There are some breed differences. Before artificial light was common, people in areas with short winter days would deliberately hatch eggs from the hens that DID lay in the winter, and some breeds were known as good winter layers.
Because all chickens would lay in the spring and summer, it's become common to just give that many hours of daylight to all chickens, if egg-laying is wanted in winter. But many hens would still lay with less hours. (Cheaper to run lights than to select for winter laying.)
Some years back, I had four hens living together, and two laid in the winter while the other two did not. This was not just their first year, either. The winter layers were Chanteclers (one buff, one partridge). The summer-only layers were Easter Egger banties. They had all come from Ideal poultry, and were the same age. They lived in teh same pen, ate the same food, and had no artificial light. I was in Northern Virginia, and the front of their pen was open all winter long (it was covered with hardware cloth, but let plenty of light and air through.)
I also suspect that housing makes a difference. Some coops are very dark inside unless light is provided, while others have enough windows or hardware cloth that the very earliest rays of sun can get in--which effectively makes for a longer day for the hens.
