Commercial roofing recruiters serving Chattanooga.
Chattanooga's roofing market runs at a modest regional discount, with real opportunity across three concurrent hospital expansions: Erlanger East, Parkridge, and CommonSpirit Memorial.
Three hospitals expanding, all at the same time.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below.
What the hub does flag directly: three concurrent hospital expansions carry real roofing scope, with standard commercial roofing running at a modest regional discount otherwise.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial roofing contractors in Chattanooga, and we verify real hospital-scale roofing history depending on the specific role.
The story behind the demand.
A genuinely dense concentration of healthcare construction, all in one metro at once.
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A new three-story, 52,000 sq ft building on Gunbarrel Road adding 22 patient beds and specialized cardiac/EP/IR labs, construction begins summer 2026 - real hospital roofing scope.
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A new patient tower with ICU and medical-surgical rooms, completing 2026 - a second concurrent hospital roof going up.
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A 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital, broke ground April 2026, opening spring 2027 - a third concurrent hospital roof in the same metro.
What commercial roofing roles pay in Chattanooga.
In the Chattanooga metro, BLS puts the median for roofers at $45,530 a year, 18% below the $55,440 national median. Among the 104 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Chattanooga ranks 96th on pay. Most of the market sits between $35,720 and $56,940. BLS does not publish Chattanooga pay for 2 of the roles below, which it withholds where a metro's sample is too small to be reliable. National benchmarks by role are in the 2026 Commercial Roofing Salary Guide.
| Role | Chattanooga median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial RooferRoofers (47-2181) | $45,530 | $35,720–$56,940 | $55,440 | −18% | 140 |
| Roofing HelperHelpers--Roofers (47-3016) | – | – | $44,160 | – | – |
| Sheet Metal WorkerSheet Metal Workers (47-2211) | – | – | $61,800 | – | – |
| Roofing ForemanFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $75,090 | $48,910–$102,230 | $79,920 | −6% | – |
| EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $70,450 | $42,440–$106,190 | $78,740 | −11% | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Chattanooga metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile. Headcount is shown for field occupations only; management, estimating and supervisory codes are counted across every industry in the metro.
What candidates expect. What credentials matter. What kills offers.
We don't tell prospective clients who their competitors are hiring - that's a discipline our clients value, and we'll honor it on a call. What we will share publicly: how the Chattanooga commercial roofing hiring game actually plays out in 2026. The five things below are what we tell every Chattanooga roofing client at intake.
Why Chattanooga publishes no distinct roofing wage figure - and what that means for offers
Chattanooga's own market data doesn't break out a separate commercial-roofer wage row the way most metros we track do; the closest published figure is the region's general commercial estimator rate, which runs about 3% below national. We benchmark roofing offers against that general figure rather than inventing a roofing-specific number that doesn't exist in the metro's own data.
Why three concurrent hospital expansions are the real opportunity
Chattanooga's own market data names three concurrent hospital expansions - Erlanger East, Parkridge, and CommonSpirit Memorial - as carrying real roofing scope, while standard commercial roofing runs at a modest regional discount otherwise. A genuinely unusual concentration of healthcare-facility roofing at once.
Where Chattanooga commercial roofing talent comes from
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial roofing contractors in Chattanooga. Standard commercial roofing crews draw on a genuinely available regional pipeline. Foremen with real hospital-scale roofing capability are the harder fill, given three concurrent projects competing for the same pool.
Credentials worth filtering for
What actually separates candidates in Chattanooga: verified hospital-scale roofing project history across any of the three named expansions - the specific opportunities the metro's own market data flags.
Realistic timelines, by role
Standard roles: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer. Foremen for hospital-scale work run longer given how three concurrent projects narrow the pool at once. First slate of vetted candidates within 48 hours regardless.
The roofing positions we fill, most often.
Across all Chattanooga commercial roofing clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months. Foremen with real hospital-scale roofing experience are the role in genuine short supply - everything else draws on the metro's own available regional pipeline.
- Hospital-scale roofing foreman (Erlanger East-adjacent)
- Hospital-scale roofing foreman (Parkridge-adjacent)
- Commercial roofing foreman (general)
- Commercial roofing estimator
- Roofing project manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Chattanooga, see the Chattanooga metro overview. To learn more about commercial roofing generally (across all 100+ markets we serve), see our Commercial Roofing industry page.
How we recruit commercial roofing in Chattanooga, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Chattanooga's commercial roofing segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Chattanooga roofing, we also confirm which of the three concurrent hospital expansions the work is tied to, since each has its own scheduling pressure.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Chattanooga commercial roofing candidate network, filtered for verified hospital-scale experience where required.
- Vetted short list (week one). Three to five candidates. We verify real project-delivery history at the right scale rather than a line on a resume.
- Offer and close. Standard roles close in 4-6 weeks. We help with offer math against the region's general commercial estimator benchmark, since Chattanooga publishes no roofing-specific wage figure.
Chattanooga runs 40% fewer commercial roofing workers per job than the country as a whole — well below the national concentration. Fewer per job means the people you want are already working, and usually for someone who would rather keep them.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , Roofers. Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Chattanooga's commercial roofing market compares
In 2023 the Chattanooga metro had 13 nonresidential roofing contractors (counted by business location). BLS publishes that count but withholds headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers. That works out to 2.2 per 100,000 residents against 1.8 nationally, a crowded field where experienced people get approached often.
Among the 95 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Chattanooga ranks 88th for headcount, 87th for median pay and 77th for concentration for roofers. Pay here is among the lowest we see, which makes relocation offers from higher-paying metros a real retention risk.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville | 650 | $48,120 | 0.68 | 43 |
| Knoxville | 440 | $45,030 | 1.20 | 24 |
| Memphis | 360 | $46,480 | 0.68 | 28 |
| Chattanooga | 140 | $45,530 | 0.60 | 13 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial roofing employers in Chattanooga, the local pool is thinner than most, so plan on recruiting some roles in from outside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Chattanooga metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Chattanooga's commercial roofing market has changed since 2018.
The number of nonresidential roofing contractors in Chattanooga rose from 9 in 2018 to 13 in 2023, up 44%, ahead of the 10% national rise. How many people those 13 locations employ is not published: with a category this small, BLS would effectively be reporting individual employers' payrolls.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential roofing contractors: business locations | 9 | 13 | +44% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Frequently asked — commercial roofing hiring in Chattanooga.
What major projects are driving commercial roofing demand in Chattanooga?
Three concurrent hospital expansions: Erlanger East Hospital's $122M expansion, Parkridge Medical Center's $98M patient tower, and CommonSpirit Memorial Hospital's new 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility in Ooltewah - all carry real roofing scope.
Is there a specialty roofing premium tied to these hospital expansions?
Chattanooga's own market data names all three concurrent hospital expansions as carrying real roofing scope, but does not publish a separate percentage for that opportunity.
What do roofers earn in Chattanooga?
BLS puts the Chattanooga median for roofers at $45,530 a year, 18% below the $55,440 national median. That ranks 96th of 104 metros with published figures, in the bottom quarter. Pay is bunched together here, $35,720 to $56,940 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. Within Tennessee, Nashville pays more, at $48,120.
Is it hard to hire roofers in Chattanooga?
Yes. Chattanooga has 40% fewer roofers per job than the country as a whole, roughly 140 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed. With 44% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial roofing roles pay the most in Chattanooga?
Of the roles we recruit for, Roofing Foreman pays the most in Chattanooga, a $75,090 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial Roofer at $45,530, 39% below it. Commercial Roofer trails national pay the most (18% below).
How many nonresidential roofing contractors operate in Chattanooga?
BLS counted 13 nonresidential roofing contractors in Chattanooga in 2023. Up from 9 in 2018, a 44% increase against 10% growth nationally. BLS withholds their combined headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers.
Which nearby metros compete with Chattanooga for roofers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Knoxville (101 miles, about 440, $45,030 median), Atlanta (104 miles, about 1,440, $49,100 median) and Nashville (113 miles, about 650, $48,120 median). Knoxville has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Atlanta pays 8% more, which is where Chattanooga employers tend to lose people.
Hiring commercial roofing talent in Chattanooga?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you wages, timeline, and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.