Road Salt In Illinois: Here’s How Much The State Uses Each Winter

Maybe one of your resolutions going into this year was to cut back on your usage of salt in the interests of your health. Considering the weather we've had so far this winter (very little snow and ice north of I-80), the state of Illinois may be joining you in your resolution. The difference is that you're trying to cut back on table salt, and the state is focused on road salt.

Most of the state still has almost a full winter's supply of road salt due to unusually dry conditions that we've seen since the onset of the winter season, but there have been past winters where the situation was very different and salt supplies ran low.

This is not a problem you'll see in the Sun Belt, but you certainly do see it in the states that make up what's called "The Salt Belt."

You've Never Heard It Called The Salt Belt? You're Not Alone, And To Be Honest, There Are Far More Desirable Regional Nicknames

Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. make up the Salt Belt.

According to Wikipedia, other states like Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah are also considered part of the Salt Belt but use less corrosive substances than road salt to get rid of snow and ice during winter months. Things like:

• Sand
• Calcium Chloride
• Beet Juice
• Pickle Brine
• Cheese Brine

With Some Of Our Recent Mild Winters, Illinois Has Been Using Less Road Salt Than In Previous Years, But The Numbers (Measured In Tons) Are Still Pretty Huge

According to a report from CBSNews about a month back, Chicago used less salt last year than at any point in the last 10 years. As of mid-December, Chicago had 400,000 tons of road salt available for use this winter:

The amount of salt the city has used over the years tells the same changing story. In the winter of 2020-2021, the city used a total of 322,000 tons of salt, while during winter 2023-2024, only 119,500 tons were used.

While there's no exact number available, most reliable sources put the state of Illinois' overall usage of road salt during winters at well over 1,000,000 tons.

The state that uses the most road salt on average each year is New York, where they go through over 8,500,000 tons, which is enough to cover 30,000 football fields under a foot of road salt.