Kent County, MI Roof Snow Load - 24.5 psf
What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Kent County
That's Kent 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 53.9 in. of fresh powder, 19.6 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 4.9 in. if it's turned to ice. Modern-code homes carry a load like this without issue; an older addition, a carport, or any flat-roofed section is where it is worth checking first.
Snow on Kent County's roofs right now?
Kent County in numbers
- Design roof snow load24.5 psf
- Ground snow load, ASCE 7 map35 psf
- National rank#304 of 2,758
- Michigan rank#40 of 70
- Population673,002
- Annual snowfall, NOAA normal74.9 in.
- FIPS26081
Where Kent County's figure sits nationally
Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Kent County sits at #304, the top 11% nationally - #40 of 70 within Michigan. Michigan counties average 31.7 psf; Kent County runs 7.2 psf lower than that.
Near 43.0325°N 85.5474°W, FIPS 26081: Kent County counts 673,002 residents and a 35 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 24.5 psf.
How much it actually snows in Kent County
Most winters bring Kent County roughly 74.9 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at E GRAND RAPIDS, MI US, 7.3 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)
Read this before you rely on it
Kent 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 Kent County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)