- The middle half earn between $28.57 and $36.27 an hour.
- Only 6 states pay roofers more at the median.
- California pays more than all 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 21,190 roofers on payrolls in California.
- At the state median wage, a roofing company needs to bill about $124.29 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Roofer pay in California, bottom to top
The BLS group covers roofers on shingle, tile, metal and flat roofs, on new work and repairs.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $23.38 | $48,620 | $18.01 |
| 25th percentile | $28.57 | $59,420 | $22.24 |
| Median | $30.58 | $63,600 | $26.65 |
| 75th percentile | $36.27 | $75,450 | $31.44 |
| 90th percentile | $42.79 | $89,010 | $39.29 |
| Average (mean) | $32.41 | $67,420 | $27.95 |
Pay is bunched up in California. The top tenth earn $42.79 an hour or more, about 1.8 times the $23.38 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.2 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $23.38 against $18.01 at the bottom tenth, and $42.79 against $39.29 at the top.
The average, $32.41, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How California compares with other states
Over a full year, the California median of $63,600 is $8,160 more than the national $55,440.
In the state ranking, California sits 7th, between New York ($31.74) and Connecticut ($29.84). The range runs from $21.00 in Oklahoma to $37.45 in Illinois.
California pays roofers more than any of its neighboring states, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Someone working near the border can earn more by taking work on this side of it.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in California. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
How many roofers work in California
BLS estimates 21,190 roofers on payrolls in California, 15.6% of the 135,490 nationwide. Only 1 state has more.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in California, 1.3 times the national share.
What a roofing company in California should charge
Higher wages in California go straight into the price. Take a roofing company in California paying the state median of $30.58 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $30.58 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $68,472 |
| Break-even rate | ($68,472 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $105.65 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $105.65 ÷ 0.85 | $124.29 |
That is $124.29 per billable hour, 4.1 times the wage, and $6.90 more than the $117.39 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $36.27 in California, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $134.28.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $28.57, the rate only drops to $120.76.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a roofer in California
- Licensing. What California asks for before you can work on your own: Roofing license in California.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how roofing companies run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 47-2181, roofers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: roofer salary by state.