Trade guide
Snow Removal Business
One truck. One plow. A phone that goes off at 3:40 in the morning and a decision you made back in September that decides what the night is worth.
The numbers that matter
$40–$90 per push. $350–$650 per driveway for the season.
A standard two-car driveway takes 8 to 14 minutes with a plow on the truck.
Which of those two prices you write on the contract is the whole business.
A seasonal contract is a bet you place in October and settle in March
Per push, you get paid for the work you do.
Seasonal, you get paid the same whether the sky opens six times or nineteen.
Customers love seasonal because it turns an unknown into a line in their budget, and that is exactly why they will pay a premium for it.
You are selling them certainty and buying risk, which is a fine trade as long as you price the risk instead of pretending it isn't there.
The winter that ate the season — Rochester, NY
One crew signed 34 driveways at $438 for the season and collected $14,892 before the first flake. They priced it against 9 pushes. The winter gave them 17.
At their own per-push rate of $52, those 578 driveway visits were $30,056 of work. They did all of it for $14,892, plus $1,180 in fuel and a snapped plow marker.
The sentence that fixes it goes in the contract and out loud on the phone: "Seasonal covers plowing at two inches or more, up to 12 visits — after the twelfth it's $52 a push, billed the same week."
$40–$90 a push, and the driveway takes eleven minutes
| Job | Time | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Residential driveway, per push | 8–14 min | $40–$90 |
| Rural driveway, 300+ ft | 20–35 min | $85–$160 |
| Residential seasonal contract | full season | $350–$650 |
| Walks and steps, shoveled | 10–20 min | $25–$55 |
| Ice melt, residential | 5–10 min | $30–$70 |
| Small commercial lot, per push | 25–45 min | $125–$250 |
| Salt spread, small lot | 10–15 min | $75–$140 |
| Roof and ice dam clearing | 2–4 hr | $300–$800 |
Two numbers move every line above: how deep it has to snow before you're allowed to bill, and how far apart your stops are. Sizing work by the job instead of the hour is covered in the pricing guides.
Where the money actually is — Omaha, NE
A 14-space medical office lot. $185 a push, salt billed separately at $94 a spread, 34 minutes with the truck.
December ran 6 pushes and 9 salts: $1,110 in plowing, $846 in salt, $1,956 from one property in one month. The salt takes 11 minutes and outsells half the plowing.
Say it before they sign: "Salt is billed per application, not bundled — I spread it whenever the lot ices over, and every spread shows on the invoice with a time stamp."
The plow is cheaper than the insurance
- A truck that can carry it. A three-quarter-ton with the front axle rating to hold a blade, not a half-ton you hope survives.
- The plow. $4,200–$7,500 new and installed; $1,600–$3,400 used, plus $400–$900 if the mount doesn't match your truck.
- General liability that does not exclude snow and ice. Many policies quietly do. Get the endorsement in writing before you take a commercial account.
- Commercial auto. A plow on the front changes what your personal policy will cover.
- A time-stamped service log. Date, address, arrival time, depth, salt yes or no. It is the only thing that answers a slip-and-fall claim filed in June.
- Salt bought in September. By mid-January the price has moved and the pallet you wanted is gone.
- A city license, and possibly plow registration. Some cities also regulate where you're allowed to push snow. Rules vary by state and city — confirm with your city clerk and your state licensing agency.
- Cash to float February. Seasonal money lands in October; per-push invoices sit for 30 days at the worst time of the year.
The word "unlimited" costs more than any piece of equipment you'll buy. An unlimited seasonal contract with no trigger depth means a customer can call you out for three-quarters of an inch, at 2am, twenty times, for the same $438. Write a trigger depth, write a visit cap, write the per-push rate that applies past the cap. If a customer refuses all three, they are the customer who will use all three.
Snow is the second half of a business, not the whole one
A plow route runs roughly November to March in most of the country, which leaves seven months of truck payments and no snow.
The operators who do well in winter are usually the ones already mowing in July, and the same driveways buy both — see the lawn care guide for the summer half.
Bill your seasonal customers across the full year instead of collecting once in October, and January stops being a cliff.
Three things to read next
Common questions
How much should I charge to plow a driveway?
$40 to $90 per push for a standard two-car driveway, which takes 8 to 14 minutes. Long rural driveways run $85 to $160. Walks and steps are a separate $25 to $55 because they're done by hand and take as long as the driveway.
Is a seasonal snow contract better than charging per push?
Per push pays you for work you did. Seasonal pays the same whether it snows three times or twenty. Seasonal is worth writing with a trigger depth, a visit cap, and a per-push rate above the cap. Unlimited seasonal is how operators lose a winter.
Do I need a license to plow snow?
Usually just a general business license for residential work, but some cities require plow operators to register and restrict where snow can be pushed. Commercial accounts will want a certificate of insurance. Rules vary by state and city — check with your city clerk and your state licensing agency.
How much does a snow plow cost?
$4,200 to $7,500 for a new straight blade installed on a three-quarter-ton truck. $1,600 to $3,400 used, plus $400 to $900 if the mount doesn't fit. V-plows and wings cost more and clear a commercial lot in fewer passes.
What insurance do I need for snow removal?
Commercial general liability and commercial auto, with snow and ice operations confirmed in writing as covered — many policies exclude them. Slip-and-fall is the real exposure, and those claims show up months after the storm.
How many driveways can one truck plow in a storm?
Twenty-five to forty in a single pass if they're grouped in two or three neighborhoods. Scattered across a city, the same truck gets twelve to eighteen. Route density decides your winter more than your plow does.
Open your contract before September and find the word "unlimited." Replace it with a depth, a number of visits, and a price for visit thirteen.
Ranges here are compiled public ranges for solo residential and light commercial snow operators as of August 2026 — a starting point, not a quote or a survey result. Licensing, insurance and snow-storage rules differ by state and city; confirm on your state's official site before signing anything.