Does a snowblower pay over a plow service, and how many storms until it does?

Which blower, and a word on health

Consumer Reports: single-stage gas suits a level, paved driveway and up to about 9 inches of snow. Two-stage suits a long, wide driveway or gravel. Three-stage is for 18 inches or more of wet, heavy snow. Most single-stage battery models top out near 6 inches. The whole category runs from about $200 to over $3,000 (page updated 2026-03-09).

This page cannot say who should clear snow. The American Heart Association says people with heart disease or risk factors should get someone else to do it (AHA, 2026-02-05).

How this estimates

A "storm" is a day with at least the trigger depth of new snow, from the NOAA table below or your own number. The blower costs its price plus sales tax up front, then each winter upkeep, storage and, for each storm you clear yourself, fuel plus your time at the hourly value you entered. A per-visit service bills storms times the visit price. A contract bills its price, plus the extra-visit price for each storm above the cap. Backup visits are billed at the visit price and the blower clears the rest.

Service prices grow by the service price rise each season and blower costs by the blower cost rise. A new machine is bought in the season after each full life, at today's price grown by the blower cost rise. Resale is a share of the last machine's price. There is no loan, discount rate or tax effect. Seasons to pay back is when the running total first reaches zero; storms to pay back is that times the storms a winter. The break-even storm count comes from trying every count from 0 to 100 in steps of 0.1. Cash saved per hour is the cash gain over your hours with the blower, before tax.

Left out: hand shoveling, a snow pusher, a heated driveway, roof snow, a neighbor who plows, noise, insurance, injury risk and salt, except what you add to the fuel box. Deep storms cost more per visit, and a single-stage blower is rated to about 9 inches. A per-inch bill is not modeled: enter your average visit.

NOAA snow days by station, 1991-2020

Average days a winter with snowfall of at least each depth (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals, checked 2026-10-17). Season snow is in inches. Watertown, Oswego and Lake Placid are cooperative (volunteer-observer) stations, not airports, and Lake Placid's season total is provisional (21 years of data). The airport stations at Watertown and Saranac Lake have no snowfall columns. Choose the nearest station or type your own count.

Sources and date checked

Starting numbers were checked on 2026-10-17. Prices and plow terms vary by town. Plow prices come from one TV station's 2024 report and contractors' own marketing guides, which are market talk, not a price list. The table below lists each source and the pages that could not be opened.

Not advice. This is a planning estimate at the inputs shown, not financial, medical or safety advice. Prices, plow terms and snowfall differ by town and by winter. Get a written quote from your service before you decide.