How much do roofers make in North Carolina in 2026?

The median roofer in North Carolina earns $49,010 a year, which works out to roughly $23.56 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the middle of the road — half of roofers in the state earn more, half earn less. If you're just starting out or working for a smaller outfit, expect to land closer to the 25th percentile at $44,960 a year, or about $21.62 an hour. Experienced hands and those working higher-demand markets tend to push toward the 75th percentile at $56,530 a year — roughly $27.18 an hour. All figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025.

That spread from the 25th to the 75th percentile — $44,960 to $56,530 — is about $11,570 a year. That gap isn't random. It reflects real differences in experience, specialty, employer size, and geography. Knowing where you fall and why is the first step to moving up.

Geography matters inside North Carolina. The Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) and the Charlotte metro have heavy construction activity driven by population growth, which pushes demand for roofers and, with it, wages. Smaller markets in the western mountains or rural eastern part of the state tend to run lower, simply because there's less new construction and fewer competing employers bidding for your time.

Specialty work pays more than straight shingle installation. Roofers who work with commercial flat roofing systems — TPO, EPDM, modified bitumen — typically command higher rates than residential steep-slope crews. Metal roofing is another area where skilled installers can charge a premium. If your background is purely residential asphalt shingles, picking up a commercial flat-roof certification or getting hands-on experience with metal panels is one of the clearest paths to pushing past the median.

Employer type shapes your paycheck as well. Large commercial roofing contractors often pay more per hour than small residential shops, and they're more likely to offer consistent year-round work. Weather in North Carolina is more forgiving than northern states — the winter slowdown is real but shorter, which means more billable hours per year compared to roofers in the Midwest or Northeast.

No union wage scale is available for roofers in North Carolina through current BLS data. The state's roofing workforce is predominantly non-union, so your pay is largely set by your employer and whatever you negotiate. That makes it more important to know the market numbers cold before you walk into any wage conversation.

Overtime is a significant income booster in roofing. Storm season — particularly late summer and fall — can push experienced crews into 50- and 60-hour weeks. At time-and-a-half on a base of $23.56 an hour, a 10-hour overtime week adds roughly $353 in gross pay. A full storm-season push over several weeks can meaningfully lift your annual take-home well above the stated medians.

If you're targeting the 75th percentile and beyond, the combination that works is straightforward: build years on the tools, pick up commercial and specialty skills, keep your OSHA-10 or OSHA-30 current, and position yourself with employers doing larger commercial jobs. Foreman and crew lead roles also add to the hourly rate without requiring you to leave the trade entirely.