All 50 states and DC
How fence height is measured
A rule that says six feet is incomplete until it says six feet from what. Grade on which side, the high side or the low, the finished grade or the natural one. Plenty of codes set a height and never answer that, and a few answer it twice in different places with different answers. This page records what each state says, which in most cases is nothing, because measurement is almost always a municipal question.
How fence height is measured, state by state
15 set a rule in state law, 8 were checked and say nothing, 28 hand it to the town. Every row links the state page and the document behind it.
| State | What the record says | Datum | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | no rule, documents checkedAlabama never says what a fence height is measured from. | none stated | Ala. Code 3-4-1 |
| Alaska | no rule, documents checkedAlaska sets no fence height, so it never says where a height would be measured from. | none stated | AS 29.40.040 |
| Arizona | set in state lawa lawful fence on open range land | 50 in | A.R.S. 3-1426(A) |
| Arkansas | set in state lawa lawful fence inside a small stock fencing district | 20 in | Ark. Code 14-386-203, as set out in Act 594 of 2023 |
| California | left to the townCalifornia gives a fence height and never says what it is measured from. | none stated | Cal. Gov. Code 65850(c)(1) |
| Colorado | left to the townColorado has no fence height of its own, so it never says where one would be measured from. | none stated | C.R.S. 31-23-301(1) |
| Connecticut | set in state lawbarbed wire installed along a sidewalk | 6.5 ft | Conn. Gen. Stat. 47-48 |
| Delaware | left to the townDelaware never says where a fence height starts. | none stated | 22 Del. C. 301 |
| District of Columbia | set in state lawfences in the District of Columbia | none stated | 12-A DCMR 3112.1.3 |
| Florida | set in state lawa general fence built with a trench or ditch | 5 ft | Fla. Stat. 588.01 |
| Georgia | left to the townland inside a Georgia county or city that has adopted zoning | none stated | O.C.G.A. 36-66-3(5) |
| Hawaii | left to the townHawaii never says where a fence height starts. | none stated | HRS 46-4(a)(6) |
| Idaho | set in state lawa lawful fence under the state fence law | 20 in | Idaho Code 35-101 |
| Illinois | left to the townIllinois never says where a fence height is measured from. | none stated | 65 ILCS 5/11-13-1 |
| Indiana | left to the townIndiana never says where a fence height starts. | none stated | IC 36-7-4-601 |
| Iowa | set in state lawa lawful fence under the partition fence law | 20 in | Iowa Code 359A.18 |
| Kansas | left to the townKansas never says where a fence height is measured from. | none stated | K.S.A. 12-753(a) |
| Kentucky | left to the townKentucky never says where a fence height is measured from. | none stated | KRS 100.203(1)(b) |
| Louisiana | left to the townLouisiana never says where a fence height is measured from. | none stated | La. R.S. 33:4721 |
| Maine | no rule, documents checkedMaine gives a six foot number and never says where to measure it from. | none stated | 17 M.R.S. 2801 |
| Maryland | left to the townMaryland gives fence height to local government twice and never says what it is measured from. | none stated | Md. Code, Land Use 4-102 |
| Massachusetts | no rule, documents checkedMassachusetts puts a fence height in law and never says what it is measured from. | none stated | M.G.L. c. 49, s. 21 |
| Michigan | left to the townMichigan never says where a fence height is measured from. | none stated | MCL 125.3201(4) |
| Minnesota | set in state lawa legal fence built of barbed wire | 16 in | Minn. Stat. 344.02 |
| Mississippi | no rule, documents checkedNo Mississippi document on a state server says what a fence height is measured from. | none stated | Mississippi uniform building code adoption under Senate Bill 2378 of 2014 |
| Missouri | left to the townMissouri gives a fence height and never says where to measure it from. | none stated | RSMo 89.020.1 |
| Montana | left to the townMontana never says where a fence height starts from. | none stated | MCA 76-2-301 |
| Nebraska | left to the townNebraska describes six kinds of lawful fence by their parts and never says where a height starts. | none stated | Neb. Rev. Stat. 19-901(1) |
| Nevada | set in state lawa legal fence for livestock trespass, not a fence at a house | 48 in | NRS 569.431 |
| New Hampshire | left to the townNew Hampshire sets no fence height for a house, so it never says where a height starts. | none stated | RSA 674:16, I(a) |
| New Jersey | left to the townNew Jersey states a fence number and never says where to measure it from. | none stated | N.J.S.A. 40:55D-65 b |
| New Mexico | set in state lawa barrier around a residential outdoor swimming pool, spa or hot tub | 48 in | 14.7.3 NMAC, Section R4505.2 |
| New York | left to the townthe part of a town outside the limits of any incorporated village or city | none stated | N.Y. Town Law 261 |
| North Carolina | left to the townNorth Carolina never says where a fence height is measured from. | none stated | G.S. 160D-702(a) |
| North Dakota | set in state lawa legal fence for holding livestock, not a fence at a house | 16 in | N.D.C.C. 47-26-01(5) |
| Ohio | left to the townOhio never says what the height of a fence at a house is measured from. | none stated | ORC 713.06 |
| Oklahoma | set in state lawa lawful fence under the fence viewer article of the animals title | 54 in | 4 O.S. 4-154 |
| Oregon | left to the townfences of wood, wire mesh or chain link that are not swimming pool barriers | 7 ft | ORSC Section R105.2 |
| Pennsylvania | left to the townPennsylvania has no state fence height and no state rule for how one is measured. | none stated | MPC Section 603(b)(2), 53 P.S. 10603(b)(2) |
| Rhode Island | left to the townRhode Island never says what the height of a fence at a house is counted from. | none stated | R.I. Gen. Laws 45-24-33(a)(4)(i) |
| South Carolina | left to the townSouth Carolina sets one fence height in state law and never says six feet from what. | none stated | S.C. Code 6-29-720(A)(2) |
| South Dakota | set in state lawa legal partition fence where the owners have not agreed on a different kind | 48 in | SDCL 43-23-4 |
| Tennessee | no rule, documents checkedTennessee never says where a fence height is measured from. | none stated | Rule 0780-02-02-.01 |
| Texas | left to the townTexas gives two fence heights and never says where to measure from. | none stated | Tex. Loc. Gov't Code 211.003(a)(1) |
| Utah | no rule, documents checkedUtah never says what a fence height is measured from, at any level of its code. | none stated | Utah Code 10-20-505 |
| Vermont | no rule, documents checkedVermont gives a fence height in statute and never says what it is counted from. | none stated | 24 V.S.A. 3801 |
| Virginia | left to the townVirginia does not set this. | none stated | Va. Code 15.2-2280(2) |
| Washington | set in state lawa lawful fence for animal damage claims | 48 in | RCW 16.60.010 |
| West Virginia | set in state lawa lawful fence for holding horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and goats | 4 ft | W. Va. Code 19-17-1(d) |
| Wisconsin | left to the townWisconsin does not set this. | none stated | Wis. Stat. 62.23(7)(am) |
| Wyoming | left to the townWyoming is exact about wire spacing and post depth and blank about fence height. | none stated | W.S. 15-1-601(a)(i)(A) |
The other nine questions
A fence rule usually turns on more than one of these, and the answer to one does not settle another.
What this page does not cover
Everything above is state law. Fence height, setback, corner visibility and materials are set by city and county ordinance in almost every state, and a local rule can be far stricter than the statewide default. A parcel can also carry an easement, an overlay district, a fire hazard zone or a recorded HOA restriction, none of which appear in a statute.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, statutes are amended, and each state page carries the date its documents were read. How findings are made · What the terms mean · Browse by state