Average Hourly Wage of Roofers, By State

This is the 8th installment of Construction Junkie's weekly analysis of the hourly wages of each individual construction profession by state.  The three previous professions we examined were painters, plumbers, and brick and block masons.  You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.

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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click for larger image

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. 

click for larger image

click for larger image

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

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