Roofers
Cover roofs of structures with shingles, slate, asphalt, aluminum, wood, or related materials. May spray roofs, sidings, and walls with material to bind, seal, insulate, or soundproof sections of structures.
135,490 people do this job in the US. $55,440 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 2%
- 0%
- 98%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 2%. Today's estimate: 2%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 25 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cover roofs or exterior walls of structures with slate, asphalt, aluminum, wood, gravel, gypsum, or related materials, using brushes, knives, punches, hammers, or other tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 16% | 1 work day3.3 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Install vapor barriers or layers of insulation on flat roofs.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 9% | 5 h1.7 h to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Apply alternate layers of hot asphalt or tar and roofing paper to roofs.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Waterproof or damp-proof walls, floors, roofs, foundations, or basements by painting or spraying surfaces with waterproof coatings or by attaching waterproofing membranes to surfaces.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 9% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Install partially overlapping layers of material over roof insulation surfaces, using chalk lines, gauges on shingling hatchets, or lines on shingles.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 7% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Apply reflective roof coatings, such as special paints or single-ply roofing sheets, to existing roofs to reduce solar heat absorption.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Install, repair, or replace single-ply roofing systems, using waterproof sheet materials such as modified plastics, elastomeric, or other asphaltic compositions.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Apply plastic coatings, membranes, fiberglass, or felt over sloped roofs before applying shingles.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 6% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Mop or pour hot asphalt or tar onto roof bases.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Attach roofing paper to roofs in overlapping strips to form bases for other materials.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Install attic ventilation systems, such as turbine vents, gable or ridge vents, or conventional or solar-powered exhaust fans.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Set up scaffolding to provide safe access to roofs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Helpers--Roofers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers8% now, 8% by 2028
- Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall2% now, 2% by 2028
- Plasterers and Stucco Masons2% now, 2% by 2028
- Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles3% now, 3% by 2028
- Insulation Workers, Mechanical17% now, 19% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).