Roofer Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Roofers earn a median of $55,440 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 9% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $26.65/hr. The middle half earn between $46,260 and $65,390. The top 10% earn $81,720 or more.

The median hourly wage for roofers is $26.65 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $55,440 annual median works out to about $4,620 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of roofers earn less than $37,460 a year and the bottom quarter less than $46,260 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

Rarely. Even the 90th percentile is $81,720, so fewer than 10% of roofers earn $100,000 or more (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No state's median reaches $100,000; the highest is Illinois at $77,900.

The highest state medians for Roofers are Illinois ($77,900), New Jersey ($76,600), Minnesota ($74,490) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split roofers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $81,720, against a median of $55,440 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Illinois ($77,900), New Jersey ($76,600), Minnesota ($74,490).

No. BLS lists no formal educational credential as the typical entry requirement for Roofers, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as some preparation. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training.

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5.3% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 12,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Roofers replace, repair, and install the roofs of buildings, using a variety of materials, including shingles, bitumen, and metal. A core O*NET task: install, repair, or replace single-ply roofing systems, using waterproof sheet materials such as modified plastics, elastomeric, or other asphaltic compositions. Employers most often ask for Office suite software, Operating system software, Spreadsheet software.

Most work fewer than 40. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 0% of roofers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 0% work exactly 40 and 2% work fewer. 28% say their schedule is regular and 0% irregular, and 13% work seasonally. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Roofers highest on the Realistic and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

No programme is required. BLS describes on-the-job training in which trainees learn to measure, cut and fit roofing materials within a few months but may need several years to gain experience across all roofing types. Apprenticeships exist but are sponsored by only a few groups. Where a state licenses roofing contractors, the experience requirement is separate again: California requires at least four years at journey level or above.

Yes, and it is issued by the state you work in, not nationally. Individual roofers working for an employer are not licensed. Roofing contractors are, and the pattern varies more than in most trades. Illinois licenses roofing contractors directly through the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation under the Roofing Industry Licensing Act, splits the licence into limited (residential up to 8 units) and unlimited tiers, requires a $10,000 or $25,000 surety bond respectively, requires a designated qualifying party who is a W-2 employee and has passed a state exam covering roofing practice and Illinois jurisprudence, and forbids any municipality or county from issuing a roofing building permit without proof of state licensure. California instead uses its general contractor licensing system, with roofing as classification C-39, requiring at least four years of journey-level or supervisory experience (up to three of which can come from training or education, with at least one year practical) plus a law and business exam and a trade exam, and prohibiting unlicensed contracting on any job requiring a permit, using employee labor, or exceeding $1,000. Elsewhere, roofing may sit inside a general contractor licence, be licensed at city or county level, or be unlicensed entirely. Check the state first and then the municipality, because the permit desk is usually where the requirement bites.

Women make up 0.9% of roofers, against 47.1% of all employed people: a heavily male-dominated occupation. Only 12.4% are 55 or older (23.2% across all jobs): a young workforce, with 22.8% under 25. The median worker is 36.6 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.