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Average Hourly Wage of Roofers, By State

Photo by House and Hammer, CC BY 2.0Photo by House and Hammer, CC BY 2.0

Roofers have one of the most uncomfortable jobs on any construction site, especially when installing a dark roofing material.  A traditional black roof, either asphalt shingles or EPDM, can be up to 50 degrees warmer than the surrounding temperatures.  

It’s also one of the most dangerous professions in the industry.  Not only is it one of the most heavily cited group by OSHA, it also leads in number of fatalities per 100,000 workers.

Having said that, let’s take a look at how they’re paid in each state…

All data below comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s most recent reports from May 2016. Data for the state of Alaska was unavailable for this work category, unfortunately.

Graph of Average Hourly Wage of a Roofer, by State

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Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of a Roofer, by State

51. South Dakota  —  $14.70/hour

50. Mississippi–$14.95/hour

49. New Mexico  —  $15.02/hour

48. Alabama  —  $15.29/hour

47. Florida  —  $15.63/hour

46. Oklahoma  —  $15.71/hour

45. Arkansas  —  $15.84/hour

44. Tennessee  —  $15.95/hour

43. Texas  —  $15.98/hour

42. South Carolina  —  $16.09/hour

41. North Carolina  —  $16.17/hour

40. Montana  —  $16.47/hour

39. Iowa  —  $16.67/hour

38. Maine  —  $16.91/hour

37. Nebraska  —  $16.98/hour

36. Kentucky  —  $17.27/hour

35. Georgia  —  $17.57/hour

34. Louisiana  —  $17.64/hour

33. Colorado  —  $17.84/hour

32. Vermont  —  $17.88/hour

31. Wyoming  —  $17.92/hour

30. Utah  —  $18.09/hour

29. Wisconsin  —  $18.16/hour

28. Kansas  —  $18.21/hour

27. West Virginia  —  $18.40/hour

26. Indiana  —  $18.47/hour

25. Pennsylvania  —  $18.72/hour

24. Ohio  —  $19.02/hour

23. Nevada  —  $19.14/hour

22. Delaware  —  $19.57/hour

21. Arizona  —  $19.58/hour

20. Idaho  —  $19.65/hour

19. Michigan  —  $19.85/hour

18. Maryland  —  $20.20/hour

17. Oregon  —  $20.26/hour

16. North Dakota  —  $20.27/hour

15. Virginia  —  $20.78/hour

14. Missouri  —  $21.12/hour

13. New Hampshire  —  $22.15/hour

12. District of Columbia  —  $22.61/hour

11. Washington  —  $23.12/hour

10. Rhode Island  —  $23.48/hour

9. Hawaii  —  $23.88/hour

8. Alaska  —  $24.37/hour

7. California  —  $24.54/hour

6. Massachusetts  —  $25.07/hour

5. Illinois  —  $26.02/hour

4. Connecticut  —  $26.15/hour

3. Minnesota  —  $27.74/hour

2. New Jersey  —  $28.49/hour

1. New York  —  $30.23/hour

Graph of Average Hourly Wage of a Roofer – Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State

Cost of living in each state also has a large impact on the amount of money construction trades actually bring home, so the graph below shows each state’s adjusted hourly wage based upon the cost of living index for that state.  All cost of living index data comes from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and was last updated for the second quarter of 2017.  The cost of living index was based upon grocery, housing, utilities, transportation, health, and miscellaneous costs for each state. 

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Rankings of Average Hourly Wage of a Roofer – Adjusted for Cost of Living, by State

51. Hawaii  —  $8.02/hour

50. District of Columbia–$10.54/hour

49. California  —  $13.35/hour

48. Oregon  —  $13.84/hour

47. Maryland  —  $14.75/hour

46. South Dakota  —  $14.76/hour

45. Maine  —  $14.93/hour

44. Florida  —  $15.86/hour

43. New Mexico  —  $15.91/hour

42. South Carolina  —  $16.32/hour

41. Montana  —  $16.35/hour

40. Alabama  —  $16.71/hour

39. Alaska  —  $16.96/hour

38. North Carolina  —  $17.04/hour

37. Mississippi  —  $17.12/hour

36. Oklahoma  —  $17.31/hour

35. Colorado  —  $17.32/hour

34. Vermont  —  $17.36/hour

33. Massachusetts  —  $17.42/hour

32. Texas  —  $17.48/hour

31. Tennessee  —  $17.64/hour

30. Arkansas  —  $17.84/hour

29. Iowa  —  $18.02/hour

28. Nevada  —  $18.11/hour

27. Rhode Island  —  $18.24/hour

26. Nebraska  —  $18.37/hour

25. Pennsylvania  —  $18.42/hour

24. Kentucky  —  $18.43/hour

23. Wyoming  —  $18.55/hour

22. Louisiana  —  $18.59/hour

21. Wisconsin  —  $18.63/hour

20. Utah  —  $18.94/hour

19. Delaware  —  $19.14/hour

18. West Virginia  —  $19.15/hour

17. Georgia  —  $19.22/hour

16. New Hampshire  —  $19.49/hour

15. Kansas  —  $20.09/hour

14. Indiana  —  $20.17/hour

13. Arizona  —  $20.27/hour

12. Virginia  —  $20.32/hour

11. Ohio  —  $20.48/hour

10. North Dakota  —  $20.49/hour

9. New York  —  $20.68/hour

8. Washington  —  $21.27/hour

7. Idaho  —  $21.36/hour

6. Michigan  —  $21.78/hour

5. Connecticut  —  $21.84/hour

4. New Jersey  —  $22.08/hour

3. Missouri  —  $23.25/hour

2. Illinois  —  $26.75/hour

1. Minnesota  —  $27.80/hour

Roofers have one of the most uncomfortable jobs on any construction site, especially when installing a dark roofing material.  A traditional black roof, either asphalt shingles or EPDM, can be up to 50 degrees warmer than the surrounding temperatures.  

It’s also one of the most dangerous professions in the industry.  Not only is it one of the most heavily cited group by OSHA, it also leads in number of fatalities per 100,000 workers.

Having said that, let’s take a look at how they’re paid in each state…

The Netherlands has a ton of bridges, especially pedestrian and biking bridges, thanks to its abundant system of canals.  Perhaps because of that, they have become a leader in 3D printing technology when it comes to bridges. 

Painters are typically one of the last subcontractors on any construction site, who do their best to beautify the drywall with the colors of the architect’s or interior designer’s choosing. Some painters are also responsible for mudding drywall, patching holes, sanding, and caulking.

Let’s take a look at how an average painter’s hourly wage compares in each state…

Project managers and supervisors are responsible for keeping their employees safe and the court system has recently shown that they take that responsibility very seriously.  When supervisors act in a negligent manner and people get hurt or killed, they should be held liable. 

In doing the research for this analysis, I learned something interesting about the plumbing profession.  The term “plumber” comes from the Latin word “plumbum,” which means lead. Seems fitting in a profession, fairly or unfairly, stereotyped for exposed butt cracks.

In Roman times, plumbers often worked with lead for conduits, drain pipes, and making baths.  Plumbers now work with a variety of different materials, including copper, PVC, ductile iron, among others.

Concrete is an extremely strong building material, but has a notoriously weak tensile strength.  In order to resist tension, bending, and shear forces, steel rebar or other reinforcement materials are added either prior to the placement or into the mix.  Even with reinforcement, concrete is still extremely rigid and prone to cracking.  In the event of a major earthquake, the uneven and horizontal forces can cause structures to crack and, in the worst case, cause failure.

Construction Safety is talked about constantly.   There are many construction companies that take it very seriously. There are also many that don’t. All will say it’s their top priority.

So what can a city do that’s facing regular worker deaths and increases in workplace injuries? New York City has decided to require extensive safety training for all of the 185,000 construction workers in the city.

Modular building makes a lot of sense: build repetitive structures in a controlled, factory-like setting and transport to the project site and assemble.  It should be a more efficient and less expensive way to construct a building, but the truth is, it’s a lot harder than it looks.  There’s also no written standard for doing it.