The average roofer in the United States earns $58,140 a year, and the median, which is the figure that describes a typical worker rather than one dragged around by the top end, is $55,440. That works out at about $27.95 an hour. Where you work moves that a long way: Illinois averages $77,650 and Mississippi $45,280. Everything below is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 release, not from job ads or self-reported surveys.
What a roofer actually does for that money
Roofing has the widest gap between crew pay and owner income of any trade on this list, because the job is sold at a price and delivered by the day. Most roofers work for small contractors, and a large share of residential work is insurance funded, which changes who is negotiating.
What roofers earn, from bottom to top
An average hides the spread, and the spread is what matters when you are deciding whether to enter the trade or what to pay someone. Here is the full range BLS publishes.
| Percentile | Annual | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% | $37,460 | Starting out, or an apprentice rate |
| 25th | $46,260 | Still building speed and a customer base |
| Median | $55,440 | The middle of the trade |
| 75th | $65,390 | Experienced, licensed, in demand |
| Top 10% | $81,720 | Specialists, supervisors and owners |
Roofing salary by state
Illinois pays the most at $77,650 a year, and Mississippi the least at $45,280. Cost of living explains part of that gap and licensing rules explain a good deal of the rest.
| # | State | Average annual | Median annual | Hourly | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois | $77,650 | $77,900 | $37.33 | 5,300 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $74,380 | $76,600 | $35.76 | 1,860 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $72,990 | $72,750 | $35.09 | 1,950 |
| 4 | Minnesota | $72,920 | $74,490 | $35.06 | 1,890 |
| 5 | New York | $69,350 | $66,020 | $33.34 | 4,570 |
| 6 | Washington | $68,870 | $60,640 | $33.11 | 5,890 |
| 7 | District of Columbia | $68,740 | $61,750 | $33.05 | 100 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $68,490 | $62,070 | $32.93 | 790 |
| 9 | Alaska | $68,450 | $66,750 | $32.91 | 310 |
| 10 | California | $67,420 | $63,600 | $32.41 | 21,190 |
| 11 | New Hampshire | $63,820 | $59,830 | $30.69 | 270 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | $63,580 | $61,630 | $30.57 | 360 |
| 13 | Maryland | $61,640 | $60,090 | $29.63 | 2,050 |
| 14 | Oregon | $61,510 | $58,970 | $29.57 | 3,430 |
| 15 | Michigan | $61,450 | $59,530 | $29.54 | 3,090 |
| 16 | Hawaii | $61,430 | $59,580 | $29.53 | 1,110 |
| 17 | North Dakota | $60,540 | $59,740 | $29.11 | 290 |
| 18 | Indiana | $59,810 | $57,980 | $28.75 | 2,980 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | $58,060 | $59,370 | $27.91 | 2,400 |
| 20 | Nevada | $57,460 | $51,090 | $27.62 | 2,120 |
| 21 | Montana | $57,010 | $59,030 | $27.41 | 370 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $56,470 | $55,710 | $27.15 | 3,830 |
| 23 | Vermont | $56,330 | $59,040 | $27.08 | 210 |
| 24 | Missouri | $56,320 | $48,570 | $27.08 | 2,050 |
| 25 | Colorado | $56,170 | $51,750 | $27.01 | 3,340 |
| 26 | Ohio | $55,670 | $49,390 | $26.76 | 4,610 |
| 27 | Delaware | $55,280 | $59,440 | $26.58 | 230 |
| 28 | Idaho | $54,300 | $57,790 | $26.11 | 1,190 |
| 29 | Maine | $53,700 | $50,120 | $25.82 | 610 |
| 30 | Kansas | $53,370 | $47,190 | $25.66 | 900 |
| 31 | Louisiana | $52,790 | $48,760 | $25.38 | 760 |
| 32 | Iowa | $52,070 | $48,660 | $25.04 | 930 |
| 33 | Utah | $51,580 | $48,680 | $24.80 | 2,710 |
| 34 | Virginia | $51,520 | $48,420 | $24.77 | 2,070 |
| 35 | West Virginia | $51,080 | $51,170 | $24.56 | 440 |
| 36 | Kentucky | $50,680 | $46,940 | $24.37 | 1,080 |
| 37 | Arizona | $50,600 | $47,340 | $24.33 | 3,420 |
| 38 | South Carolina | $50,180 | $45,760 | $24.13 | 850 |
| 39 | North Carolina | $50,030 | $49,010 | $24.06 | 3,060 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $49,680 | $45,650 | $23.89 | 330 |
| 41 | Oklahoma | $49,120 | $43,680 | $23.61 | 1,260 |
| 42 | Florida | $48,870 | $47,590 | $23.49 | 23,550 |
| 43 | Georgia | $48,440 | $46,940 | $23.29 | 2,160 |
| 44 | New Mexico | $47,980 | $45,300 | $23.07 | 1,160 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $47,930 | $46,460 | $23.04 | 1,730 |
| 46 | Alabama | $47,860 | $45,670 | $23.01 | 1,010 |
| 47 | Texas | $47,200 | $46,030 | $22.69 | 5,740 |
| 48 | South Dakota | $46,980 | $47,710 | $22.59 | 400 |
| 49 | Tennessee | $46,740 | $45,690 | $22.47 | 2,110 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $45,780 | $47,470 | $22.01 | 950 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $45,280 | $44,940 | $21.77 | 480 |
Where the money is: highest paying metros
State averages flatten out the difference between a city and the rural county next to it. These are the metro areas paying roofers the most.
| # | Metro area | Average annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worcester, MA | $85,350 | $41.04 |
| 2 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $81,010 | $38.95 |
| 3 | Springfield, IL | $78,500 | $37.74 |
| 4 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $78,320 | $37.65 |
| 5 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $77,160 | $37.10 |
| 6 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $76,830 | $36.94 |
| 7 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $76,630 | $36.84 |
| 8 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $75,920 | $36.50 |
| 9 | Springfield, MA | $74,950 | $36.03 |
| 10 | Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | $74,410 | $35.77 |
What moves the number
- Licensing is state by state and lighter than in the mechanical trades, but insurance and workers compensation are heavy, and a crew leader who can keep a clean safety record is worth a premium to any contractor.
- Roofing is weather-driven and storm-driven. A season with hail is a different year financially than one without, and crews chase the work across state lines when it happens.
- Commercial flat roofing, metal and tile pay more than asphalt shingle work, and insurance restoration work pays more than either because the customer is not the one comparing quotes.
- The bottom ten percent of roofers earn under $37,460 and the top ten percent clear $81,720. That gap is the trade telling you where the money is.
- Working for somebody else and working for yourself are different questions. These figures cover employed roofers on a payroll, so they exclude the self-employed, and in this trade a large share of the best operators are exactly that.
What you can earn running the business instead
The number above is a wage. Running the business is a different calculation: you take the full ticket rather than an hourly rate, and what you keep depends on how many jobs you fit in a week, how quickly you get paid and how much of your day goes on scheduling, estimates and chasing invoices instead of on the work. That is the part software actually changes. Owners who put scheduling, estimating, invoicing and automated follow-up in one place tend to run more jobs with the same crew, which is where the gap between a roofer wage and an owner income opens up.
Roofing salary FAQs
- How much do roofers make a year?
- The median roofer in the United States earns $55,440 a year and the average is $58,140, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 release. Half the trade earns more than the median and half less.
- How much do roofers make an hour?
- The mean hourly wage is $27.95. Annual earnings are usually higher than that rate multiplied by a standard year, because overtime, call-outs and premium work are not in the base rate.
- Which state pays roofers the most?
- Illinois pays the most at an average of $77,650 a year, followed by New Jersey at $74,380 and Massachusetts at $72,990. Cost of living accounts for some of that and licensing rules for much of the rest.
- Which cities pay roofers the most?
- Worcester, MA tops the list at an average of $85,350 a year, with Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN at $81,010. Metro figures move a lot more than state averages, so the city matters more than the state.
- Can roofers earn six figures?
- As an employee it is uncommon: the top ten percent earn $81,720. Owners are a different question, because they are paid on the job rather than on the hour, and owner income is not in these figures.
- Do these figures include self-employed roofers?
- No. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program covers wage and salary workers, so sole proprietors and business owners are excluded. In a trade with as many owner-operators as this one, that matters when you read the number.
- Where does this roofing salary data come from?
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, for "Roofers" (SOC 47-2181). It is a survey of employers rather than of workers, which is why it is more reliable than self-reported salary sites.
All wage figures on this page are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. BLS suppresses figures in areas with too few employers to publish safely; those appear as n/a rather than an estimate.
