Who Took This Year's Survey?

Every year, RC sends a comprehensive survey to gain a better understanding of the roofing industry from the people who understand it the best: roofing professionals.

The online survey went out to RC subscribers last fall, with each respondent receiving a $15 gift card for their participation. RC readers across the country responded to this year’s State of the Industry survey, giving us a glimpse of industry trends, challenges and concerns facing them.

But who, exactly, are these people who helped shape this year’s survey results? Here’s a closer look at this year’s respondents.

Residential vs. Commercial

We asked contractors about their primary source of revenue and classified them as either residential, commercial or mixed. This year’s survey was mostly residential — those who generate more than half of their revenue from non-commercial projects — at 56%. Another 29% identified as mostly commercial. Finally, the rest, 15%, were mixed. Compared to the previous year, more contractors were mixed (15% versus 6% in 2023).

Gender and Ethnicity

Most of this year’s respondents were male at 76%. This is consistent with last year’s survey demographics.

The vast majority indicated they were white or Caucasian, 94%, followed by Hispanic or Latino at 3%. RC now has content created especially for this growing segment of the industry with our Techos y Más eNewsletter.

Age

The mean age of respondents was 49 years old. For the third straight year, the largest age group was 40-to-49 at 32%. This is followed by ages 50-to-59 at 24% and 30-to-39 years at 23%.

Around 15% were between the ages of 60-to-69, while 6% identified as older than 70. Only 2% were ages 18-29.

Role

When asked about their role in the company, the largest subgroup comprised corporate or executive management at 34%, lower than last year’s 41%. This is followed by a catch-all category of contracting, installation, technician, and/or maintenance at 28%.

General management had greater representation this year at 26%, up from 20% last year. Only 6% were in sales and marketing.

Performance

This year’s survey shows the overall median annual revenue at $5 million to $9.9 million, with the majority of companies clocking in at the $2-$4.9 million mark, at 19%. This is followed by the $5-$9.9 million revenue mark at 12%.

Broken down by revenue type, 20% of residential respondents earn $2-$4.9 million. On the commercial side, 18% say they make $100 million or more in a year.

The median company size was 26 to 50 employees, with nearly a quarter of respondents working at companies with fewer than 10 employees. The majority of residential contractors have less than 10 employees at 38%, while most commercial contractors have 101-250 employees at 21%.

Geography

Regarding which regions respondents call home, the largest segment came from the South at 36%. The West was represented by 26% of respondents, followed by the Midwest at 22%. Companies from the Northeast accounted for the remaining 17%.

Most primarily residential contractors came from the South at 39%, the West at 26%, the Midwest at 18%, and the Northeast at 17%.

For commercial roofing, respondents mainly hailed from the South at 39%, the Midwest at 31%, the West at 20%, and the Northeast at 19%.