Essex County, MA Roof Snow Load - 35 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Essex County
That's Essex County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from.
Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 77 in. of fresh powder, 28 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 7 in. if it's turned to ice. This is a serious structural load - older homes built before modern snow-load provisions, or ones with low-slope or flat roof sections, are worth having checked.
Essex County at a glance
- Design roof snow load35 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map50 psf
- National rank#90 of 2,758
- Massachusetts rank#3 of 14
- Population823,938
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal51.4 in.
- FIPS25009
Where Essex County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Essex County sits at #90, the top 3% nationally - #3 of 14 within Massachusetts. Massachusetts counties average 27.6 psf; Essex County runs 7.4 psf higher than that.
Near 42.6427°N 70.8649°W, FIPS 25009: Essex County counts 823,938 residents and a 50 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 35 psf.
How much it actually snows in Essex County
Most winters bring Essex County roughly 51.4 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at BEVERLY, MA US, 4 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Essex County's number above is ASCE 7-22's default case, not a custom calculation: ordinary residential occupancy, heated, sited on ground that's neither fully sheltered nor fully exposed. Any one of those changing - pitch, exposure, heating, occupancy - moves the real figure.
Nothing here substitutes for an address-level number. Get one free, in about a minute, from the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool using your own coordinates rather than Essex County's county-wide figure. See the methodology guide.