How much do roofers make in New Jersey in 2026?

Roofers in New Jersey earn a median $76,600 a year, which works out to $36.83 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That puts New Jersey solidly above a lot of states for roofing pay, reflecting the high cost of living, dense housing stock, and year-round commercial work that keeps crews busy even outside peak season.

The full pay range tells a more detailed story. At the 25th percentile, roofers take home $49,680 annually — about $23.88 an hour. These are typically workers in the first couple of years on the job, helpers who haven't yet picked up a specialty, or those working for smaller residential contractors with thinner margins. At the 75th percentile, pay climbs to $99,760 a year, or roughly $47.96 an hour. Workers at that level usually have significant time on the tools, run their own crews, handle commercial flat roofing or high-end slate and tile work, or operate in the most expensive parts of the state like Bergen, Morris, or Middlesex counties.

The gap between the 25th and 75th percentile is $50,080 per year. That's not an accident — it reflects how much roofing pay varies based on the type of work you do. Residential shingle work is the entry point. Commercial low-slope systems using TPO, EPDM, or modified bitumen pay more because the materials are more technical and the liability is higher. Specialty work — copper flashing, slate, clay tile, historic restoration — commands the top rates because very few roofers can do it correctly and callbacks are expensive.

Geography matters inside New Jersey too. The northern counties adjacent to New York City tend to pay more than southern parts of the state near Philadelphia. A roofer working Bergen or Essex County can reasonably expect pay closer to the 75th percentile even at mid-career, while someone in Cumberland or Cape May County may land closer to the median.

Experience is the single biggest lever on your pay. Most roofers hit the median range after five to eight years of consistent work. Foreman and crew-lead roles accelerate that timeline. If you're managing a crew of four or five workers, handling material orders, and interfacing with general contractors directly, your pay should be tracking toward the upper quartile regardless of years on the job.

Overtime is a significant factor that annual figures alone don't capture. Roofing is a weather-dependent trade, which means heavy overtime in spring and fall when crews are racing to finish before conditions turn. A roofer earning near the median base rate who logs 200 to 300 hours of overtime in a busy year can push their actual annual take-home well above what the straight salary figure suggests.

No union scale data is available for roofers in New Jersey at this time. Union membership in roofing varies by region of the state and by the type of contractor — union scale tends to be more common on large commercial or public projects. If you're working a union shop, your local agreement will govern your base rate, benefits, and pension contributions, which can substantially change the total compensation picture beyond what hourly wage alone shows.

All figures on this page come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025. These are employer-reported wages across thousands of workers statewide, making them one of the most reliable benchmarks available for the trade.