fixed costs once you have them.
| Line | Figure | Where it came from |
|---|---|---|
| Shaker Heights, Ohio, per vehicle | $25 | Police snow plow permit. Applications are available October 15. Plows may not deposit snow on the street or sidewalk. |
| Grand Rapids, Michigan, first vehicle | $537 | Snowplow business license. Each extra vehicle is $26. The page asks for liability insurance of $1,000,000. |
| General liability, monthly average | $132 | Insureon snow and ice removal, updated September 30, 2026. The page also prints $1,580 a year. Limits in that sample: $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. Method note: median. |
| Commercial auto, monthly average | $299 | Same page, which also prints $3,590 a year. A separate policy. |
Permits
These are two city pages, not a 50-state table. Every other city is Not yet researched.
| Place | What the page says | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Shaker Heights, Ohio | Operators must get a permit from the police department before plowing. The fee is $25 per vehicle, with registration or title. Applications are available October 15. The permit is displayed in the vehicle. Plows may not deposit snow on the street or sidewalk. Registered operators go on a public contractor list. | City page, November 6, 2026. |
| Grand Rapids, Michigan | The license application fee is $537 and covers one vehicle. Each extra vehicle is $26. The application asks for liability insurance of $1,000,000. A license is not issued if the applicant owes the city. | City page, November 6, 2026. |
| Other cities | Not yet researched. Do not copy the $25 or the $537 onto another map. | Not opened. |
Insurance
Insureon’s snow page lists general liability at $132 a month, workers’ compensation at $150, tools and equipment at $53, and commercial auto at $299. Updated September 30, 2026. The method note says median; the headings say average. Commercial lots and de-icing are called out on that page as higher-risk than residential driveways. Grand Rapids separately asks for $1,000,000 of liability insurance on the application. That is a city’s document rule, not the Insureon premium.
Does the driveway pay?
Profit on one stop is the price minus paid minutes minus salt or fuel. Profit for the month also has to clear the truck, the permit, and insurance. A month with no storms is not the same as a month with four. Type the month you are pricing. The industry counts do not set the price. No average seasonal revenue was opened.
Price one driveway
Type the price, the minutes on the driveway, the minutes driving, and what you spend on salt or fuel for that stop. Empty stays unknown.
10. A second truck
Add another truck when one storm already overflows the route and the contribution still covers the truck, the extra permit, and a driver. The section number is an outline label, not a fleet size. A Bureau of Labor Statistics wage for plow operators was not opened.
First 90 days
- Days 1–14: list the driveways you can reach in one storm, and where each pile is allowed to sit.
- Days 15–45: price the city permit and insurance. Shaker Heights is $25 per vehicle. Grand Rapids is $537 plus $26, with a $1,000,000 liability document.
- Days 46–90: time real stops in the tool, including the drive. Buy a second plow only after those stops cover labor, salt, and the month’s fixed costs.
When to stop
Drop a driveway when the drive minutes and the salt use up the price, or when the only place to put the snow is the street or the sidewalk. The tool hides the break-even count in the first case. A commercial lot is a different price from a house.
Questions people ask
How do you start a snow removal business?
Start with driveways you can reach in one storm, and name where the snow will be piled before you sell a season. The 2022 NAICS index splits the work: snow plowing combined with landscaping is 561730, and snow plowing of driveways and parking lots that is not combined with any other service is 561790. A plow shelf price was not opened on November 6, 2026.
How much does it cost to start snow removal?
This page does not have a national startup total. Shaker Heights, Ohio, charges $25 per vehicle for a snow plow permit. Grand Rapids, Michigan, charges $537 for one vehicle and $26 for each extra vehicle, and asks for $1,000,000 of liability insurance. Insureon’s snow-removal page, updated September 30, 2026, says customers pay on average $132 a month for general liability. A truck or plow price was not copied.
How much do snow removal businesses make?
On this page, a driveway pays when the price covers paid minutes and the salt or fuel for that stop, and the month’s driveways cover the fixed costs you type. The tool prints a break-even count only when that contribution is positive. No national seasonal income was opened. A quiet month and a storm month are different numbers. Type the month you mean.
How many snow removal businesses are there?
Census County Business Patterns 2023 counts 117,969 employer establishments in NAICS 561730, landscaping services. 83,241 have fewer than 5 employees, which is 83,241 ÷ 117,969, or 70.6%. The index puts seasonal snow-and-landscape firms in that code. Dedicated driveway and lot plowing that is not combined with another service is listed under 561790, which has 18,069 establishments. Do not add the two counts.
Do I need a snow plow permit?
Shaker Heights requires a police permit before plowing, at $25 per vehicle. Applications are available October 15, and plows may not deposit snow on the street or sidewalk. Grand Rapids charges $537 for the first vehicle and $26 for each additional one, and the application asks for $1,000,000 of liability insurance. Other cities are not yet researched.
How much is snow removal insurance?
Insureon’s snow and ice removal page, updated September 30, 2026, says customers pay on average $132 a month for general liability, $150 a month for workers’ compensation, $53 a month for tools and equipment, and $299 a month for commercial auto. The method note uses the median. The general-liability sample on that page is $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. Do not add the four figures into one premium.
Is snow removal the same business as lawn care?
Only when the index’s seasonal combination is the offer you actually sell. A summer mowing route that also plows is 561730. Plowing that is not combined with another service is listed under 561790. Price the winter stop on its own. The lawn report prices the grass, not the storm.
How do you price a driveway?
Type the price, the minutes on the driveway, the paid drive minutes, a loaded hourly rate, and the salt or fuel for that stop. Empty stays unknown. Break-even driveways appear only after you also type the month’s fixed costs and the contribution is still positive.
When should I add a second truck?
When paid driveways already overflow one storm and the contribution still covers another truck, another permit, and the drive. Shaker Heights charges another $25 per vehicle. Grand Rapids charges another $26. A plow price was not read.
Still open
- 117,969 is all of NAICS 561730, not plow-only firms. 18,069 is all of NAICS 561790, not plow-only firms either.
- No plow, spreader, or salt shelf price was opened.
- No 50-state permit table. Shaker Heights and Grand Rapids are the two city pages read.
- No Bureau of Labor Statistics wage was opened.