Pick a trade and state to see real hourly rates.
Current BLS California employee wages for Roofers, SOC 47-2181; excludes premium pay and benefits, self-employment income and contractor quotations.
Last updated October 21, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.
Hiring guide · California
Hire for roof-system skills, safe access and reliable flashing work.
Build a crew around the roof covering and details your project requires. Assess deck preparation, fastening, seams and flashing through a safe practical sample. California employers also need a clear plan for fall protection and outdoor heat. Set supervision and inspection points before workers cover critical details.
Candidate availability moves week to week. What does not move is the screening: the certifications below are what decide whether someone can be badged onto your site at all.
The levels are separated by what the state allows a person to do unsupervised, not by how good they are. Hiring the wrong level is the most common and most expensive mistake on a trade requisition.
Productive under supervision and cheap, but they cannot be left on a task the state licenses, and they need someone qualified with them.
Works unsupervised and can carry a helper. This is the level almost every requisition is actually describing.
Runs crews across sites, owns compliance outcomes, and where the trade allows, pulls permits and qualifies the work.
Budget $30.58 an hour for a qualified roofer in California, from $23.38 at entry level to $42.79 at the top. Add a quarter to a third on top for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment, and price overtime at time and a half.
See the full roofer salary guide →California licenses contracting businesses through CSLB. Licensing applies at $1,000 total, or with permits or employee labor. Employee recruitment also requires Cal/OSHA safeguards, lawful classification and workers' compensation coverage.
Contact IRCC's apprenticeship office, Orange Coast's construction department and NRCA's workforce resources about developing roofing candidates.
Certificates get a candidate past the first filter. These are the questions that separate the ones who can do the work from the ones who have the paperwork, and they change by level.
Certifications listed with no issuing body or date
A licence described as 'in progress'
No supervisor anyone can call
Three or four employers inside a year
Long gaps with no explanation offered
Cards that lapsed and were never renewed
A realistic schedule for a certified roofer, from writing the requisition to a badged start. The screening steps are where time is actually lost.
Budget California crews for the work involved. These national figures provide employee wage context.
Reroofing assignments require coordinated removal, deck inspection and replacement. Specify system experience when recruiting through California roofing contractor networks.
Housebuilding schedules connect roof crews with framers. Plan California residential fall protection and inspection points before covering roof details.
Large building roofs need material staging and coordinated installation. Ask California candidates to explain membrane seams, penetrations and drainage details.
Post a role and reach OSHA-certified candidates in your area.
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