This briefing aggregates what United States roofs are actually made of, separating asphalt shingle, metal, tile, and flat-membrane systems across residential and commercial buildings. It draws a sharp line between federal data (Tier 1) and market-research estimates (Tier 2), because the two are routinely conflated. The single most important caveat up front: the U.S. Census Bureau publishes principal exterior wall material on new homes, but it does not publish a principal roofing material statistic, so every national roofing-mix figure below is a private market-research estimate, not a government count.
Executive Summary
- The U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction reports principal exterior wall material on new single-family homes, but does not publish a “principal roofing material” characteristic, so no federal roofing-mix percentage exists as of 2026 (U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Construction, via NAHB Eye on Housing, 2025).
- Asphalt shingles cover roughly 73% to 81% of the U.S. residential roofing market depending on the firm and denominator, the most-cited Tier 2 range across ARMA, Freedonia, and Future Market Insights estimates for 2023 to 2024 (Tier 2; RoofLink citing ARMA, 2024).
- Residential metal roofing held roughly 17% to 18% of the U.S. residential roofing market in 2023, up from a low-teens share a decade earlier (Tier 2; Metal Roofing Alliance / FMI, 2024).
- The overall U.S. roofing market was estimated at USD 31.5 billion to 32.7 billion in 2025, with residential accounting for roughly 58% to 62% of value (Tier 2; Mordor Intelligence, 2025 and MarketDataForecast, 2025).
- On commercial low-slope roofs, single-ply membranes hold roughly half the market, with TPO the clear leader, PVC second, and EPDM third among contractor product preferences (Tier 2; Roofing Contractor / myCLEARopinion, 2025).
- Among commercial contractors using single-ply systems in late 2025, TPO was the chief product for 37%, PVC for 28%, and EPDM for 24% (Tier 2; Roofing Contractor / myCLEARopinion, 2025).
- Reroofing and replacement, not new construction, drives roughly 63% of U.S. roofing demand, which is why the installed roofing mix changes slowly (Tier 2; Mordor Intelligence, 2025).
- Vinyl siding (26%) edged out stucco (25%) as the most-used principal exterior wall material on new single-family homes started in 2024, the closest federal proxy for new-home exterior material trends (Tier 1 data; U.S. Census Survey of Construction via NAHB Eye on Housing, 2025).
Key Findings
- The U.S. Census Survey of Construction collects square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, sales price, and principal exterior wall material on new homes, but not principal roofing material, as of the 2024 annual release (Tier 1; U.S. Census Bureau, Characteristics of New Housing, 2024).
- Asphalt shingles accounted for about 81% of the U.S. residential roofing market in 2023 in Freedonia Group estimates, and about 75.4% of asphalt-shingle end-use was residential in 2024 in Future Market Insights data (Tier 2; Freedonia Group, 2024).
- The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association is cited as putting asphalt shingles at roughly 73% of the U.S. residential roofing market in 2024, down slightly as metal grows (Tier 2; RoofLink citing ARMA, 2024).
- One all-roofing model put asphalt shingles at 58.6% of the total U.S. roofing market in 2025, a lower figure because the denominator includes commercial flat roofs where shingles are rarely used (Tier 2; Mordor Intelligence, 2025).
- Laminated (architectural) shingles accounted for about 95% of asphalt shingle demand, replacing older three-tab strip shingles (Tier 2; Mordor Intelligence, 2025).
- Residential metal roofing captured roughly 18% of the residential market in 2023 and is forecast to grow about 19% in shipments from 2024 to 2028, reaching over 4.8 billion square feet (Tier 2; Metal Roofing Alliance / FMI, 2024).
- Steel is roughly 82% of the residential metal roofing market by material, with aluminum and other metals making up the balance (Tier 2; Metal Roofing Alliance / FMI, 2024).
- U.S. metal roofing demand for residential reroofing reached a record-high 18% in 2022 per Dodge data cited by industry trade press (Tier 2; Metal Construction News / Dodge, 2024).
- Single-ply membranes are the fastest-growing roofing category, with a forecast CAGR near 7.7% through 2031 (Tier 2; Mordor Intelligence, 2025).
- In the Western U.S. low-slope market, all single-ply systems combined held 50.9% in 2024, with TPO at 36.5%, EPDM at 9.6%, and modified bitumen at 20.5% (Tier 2; Western Roofing Magazine, 2024).
- U.S. single-ply roofing demand was forecast to rise modestly to about 40 million squares by 2028, with TPO gaining share largely at the expense of bituminous (built-up and modified) systems (Tier 2; Research and Markets, 2024).
- Among roofing contractors surveyed in late 2025, 75% did steep-slope asphalt shingle work and 67% did metal work, the latter down from 79% in 2024 (Tier 2; Roofing Contractor / myCLEARopinion, 2025).
- For new single-family homes started in 2024, vinyl siding led principal exterior wall material at 26%, followed by stucco (25%), fiber cement (23%), and brick or brick veneer (16%) (Tier 1 data; U.S. Census Survey of Construction via NAHB Eye on Housing, 2025).
Why There Is No Federal Roofing-Material Statistic
The most common assumption in roofing coverage is that the U.S. government counts what roofs are made of. It does not, at least not in any current published series. The U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction, the federal program that profiles new single-family and multifamily housing, reports a defined list of physical characteristics. That list includes principal exterior wall material, square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, foundation type, and sales price (U.S. Census Bureau, Characteristics of New Housing, 2024). Roofing material is not among the published characteristics, and the NAHB analyses that restate Census exterior-material data discuss walls and siding only, never a roofing breakdown (NAHB Eye on Housing, 2025).
Roof material does appear as a census variable internationally. The IPUMS International ROOF variable captures predominant roofing material for dozens of countries, but it draws on foreign census programs, not the U.S. Census (IPUMS International, ROOF variable). The practical consequence: any U.S. national figure for “percent asphalt shingle” is a market-research estimate. Treat every roofing-mix percentage in this report as Tier 2 unless it is explicitly the Census wall-material proxy, which is Tier 1.
Residential Roofing Material Mix
Across the major Tier 2 research firms, the qualitative picture is consistent: asphalt shingles dominate residential roofs, metal is the clear number two and the fastest-rising challenger, and tile, slate, wood shake, and other materials split the remainder regionally. The disagreement is over the exact asphalt share, which depends heavily on whether the denominator is residential-only or all roofing.
| Material | Estimated U.S. residential share | Source (Tier 2) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asphalt shingles | ~73% | ARMA (via RoofLink) | 2024 |
| Asphalt shingles | ~81% | Freedonia Group | 2023 |
| Asphalt shingles (end-use) | ~75.4% residential | Future Market Insights | 2024 |
| Metal roofing | ~17% to 18% | Metal Roofing Alliance / FMI | 2023 |
| Tile, slate, wood, other | Remaining single-digit to low-teens, regionally concentrated | Aggregated from above | 2023 to 2024 |
The clean way to state the residential headline is a range, not a point estimate: asphalt shingles cover roughly three-quarters to four-fifths of U.S. residential roofs, metal about one-sixth, and everything else the remainder. Tile and concrete are concentrated in the Southwest and Florida, wood shake is now niche, and the metal share is rising fastest. Standard laminated (architectural) shingles, not the older three-tab product, account for about 95% of asphalt shingle demand, so even within the dominant category the product has shifted upmarket (Mordor Intelligence, 2025).
Commercial Roofing Material Mix
Commercial and other low-slope buildings use a different material set. Asphalt shingles, a steep-slope product, are largely absent. The commercial roof is dominated by flat-membrane systems: single-ply (TPO, PVC, EPDM), modified bitumen, built-up roofing (BUR), and metal on some low-slope and standing-seam applications. Single-ply membranes have taken roughly half the commercial market, with TPO the runaway leader.
| System | Commercial / low-slope share signal | Source (Tier 2) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| TPO (single-ply) | Chief product for 37% of single-ply contractors; 36.5% of Western low-slope | myCLEARopinion; Western Roofing | 2024 to 2025 |
| PVC (single-ply) | Chief product for 28% of single-ply contractors | myCLEARopinion | 2025 |
| EPDM (single-ply) | Chief product for 24% of single-ply contractors; 9.6% of Western low-slope | myCLEARopinion; Western Roofing | 2024 to 2025 |
| All single-ply combined | ~50.9% of Western low-slope market | Western Roofing | 2024 |
| Modified bitumen (SBS/APP) | ~20.5% of Western low-slope market | Western Roofing | 2024 |
| Metal | ~15% of commercial contractor revenue | myCLEARopinion | 2025 |
The contractor-revenue and contractor-preference figures are not strictly the same as installed square footage, so they should not be added to 100%. The consistent signal across the Western Roofing regional survey and the national myCLEARopinion contractor survey is that single-ply systems hold roughly half of commercial low-slope work, TPO leads single-ply, and built-up roofing continues a long decline as TPO takes share from bituminous systems (Research and Markets, 2024).
Market Size and Residential vs Commercial Split
The U.S. roofing market was valued at roughly USD 31.5 billion to 32.7 billion in 2025 across two independent Tier 2 models, with mid-single-digit forecast growth (Mordor Intelligence, 2025; MarketDataForecast, 2025).
| Metric | Mordor Intelligence | MarketDataForecast |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 market size | USD 32.66 billion | USD 31.50 billion |
| Forecast CAGR | 6.01% (2026 to 2031) | 6.25% (2026 to 2034) |
| Residential share of market | ~58% | 62.1% |
| Reroofing/replacement share | 63.5% | Not specified |
| Fastest-growing material | Single-ply (~7.7% CAGR) | Metals (~7.4% CAGR) |
Residential is the larger half of the market by value, roughly 58% to 62%, and reroofing dominates demand over new construction. Because most roofing work is replacement, the installed national roof mix turns over slowly: even a fast-growing material like metal gains share by a point or two per year, not in step changes.
The Metal Roofing Growth Trend
Metal is the structural story underneath asphalt’s dominance. Residential metal roofing held roughly 17% to 18% of the residential market in 2023, and FMI forecasts about 19% shipment growth from 2024 to 2028, reaching over 4.8 billion square feet (Metal Roofing Alliance / FMI, 2024). Residential applications now represent about 84% of all metal roof square footage sold in the U.S., a reversal from metal’s traditional commercial and agricultural base (Metal Construction News, 2024). Within residential metal, steel is roughly 82% of the material mix (Metal Roofing Alliance / FMI, 2024).
One counter-signal worth flagging: in the late-2025 myCLEARopinion contractor survey, the share of contractors doing any metal work fell to 67% from 79% in 2024 (Roofing Contractor / myCLEARopinion, 2025). That measures how many contractors touch metal, not installed volume, and it can move with single-year demand and pricing. The longer-run FMI and Dodge shipment data still point up. The honest read is that metal’s secular share gain is real but the year-to-year contractor-activity numbers are noisy.
Reconciling the Differing Share Estimates
The asphalt share quoted in the press ranges from 58.6% to 81%, and that spread is mostly about denominators and definitions, not a genuine factual dispute. Three adjustments explain almost all of it.
- Residential-only vs all-roofing. A residential-only denominator yields roughly 73% to 81% asphalt (ARMA, Freedonia). An all-roofing denominator that includes commercial flat roofs, where shingles barely appear, drops asphalt to about 58.6% (Mordor). Both can be correct for their stated scope.
- Value vs volume vs square footage. Dollar share, square share, and unit share diverge because asphalt is cheap per square while metal and tile are expensive. A 73% volume share can read lower in dollar terms.
- New construction vs the installed stock vs current installs. Most figures describe current shipments or installs, which run heavier on replacement than the existing national roof stock. The installed stock is even more asphalt-weighted because metal and tile are recent gainers.
The defensible synthesis: on residential roofs, asphalt shingles are about three-quarters to four-fifths of the market and metal about one-sixth, with both shares moving slightly toward metal each year. On commercial low-slope roofs, single-ply membranes are about half the market with TPO leading. There is no single true number, only a range that depends on what you are counting.
Original Synthesis
1. Residential vs commercial material-mix contrast index. Logic: place the dominant residential material (asphalt shingles, roughly 73% to 81% residential share) next to the dominant commercial material (single-ply membranes, roughly half of low-slope work) to quantify how completely the two segments diverge. Inputs: RoofLink/ARMA, 2024; Freedonia, 2024; Western Roofing, 2024; myCLEARopinion, 2025. Result: the single most-used residential material (asphalt shingle) is a marginal product on commercial roofs, and the leading commercial material (TPO membrane) is essentially absent on pitched residential roofs. The two markets share almost no material overlap except metal, which appears meaningfully in both. Limitation: residential and commercial shares use different denominators and survey methods and are not directly arithmetic-comparable.
2. Asphalt-share reconciliation band. Logic: instead of picking one asphalt percentage, publish the full defensible band and the reason for each endpoint. Inputs: 58.6% all-roofing (Mordor, 2025), ~73% residential (ARMA via RoofLink, 2024), ~81% residential (Freedonia, 2023). Derived band: 58.6% (all roofs) to 81% (residential only), with a residential central estimate of roughly 75%. Limitation: endpoints come from different firms, base years, and scopes; the band brackets methodology, not measurement error.
3. Metal momentum vs contractor-activity divergence flag. Logic: contrast the long-run metal shipment forecast against the single-year contractor-activity drop to mark where the data conflict. Inputs: +19% metal shipments 2024 to 2028 (FMI, 2024) versus contractor metal-activity falling from 79% to 67% (myCLEARopinion, 2025). Result: the secular share trend and the latest activity survey point in opposite directions for a single year, which is a signal that any one-year metal number should be treated cautiously. Limitation: the two metrics measure different things (volume forecast vs contractor participation) and cannot be netted into a single trend value.
Charts We Recommend
- Residential roof-material mix, range bars. Data: asphalt 73% to 81%, metal 17% to 18%, other remainder. Source: ARMA, Freedonia, MRA/FMI. Insight: shows dominance plus the honest uncertainty band. Citation-worthy because it visualizes a range, not false precision.
- Commercial low-slope mix, stacked bar. Data: single-ply ~50.9%, modified bitumen 20.5%, plus metal and BUR. Source: Western Roofing 2024. Insight: single-ply has taken half of commercial.
- Asphalt-share reconciliation waterfall. Data: 58.6% all-roofing rising to 81% residential-only. Source: Mordor, ARMA, Freedonia. Insight: explains why the same material is quoted at wildly different shares.
- Metal roofing shipment trend, 2024 to 2028. Data: +19% to 4.8 billion sq ft. Source: FMI via MRA. Insight: the clearest single growth story in roofing.
- Residential vs commercial market split, donut. Data: residential 58% to 62% of value. Source: Mordor, MarketDataForecast. Insight: residential is the larger half by dollars.
Methodology
Source selection prioritized federal data first, then named market-research firms and trade-body surveys. Because no federal roofing-material series exists, the Census Survey of Construction was used only for the adjacent, genuinely federal metric of principal exterior wall material, clearly labeled Tier 1, and as the basis for the central caveat that no government roofing-mix figure exists. All roofing-mix percentages are Tier 2 market-research estimates and are labeled as such inline.
Conflicting numbers were handled by reporting ranges rather than single points, and by explaining the denominator and scope behind each endpoint (residential-only vs all-roofing, value vs volume, current installs vs installed stock). Where a figure could not be confirmed against a fetched page, it was excluded. Several primary government pages (direct census.gov, web.archive.org mirrors) and the Freedonia and Grand View Research pages returned HTTP 403 to the retrieval tool; in those cases the underlying figures were taken from fetchable secondary sources that explicitly attribute the originating firm (for example RoofLink citing ARMA, RoofingMagazine citing MRA/FMI, and NAHB Eye on Housing restating Census), and the attribution chain is stated honestly. Contractor-survey shares (participation and revenue mix) are not installed-square-footage shares and are not summed to 100%. Last updated: June 29, 2026.
Source Quality and Tiering
Tier 1 (federal/primary). U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Construction / Characteristics of New Housing (exterior wall material, used as proxy and to establish that no roofing-material series exists), via NAHB Eye on Housing restatement.
Tier 2 (credible market research and trade-body data). Freedonia Group; Mordor Intelligence; MarketDataForecast; Future Market Insights; Metal Roofing Alliance with FMI and Dodge data; Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA); myCLEARopinion / Roofing Contractor contractor survey; Western Roofing Magazine survey; Research and Markets single-ply report; IPUMS International (for the ROOF-variable, international scope).
Tier 3 (reputable trade journalism/commentary). RoofLink industry-statistics roundup (used as a conduit citing ARMA and MRA); Metal Construction News; Roofing Magazine.
Most Quotable Statistics
- The U.S. government does not publish a national roofing-material statistic; the Census Survey of Construction tracks wall material, not roof material (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024).
- Asphalt shingles cover roughly 73% to 81% of U.S. residential roofs (ARMA and Freedonia, 2023 to 2024).
- Residential metal roofing holds about 17% to 18% of the residential market (Metal Roofing Alliance / FMI, 2023).
- Single-ply membranes are about half of commercial low-slope roofing, with TPO leading (Western Roofing and myCLEARopinion, 2024 to 2025).
- Reroofing, not new construction, drives about 63% of U.S. roofing demand (Mordor Intelligence, 2025).
- The U.S. roofing market was roughly USD 31.5 billion to 32.7 billion in 2025 (Mordor and MarketDataForecast, 2025).
- Residential is about 58% to 62% of U.S. roofing market value (Mordor and MarketDataForecast, 2025).
Data Limitations
- No federal roofing-material dataset exists, so every roofing-mix percentage is a private market-research estimate, not a government count.
- Asphalt share figures range from 58.6% to 81% because of differing denominators (all-roofing vs residential-only) and bases (value, volume, square footage).
- Contractor-survey shares measure participation or revenue mix, not installed square footage, and should not be summed to 100%.
- The Western Roofing single-ply figures are regional (Western U.S.) and not nationally representative.
- Several primary and proprietary pages were not directly retrievable; their figures are reported through fetchable secondaries that name the originating firm.
- The metal roofing contractor-activity drop in 2025 conflicts with longer-run shipment forecasts and should not be read as a trend reversal on its own.
Recommended Downloadable Dataset Fields
- material_name (asphalt_shingle, metal, tile, single_ply_TPO, single_ply_PVC, EPDM, modified_bitumen, BUR, wood, slate, other)
- segment (residential, commercial_low_slope, all_roofing)
- share_low_pct, share_high_pct, share_central_pct
- share_basis (value, volume, square_footage, contractor_participation, contractor_revenue)
- denominator_scope (residential_only, all_roofing, western_region)
- source_firm, source_tier (1, 2, 3), data_year, source_url
- notes_caveat
Press Summary
United States roofs split cleanly by building type. On homes, asphalt shingles dominate, covering roughly three-quarters to four-fifths of the residential market depending on the research firm and how the market is defined, with metal roofing the clear and fastest-growing challenger at about one-sixth and rising. On commercial buildings, the picture inverts: flat single-ply membranes hold about half the low-slope market, with TPO leading, PVC second, and EPDM third, while built-up roofing keeps declining. A critical caveat for any roofing-mix story: the U.S. government does not publish a roofing-material statistic. The Census Bureau tracks new-home wall material, not roof material, so every national roofing-share figure in circulation is a market-research estimate, not a federal count. The honest headline is a range, not a single number, because asphalt share moves from 58.6% to 81% purely on how the denominator is drawn. Figures reflect 2023 to 2025 data from Freedonia, Mordor Intelligence, the Metal Roofing Alliance, and contractor surveys.
Five Headlines Journalists Can Use
- There Is No Federal Roofing-Material Statistic, and That Changes How You Should Read Every “Asphalt Share” Number
- Asphalt Shingles Still Cover Three-Quarters of U.S. Homes, but Metal Is Closing In
- On Commercial Roofs, Single-Ply Membranes Now Hold Half the Market and TPO Leads
- Why the Same Roofing Material Is Quoted at 58% and 81% in the Same Year
- Metal Roofing’s Long-Run Boom Hits a Noisy 2025 Contractor Survey
Frequently Asked Questions
What are most U.S. roofs made of? On homes, asphalt shingles, which cover roughly 73% to 81% of the residential market (ARMA and Freedonia, 2023 to 2024). On commercial buildings, flat single-ply membranes such as TPO dominate.
Does the U.S. Census track roofing material? No. The Census Survey of Construction publishes principal exterior wall material on new homes, not roofing material (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024).
What share of homes have metal roofs? Residential metal roofing is about 17% to 18% of the residential roofing market (Metal Roofing Alliance / FMI, 2023).
Is metal roofing growing? Yes. FMI forecasts about 19% shipment growth from 2024 to 2028, reaching over 4.8 billion square feet (Metal Roofing Alliance / FMI, 2024).
What is the most common commercial roof? Single-ply membrane, roughly half of low-slope work, with TPO the leading single-ply type (Western Roofing 2024; myCLEARopinion 2025).
What is the difference between TPO, PVC, and EPDM? They are the three main single-ply systems; among contractors using single-ply in 2025, TPO was chief for 37%, PVC for 28%, and EPDM for 24% (myCLEARopinion, 2025).
Why do asphalt share figures differ so much? Because some firms use a residential-only denominator (73% to 81%) and others use an all-roofing denominator that includes commercial flat roofs (58.6%) (Mordor, ARMA, Freedonia).
How big is the U.S. roofing market? Roughly USD 31.5 billion to 32.7 billion in 2025 (Mordor and MarketDataForecast, 2025).
Is roofing mostly new construction? No. Reroofing and replacement are about 63% of demand (Mordor Intelligence, 2025).
What kind of asphalt shingle is most common? Laminated (architectural) shingles, about 95% of asphalt shingle demand, having replaced older three-tab strip shingles (Mordor Intelligence, 2025).
Cite This Research
The Roofing Brief, “Roofing Material Market Share Report: What U.S. Roofs Are Actually Made Of (2026)”, 2026, https://theroofingbrief.com/roofing-material-market-share-report/
Embed or reuse with credit: “Source: The Roofing Brief, Roofing Material Market Share Report, 2026 (theroofingbrief.com).”
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Characteristics of New Housing (Survey of Construction), 2024.
- NAHB Eye on Housing, “Vinyl Surpasses Stucco as Most Used Principal Exterior Wall Material” (restating U.S. Census SOC), 2025.
- RoofLink, “Roofing Industry Statistics” (citing ARMA and Metal Roofing Alliance), 2024.
- The Freedonia Group, “US Asphalt Shingles Market Research & Forecast Analysis, 2024-2033”, 2024.
- Mordor Intelligence, “United States Roofing Market”, 2025.
- MarketDataForecast, “U.S. Roofing Market”, 2025.
- Roofing Magazine, “MRA Releases Latest Research, Trends and Forecasts for U.S. Residential Metal Roofing Market” (Metal Roofing Alliance, FMI, Dodge data), 2024.
- Metal Construction News, “Metal Roofing Continues to Grow Its Presence in the Residential Market” (Dodge data), 2024.
- Roofing Contractor, “2026 State of the Roofing Industry Report” (myCLEARopinion Insights Hub survey), 2025.
- Western Roofing Magazine, “Commercial Roofing Market”, 2024.
- Research and Markets, “United States Single-Ply Roofing Market Report 2024”, 2024.
- IPUMS International, ROOF variable documentation (international census scope), accessed 2026.