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Frost data
Frost line depth in Ohio
The short answer
Ohio publishes no single statewide frost depth. Ohio adopts the model code statewide but leaves the frost figure to local jurisdictions, and the cities that publish theirs land between 32 and 36 inches. Footings have to bear below that depth, and a water service line has to sit at least six inches below it and at least twelve inches down, which in Ohio works out to a minimum of 12 inches. Source: Ohio Administrative Code 4101:8-3-01, Table 301.2(1) Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria (Frost line depth, footnote b).
The Residential Code of Ohio sets a general minimum footing depth of not less than 12 inches below undisturbed ground, then defers frost protection to the frost-line entry in its climate table, which carries a footnote leaving the number to be filled in locally. So Ohio has a statewide code and no statewide frost depth, which is a common combination and a confusing one.
The published figures cluster tightly. Dayton requires 32 inches from finish grade to the bottom of the footing. Toledo and Lucas County both publish 36 inches, and Stow, in Summit County, publishes 36 as well. So the working range across the state is 32 to 36 inches, and the only figure that governs your project is the one your building department has adopted. We list what we could verify below rather than publishing a statewide number the state does not.
Ohio has not amended the water service depth rule, so the model-code language applies: not less than 12 inches deep and not less than 6 inches below whatever frost line your jurisdiction uses.
By jurisdiction
What Ohio jurisdictions publish
With no statewide figure, these are the depths real building departments have published.
| Jurisdiction | Frost depth | Source |
|---|---|---|
| City of Toledo, OH | 36 in | City of Toledo, climatic and geographic design criteria, RCO Table 3… |
| Lucas County, OH | 36 in | Lucas County Building Regulations, climatic and geographic design cr… |
| City of Stow, OH (Summit County) | 36 in | City of Stow Building Department, residential permit information, cl… |
| City of Dayton, OH | 32 in | City of Dayton Division of Building Inspection: a minimum depth of 3… |
These are the jurisdictions whose published figure we could read and verify, so it isn’t a complete list of Ohio building departments. Yours may differ, and yours is the one that governs your permit.
The weather behind the number
When it freezes in Ohio
NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals at representative stations across the state.
| Station | First 32°F | First 28°F | First 20°F | Last 32°F | Nights below 20°F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLEVELAND BURKE AP | November 12 | November 22 | December 13 | April 8 | 29 |
| HAMILTON BUTLER CO RGNL AP | October 18 | October 27 | November 17 | April 22 | 41 |
| LIMA ALLEN CO AP | October 22 | November 2 | November 25 | April 22 | 43 |
| MARION MUNI AP | October 20 | October 31 | November 22 | April 24 | 47 |
| NEWARK HEATH AP | October 18 | October 31 | November 25 | April 22 | 42 |
| YOUNGSTOWN RGNL AP | October 17 | November 1 | November 25 | May 1 | 49 |
Dates are the median: half of years cross that threshold earlier, half later. “no normal” means NOAA publishes none for that station, which at a warm station means it does not reliably get that cold. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, retrieved 2026-09-09.
Across all 130 Ohio stations with published normals, the median first 32°F night falls around October 22 and the median station records 46 nights a year below 20°F, which is the coldest threshold NOAA counts and a decent proxy for a hard freeze rather than a light frost. The state’s spread runs from DANVILLE 2 W, where the median first freeze is October 8, to CLEVELAND BURKE AP at November 12.
The median Ohio station reaches freezing around 22 October and logs about 46 nights a year below 20°F. Lake Erie pushes the northern shore late: Cleveland Burke Lakefront does not reach its median first freeze until 12 November, five weeks after Danville in the central counties. The lake gives the shoreline a long autumn and then a punishing January, which is the same pattern that shapes Michigan.
Water lines
Burial depth for a water service line in Ohio
Ohio's Residential Code of Ohio (OAC 4101:8-4-01) sets a general minimum footing depth of not less than 12 inches below undisturbed ground and requires frost protection per Table 301.2(1)'s frost-line depth entry; no Ohio-specific water-service-line depth amendment beyond the base IRC/UPC rule was identified, and no specific county/city frost figure could be confirmed against an acceptable official source within the research window.
Under the model rule that Ohio works from, a water service line goes Water service pipe shall be installed not less than 12 inches (305 mm) deep and not less than 6 inches (152 mm) below the frost line.
which puts the floor here at 12 inches. 2021 International Residential Code, Section P2603.5 (Freezing), ICC free code viewer. Your water utility may specify more for the portion of the service it owns, and the building department that issues the permit has the final say. The national picture is on how deep water lines are buried.
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Common questions
Ohio frost line questions
How deep is the frost line in Ohio?
Ohio publishes no statewide figure. The Residential Code of Ohio requires footings at least 12 inches below undisturbed ground and sends you to the climate table for frost protection, where the depth is filled in locally. The cities that publish theirs sit between 32 inches (Dayton) and 36 inches (Toledo, Lucas County, Stow). Ask the building department issuing your permit, and treat any single Ohio-wide number you see elsewhere as a guess.
Why does Ohio have a statewide residential code but no statewide frost depth?
Because the two do different jobs. The Residential Code of Ohio standardises how a house is built; the climate table exists precisely to let local conditions vary, and frost depth is one of the entries it expects a jurisdiction to complete. Ohio spans the Ohio River valley and the Lake Erie snowbelt, which is enough difference that a single number would be wrong at both ends.
Next
Where to go from here
The frost depth is the digging number. It won’t tell you whether your pipes are at risk this winter, and the two pages that will are at what temperature pipes freeze and when pipes freeze where you live, both with a ZIP lookup. If a pipe has already split, burst pipe repair cost covers the repair and the water damage behind it, and what to do about a frozen pipe is the page to open first.
Other state pages: Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Virginia, Wisconsin, Missouri, and all fifty in the national table.
Where these numbers come from
The Ohio frost figure was researched against the body that publishes it, and it’s recorded with a confidence note of “local only, verified” in our source ledger. Freeze dates are NOAA normals for stations in the state, picked by a fixed rule rather than by hand: first-order stations, spread west to east. The full method is on our methodology page.
- Freeze dates and cold-night counts: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991 to 2020, annual and seasonal by station. Retrieved 2026-09-09. Field definitions are in the by-variable readme.
- ZIP code locations: U.S. Census Bureau 2023 ZIP Code Tabulation Area gazetteer, matched to the nearest station by great-circle distance.
- Ohio Administrative Code 4101:8-3-01, Table 301.2(1) Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria (Frost line depth, footnote b) The Ohio frost depth figure and basis.
- Ohio Administrative Code 4101:8-4-01, §403.1.4/403.1.4.1 Foundations, Minimum depth & Frost protection The Ohio frost depth figure and basis.
- 2021 International Residential Code, Section P2603.5 (Freezing), ICC free code viewer The water service line burial rule.
The full method, including how we pick a station and what we do when there is not one close enough, is on our methodology page.
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