What is a Roofer?
A roofer is a skilled tradesman who installs and repairs roofs on buildings. Any time a roof leaks, a roofer is contacted to fix broken tiles and seal areas to make them waterproof.
Roofs have been around for a while, so this profession had time to evolve and accumulate wisdom over millennia. Just the sheer variety of materials used for roofs reflect the time humankind has had to think about roofs. Thatch, clay, stone, metal, aluminum, straw, wood, slate, asphalt, just to name a few.
An important thing to consider, before taking on this position, is whether you are afraid of heights. Being a roofer entails working in difficult conditions under all kinds of weather: heat, wind, rain, snow, performing physically demanding feats to make roofs safe for the people underneath.
What Does a Roofer Do
Roofers replace, repair, and install the roofs of buildings using a variety of materials, including shingles, bitumen, and metal.
How To Become a Roofer
Although most roofers learn on the job, some learn their trade through an apprenticeship program. There are no specific education requirements for roofers.
Roofer Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of machine operator you might progress to a role such as technician eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title project manager.
Average Salary for a Roofer
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Roofer
The role of a roofer includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general roofer responsibilities:
- Checking to ensure that completed roofs are watertight sweeping
- Inspect problem roofs to determine the best repair procedures. Remove snow, water, or debris from roofs prior to applying roofing materials. Set up scaffolding to provide safe access to roofs. Estimate materials
- Lays roofing material to repair, maintain,
There are several types of roofer, including:
Commercial Roofer
Role:
In general, the main purpose of a commercial roofer's job is to ensure that an establishment's roof is sturdy and safe enough for anyone who enters the building. Without a commercial roofer, an establishment may experience a myriad of problems with its roof, including leaks, holes, decreased integrity, and the presence of mold, among others.
Many roofers learn their skills through an apprenticeship or on-the-job training programs, which teach them the basics of roofing and how to use various types of tools and equipment. Employers may accept applicants with a high school diploma and non-formal roofing experience, but completing an apprenticeship can significantly increase one's chances of getting hired.
On top of training and experience, a roofer needs to have the physical stamina, strength, and endurance to be able to perform their job duties efficiently and safely. Commercial roofers may also need to work in various types of weather, especially in emergency jobs.
- Average Salary: $39,120
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most Roofer Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active roofer jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where roofers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Roofer Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 82 | $50,613 |
| 2 | Florida | 72 | $30,291 |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | 45 | $39,977 |
| 4 | Ohio | 40 | $41,665 |
| 5 | Texas | 37 | $27,791 |
| 6 | New York | 25 | $51,663 |
| 7 | New Jersey | 24 | $63,533 |
| 8 | Virginia | 23 | $40,421 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 22 | $41,526 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 20 | $30,250 |
| 11 | Minnesota | 19 | $48,604 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | 19 | $48,500 |
| 13 | Colorado | 19 | $41,810 |
| 14 | Michigan | 19 | $38,504 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 19 | $30,930 |
| 16 | Kentucky | 17 | $39,824 |
| 17 | Illinois | 16 | $51,822 |
| 18 | Arizona | 16 | $37,223 |
| 19 | Louisiana | 16 | $33,257 |
| 20 | Indiana | 16 | $34,948 |
| 21 | Oregon | 15 | $43,359 |
| 22 | Maryland | 14 | $49,383 |
| 23 | Georgia | 14 | $36,192 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 14 | $30,117 |
| 25 | Washington | 13 | $48,787 |
| 26 | Missouri | 13 | $41,356 |
| 27 | Arkansas | 13 | $29,827 |
| 28 | Alabama | 13 | $28,438 |
| 29 | North Dakota | 12 | $55,877 |
| 30 | Connecticut | 12 | $55,793 |
| 31 | Iowa | 12 | $37,159 |
| 32 | Kansas | 12 | $35,064 |
| 33 | Mississippi | 11 | $30,596 |
| 34 | West Virginia | 10 | $36,838 |
| 35 | Nevada | 10 | $37,149 |
| 36 | South Dakota | 10 | $31,945 |
| 37 | Idaho | 9 | $40,113 |
| 38 | Wyoming | 9 | $29,651 |
| 39 | Vermont | 8 | $38,615 |
| 40 | Montana | 8 | $37,641 |
| 41 | Oklahoma | 8 | $30,695 |
| 42 | Utah | 7 | $40,215 |
| 43 | Nebraska | 7 | $36,395 |
| 44 | New Mexico | 7 | $35,418 |
| 45 | New Hampshire | 6 | $41,781 |
| 46 | Delaware | 6 | $40,312 |
| 47 | Maine | 6 | $38,917 |
| 48 | Hawaii | 6 | $34,391 |
| 49 | Alaska | 5 | $40,842 |
| 50 | Rhode Island | 2 | $42,916 |
Top Skills For a Roofer
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 25.7% of roofers listed roofing on their resume, but soft skills such as manual dexterity and unafraid of heights are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Roofer Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Roofer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Roofer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Roofer Demographics
Roofer Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among roofers, 4.6% of them are women, while 95.4% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among roofers is White, which makes up 56.7% of all roofers.
- The most common foreign language among roofers is Spanish at 82.2%.
Online Courses For Roofer That You May Like
1. Customer Insights: New Product Development Orientation
This course is the first in the Customer Insights and New Product Development (CIPD) specialization. It will introduce learners to the tools and process of gathering customer insights for identifying and developing new product opportunities. Through an integrated set of five modules and hands-on project experiences, learners will acquire the knowledge and skills to turn their ideas gained from understanding customer needs into innovative new products...
See More on Coursera2. New Space: Access to space - Basics
The spirit of NewSpace is revolutionizing our vision of access to space. Reading keys will enable you to understand the technological and strategic challenges in games with new rules, fixed by ambitious players. Combine the new technologies and management of space access with the classical paradigm of the existing space context. It is difficult to give a definition of the New Space, but we can say that there are several aspects that characterize the New Space and access to space in the New...
See More on Coursera
Best States For a Roofer
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a roofer. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, North Dakota, Connecticut, and Illinois. Roofers make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $63,533. Whereas in North Dakota and Connecticut, they would average $55,877 and $55,793, respectively. While roofers would only make an average of $51,822 in Illinois, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. North Dakota
$55,877
Avg. Salary
2. Connecticut
$55,793
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
$63,533
Avg. Salary
How Do Roofer Rate Their Jobs?
5.0
5.0
28 P/HR roofer installer • June 2020What do you like the most about working as Roofer?
torch down and asphalt shingles, asphalt mop are ones of the most like them Show MoreWhat do you NOT like?
TILE kind of weird and heavy Show More5.0
5.0
I love being a roofer • December 2019What do you like the most about working as Roofer?
I just like being a roofer been roofing for 5 years now and really enjoy the fresh air in the outdoors and I'm good at it.Top Roofer Employers
Most Common Employers For Roofer
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tradesmen International | $39,928 | $19.20 | 316 |
| 2 | The Roofing Company | $39,546 | $19.01 | 61 |
| 3 | Flynn | $38,080 | $18.31 | 12 |
| 4 | CentiMark | $38,015 | $18.28 | 125 |
| 5 | Blue Raven Solar | $37,897 | $18.22 | 31 |
| 6 | Empire Roofing | $37,318 | $17.94 | 12 |
| 7 | Nations Roof | $37,017 | $17.80 | 15 |
| 8 | Baker Roofing | $36,578 | $17.59 | 73 |
| 9 | Commercial Roofing Specialties | $36,538 | $17.57 | 19 |
| 10 | Simon Roofing | $36,409 | $17.50 | 38 |
Roofer Videos
