Roofing labor rate calculator: what a crew hour has to cost
Roofers sell by the square, but the price per square only holds if it covers what each crew hour costs. With the example inputs here, a three-person crew's $220,000 a year over 3,900 billable crew hours is a $56.41 break-even and $66.37 per crew hour at a 15 percent margin. Enter your crew's numbers and multiply by your own hours per square.
Worked example at the example inputs
Put in the whole crew: every wage, every billable hour across all of them, and the trucks and insurance that come with it. The answer is per crew member per billable hour. The boxes start with example inputs for a made-up three-person crew so the math has something to show. They are not market data or a survey of roofing wages, so type in your own crew.
| Input | Example value |
|---|---|
| Crew wages and owner pay | $150,000 |
| Billable crew hours | 3,900 hours |
| Overhead | $22,000 |
| Trucks and trailer | $18,000 |
| Business insurance | $30,000 |
| Profit margin | 15% |
| Break-even rate | $56.41 an hour |
| Recommended rate at a 15% margin | $66.37 an hour |
The formula
($150,000 pay + $22,000 overhead + $18,000 vehicle + $30,000 insurance) = $220,000 a year. $220,000 / 3,900 billable hours = $56.41 break-even. $56.41 / (1 - 0.15) = $66.37 an hour, with $9.95 profit in every billed hour. The interactive calculator on this page recomputes the rate as you type your own numbers.
Turn the labor rate into a bid
To turn this into a price per square: rate times your crew hours per square, plus shingles, underlayment, flashing and disposal at your markup. If your crew averages 2.5 crew hours a square on a simple reroof, that is your rate times 2.5 for the labor share. Use your own average, not this example.
How to find each input
Crew wages and owner pay
Every wage on the crew plus payroll taxes, and your own pay if you are on the roof. For the example, that is an owner and two installers.
Billable crew hours
Add up the hours each person spends on roofs you are paid for. Rain days, wind days, tear-off surprises and the morning loading the trailer come out first.
Overhead
Nail guns, compressors, harnesses and anchors, dumpster account minimums, license fees, software, sales time and marketing.
Trucks and trailer
Payments, fuel, maintenance and insurance for the crew truck and the dump trailer or material trailer.
Business insurance
General liability and workers comp. Workers comp is priced by class code and roofing is one of the most expensive classes to insure, so this line is worth getting exactly from your agent.
Profit margin
What the company keeps after all costs. On a weather-driven trade, margin is also the cushion for the week nobody can get on a roof.
Where the hours go
Weather takes hours you cannot bill
A crew that is paid for a rain day and bills nothing for it lowers the billable number for the whole year. Count the days you actually got on roofs.
Crew hours, not job hours
Three people for eight hours is 24 crew hours. Use crew hours in this calculator and in your per-square math, or the rate comes out three times too high.
Loading, tear-off and cleanup are on the clock
Magnet sweeps and dump runs are part of every job. If they are not in your hours per square, they are coming out of your margin.
Rate factors for roofers
Hours per square
Multiply this rate by the crew hours your team spends per square on a given roof, then add materials at your markup. Your own hours per square from the last ten jobs beat any number from a forum.
Pitch and stories
Steep pitch and a third story slow every square. Track hours per square by roof type so a 12/12 never prices at the walkable number.
Tear-off layers
Each layer under the shingles adds crew hours and dump weight. Price tear-off as its own line per square and per layer.
Storm work and sales time
Inspections, adjuster meetings and estimates that do not sell are real hours. If they are not billed, they belong in overhead or in fewer billable hours.
Frequently asked questions
How do roofers figure a labor rate when they price by the square?
Start from the cost of a crew hour, which is what this calculator gives you, then multiply by the crew hours your team spends per square. With the example crew here, a $66.37 crew hour at 2.5 crew hours a square is about $166 of labor per square before materials and disposal.
Why does insurance move a roofing rate so much?
Workers comp is priced per class code against payroll, and roofing classes carry far higher rates than most trades because of fall risk. On a crew, that premium can be one of the biggest lines in the whole calculation, so use your actual policy.
How many billable hours does a roofing crew have?
Fewer than a calendar suggests. Weather, travel between jobs, and the days spent selling and measuring all come out. Add up the crew hours actually spent on paid roofs last year and use that.
Should the owner's pay be in the crew rate?
If you work on the roof, yes, and your hours go in billable crew hours too. If you only sell and run the company, put your pay in overhead instead, since those hours are not on any roof.
What does Staxen cost for roofers?
Staxen is $59 per month per AI employee, or $149 per month for all three. Describe the roof and the square count out loud and Eddie drafts the estimate from your saved prices, ready to text for e-signature.