- The middle half earn between $25.15 and $38.21 an hour.
- Washington ranks 11th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Washington pays more than both neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 5,890 roofers on payrolls in Washington.
- At the state median wage, a roofing company needs to bill about $121.80 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Roofer pay in Washington, 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 | $23.01 | $47,860 | $18.01 |
| 25th percentile | $25.15 | $52,310 | $22.24 |
| Median | $29.16 | $60,640 | $26.65 |
| 75th percentile | $38.21 | $79,470 | $31.44 |
| 90th percentile | $50.00 | $104,000 | $39.29 |
| Average (mean) | $33.11 | $68,870 | $27.95 |
From the bottom tenth ($23.01) to the top tenth ($50.00), the top of the scale pays about 2.2 times the bottom in Washington, close to the 2.2 times spread for roofers nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $23.01 against $18.01 at the bottom tenth, and $50.00 against $39.29 at the top.
The average wage, $33.11, sits 14% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical roofer makes.
How Washington compares with other states
Over a full year, the Washington median of $60,640 is $5,200 more than the national $55,440.
In the state ranking, Washington sits 11th, between Rhode Island ($29.63) and Maryland ($28.89). The range runs from $21.00 in Oklahoma to $37.45 in Illinois.
Washington pays roofers more than any of its neighboring states, Idaho 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 Washington. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
How many roofers work in Washington
BLS estimates 5,890 roofers on payrolls in Washington, 4.3% of the 135,490 nationwide. Only 2 states have more.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 1.7 of every 1,000 jobs in Washington, 1.9 times the national share.
What a roofing company in Washington should charge
Higher wages in Washington go straight into the price. Take a roofing company in Washington paying the state median of $29.16 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 | $29.16 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $65,293 |
| Break-even rate | ($65,293 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $103.53 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $103.53 ÷ 0.85 | $121.80 |
That is $121.80 per billable hour, 4.2 times the wage, and $4.41 more than the $117.39 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $38.21 in Washington, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $137.69.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $25.15, the rate only drops to $114.76.
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 Washington
- Licensing. What Washington asks for before you can work on your own: Roofing license in Washington.
- 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.