Commercial roofing recruiters serving Winston-Salem.
Winston-Salem's roofing market prices close to national parity, with real opportunity at Atrium Health's $450M Freischlag Tower and Innovation Quarter Phase II's eight-building mixed-use expansion.
Near-parity wages, plus a hospital tower and a growing district.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below.
What the hub does flag directly: the Freischlag Tower and Innovation Quarter Phase II's eight buildings both carry "substantial roofing scope," with standard commercial roofing tracking close to national parity otherwise.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial roofing contractors in Winston-Salem, and we verify real hospital-scale or mixed-use roofing history depending on the specific role.
The story behind the demand.
A major hospital expansion and a growing biotech/mixed-use district.
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A new care tower on the main Ardmore campus - one of the largest healthcare capital projects in the region's history - carries substantial hospital-scale roofing scope.
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Eight new buildings combining retail, scientific/biotech, healthcare, and residential space add substantial mixed-use roofing scope to the region's pipeline.
What commercial roofing roles pay in Winston-Salem.
In the Winston-Salem metro, BLS puts the median for roofers at $49,280 a year, 11% below the $55,440 national median. Among the 104 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Winston-Salem ranks 59th on pay. Most of the market sits between $38,370 and $61,100. Of the other field roles, sheet metal worker pays the most locally, at a $47,080 median. BLS does not publish Winston-Salem pay for roofing helper, 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 | Winston-Salem median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial RooferRoofers (47-2181) | $49,280 | $38,370–$61,100 | $55,440 | −11% | 190 |
| Roofing HelperHelpers--Roofers (47-3016) | – | – | $44,160 | – | – |
| Sheet Metal WorkerSheet Metal Workers (47-2211) | $47,080 | $37,270–$66,140 | $61,800 | −24% | 170 |
| Roofing ForemanFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $74,360 | $49,940–$104,740 | $79,920 | −7% | – |
| EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $71,220 | $36,300–$106,740 | $78,740 | −10% | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem commercial roofing hiring game actually plays out in 2026. The five things below are what we tell every Winston-Salem roofing client at intake.
Why this metro publishes no distinct roofing wage figure - and what that means for offers
This metro'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 sits about 1% above national - essentially at parity. We benchmark roofing offers against that near-parity baseline rather than inventing a roofing-specific number that doesn't exist in the metro's own data.
Why the Freischlag Tower and Innovation Quarter are the real opportunity
This metro's own market data names the Freischlag Tower and Innovation Quarter Phase II's eight buildings as both carrying "substantial roofing scope," while standard commercial roofing tracks close to national parity otherwise - one major hospital tower and a genuinely large mixed-use district, running concurrently.
Where commercial roofing talent comes from in this market
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial roofing contractors in Winston-Salem. Standard commercial roofing crews draw on a genuinely available regional pipeline. Foremen with real hospital-scale or mixed-use roofing capability are the harder fill.
Credentials worth filtering for
What actually separates candidates in this market: verified hospital-scale roofing project history for Freischlag Tower-adjacent work, or mixed-use roofing experience for Innovation Quarter's eight buildings - the two specific opportunities the metro's own market data flags.
Realistic timelines, by role
Standard roles: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer, close to national average. Foremen for Freischlag-scale hospital or Innovation Quarter-scale mixed-use work run longer given how specifically those scales narrow the pool. First slate of vetted candidates within 48 hours regardless.
The roofing positions we fill, most often.
Across all Winston-Salem commercial roofing clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months. Foremen with real hospital-scale or mixed-use roofing experience are the role in genuine short supply - everything else draws on the metro's own available regional pipeline.
- Hospital-scale roofing foreman (Freischlag Tower-adjacent)
- Mixed-use roofing foreman (Innovation Quarter-scale)
- Commercial roofing foreman (general)
- Commercial roofing estimator
- Roofing project manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Winston-Salem, see the Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Winston-Salem's commercial roofing segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Winston-Salem roofing, we also confirm whether the work is hospital-scale or mixed-use scale, since those need different sourcing pools.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Winston-Salem commercial roofing candidate network, filtered for verified hospital or mixed-use 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 Winston-Salem publishes no roofing-specific wage figure.
Winston-Salem runs 20% fewer commercial roofing workers per job than the country as a whole — 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 Winston-Salem's commercial roofing market compares
In 2023 the Winston-Salem metro had 10 nonresidential roofing contractors (counted by business location), with about 238 people on their payrolls. Average pay at those firms was $107,299, 43.1% above the national average of $74,959 for the same kind of employer. Headcount grew 2.6% over the year, a little behind the 6.7% national increase. That works out to 1.5 per 100,000 residents against 1.8 nationally. Fewer local employers means experienced people are easier to identify, but many work for firms based outside the metro. These firms account for 1.9% of all construction employment in the metro.
Among the 95 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Winston-Salem ranks 83rd for headcount, 54th for median pay and 57th for concentration for roofers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 1,130 | $48,410 | 0.96 | 56 |
| Raleigh | 580 | $50,720 | 0.90 | 31 |
| Greensboro | 230 | $49,110 | 0.71 | 19 |
| Winston-Salem | 190 | $49,280 | 0.80 | 10 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill | – | – | – | 2 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial roofing employers in Winston-Salem, the local pool is thin but growing. Expect a mix of local candidates and people recruited in from nearby metros, and budget for relocation on senior roles.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Winston-Salem metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Winston-Salem's commercial roofing market has changed since 2018.
Winston-Salem lost nonresidential roofing contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 12 business locations to 10 (down 17%), behind the 10% growth nationally. With so few firms, one opening or closing moves that percentage a long way. Headcount at those firms went down 14%, to about 238 people. Average annual pay there went from $58,840 to $107,299 (+82%), faster than the 31% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential roofing contractors: business locations | 12 | 10 | −17% |
| Nonresidential roofing contractors: employment | 276 | 238 | −14% |
| Nonresidential roofing contractors: average annual pay | $58,840 | $107,299 | +82% |
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 Winston-Salem.
What major projects are driving commercial roofing demand in Winston-Salem?
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's $450M Freischlag Tower campus expansion and Innovation Quarter Phase II (28 acres, eight new buildings, 2.5M+ sq ft planned) both carry substantial roofing scope.
Is there a specialty roofing premium tied to these projects?
This metro's own market data names the Freischlag Tower and Innovation Quarter Phase II as both carrying substantial roofing scope, but does not publish a separate percentage for that opportunity.
What do roofers earn in Winston-Salem?
BLS puts the Winston-Salem median for roofers at $49,280 a year, 11% below the $55,440 national median. That ranks 59th of 104 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $38,370 to $61,100 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. No other North Carolina metro we cover pays more for this work.
Is it hard to hire roofers in Winston-Salem?
Yes. Winston-Salem has 20% fewer roofers per job than the country as a whole, roughly 190 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed. The 10 nonresidential roofing contractors here average about 24 employees per location. There are 17% fewer of those firms than in 2018, so experienced people have fewer local employers to move between.
Which commercial roofing roles pay the most in Winston-Salem?
Of the roles we recruit for, Roofing Foreman pays the most in Winston-Salem, a $74,360 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial Roofer at $49,280, 34% below it. Sheet Metal Worker is the lowest-paid field role at $47,080. Sheet Metal Worker trails national pay the most (24% below).
How many nonresidential roofing contractors operate in Winston-Salem?
BLS counted 10 nonresidential roofing contractors in Winston-Salem in 2023, employing about 238 people between them. Down from 12 in 2018, a 17% decline against 10% growth nationally. That averages 24 people per location. They pay an average of $107,299, 43% above the $74,959 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Winston-Salem for roofers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Greensboro (25 miles, about 230, $49,110 median), Charlotte (69 miles, about 1,130, $48,410 median) and Raleigh (93 miles, about 580, $50,720 median). Charlotte has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move.
Hiring commercial roofing talent in Winston-Salem?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you wages, timeline, and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.