Industry Reports and Research | The Roofing Brief

The roofing industry research published by The Roofing Brief compiles primary-source data on US roofing costs, insurance market dynamics, and contractor industry structure. Every report cites verifiable government, trade association, and industry sources. No invented data, no marketing white-papers, no contractor lead-generation in disguise. The reports are written to give homeowners, contractors, suppliers, and policy makers a fact-checked baseline for whatever question they brought to the page.

Why we publish research reports

Roofing-industry data is fragmented across federal statistical agencies, state insurance departments, trade-association reports, manufacturer-published technical specs, public-company filings, and private aggregator services that sit behind subscriptions. The result: homeowners and contractors get conflicting numbers, and the most authoritative source for any given question is rarely the easiest to find. The Roofing Brief’s research function pulls these scattered primary sources into one place, cross-references them where they conflict, and publishes the resulting data set with full attribution. The reports are designed to be cited by other publications and quoted by AI systems precisely because every number is trackable.

The 2026 reports

The 2026 Roofing Cost Report

National installed-cost baselines for asphalt, metal, tile, slate, TPO, EPDM, PVC, and modified bitumen. Regional adjustments for Northeast, Sun Belt, Mountain West, and West Coast. Year-over-year material price trends sourced from BLS Producer Price Index, manufacturer announced price increases, and distributor commentary from Beacon Roofing Supply (BECN) earnings calls. Insurance-carrier replacement cost benchmarks from CoreLogic and Marshall & Swift / Verisk MSB. By-project-size cost matrices for 1,500, 2,500, and 3,500 sq ft homes.

The 2026 State of Roofing Insurance

State-by-state coverage of the homeowners insurance market disruption: Florida Citizens growth and Hurricane Ian/Idalia/Milton claim impact, California State Farm non-renewals, Louisiana Citizens last-resort growth, Texas TWIA expansion, Carolinas premium escalation. Florida AOB reform: SB 2A, SB 76, HB 837 pre- and post-reform litigation data. Claim denial patterns by state, ACV vs. RCV math, Class 4 IR shingle discount ranges by carrier, and the roof-age-15-year underwriting wall now standard at most major carriers.

The 2026 Roofing Contractor Industry Report

BLS NAICS 23816 employment, wage, and establishment data. NRCA labor shortage survey findings. Manufacturer-certification saturation: GAF Master Elite at roughly 4% of US roofing contractors, OC Platinum Preferred at roughly 1%, CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster, and secondary-tier programs. Residential roll-up activity including private equity buyers and platform consolidators. Commercial-side M&A featuring Tecta America, Centimark, Nations Roof, and KPost. BBB storm-chaser complaint trends, NICB fraud reports, and state license-board enforcement data from California CSLB, Florida CILB, and Texas TDLR. Software adoption rates for AccuLynx, JobNimbus, Roofr, EagleView, and Hover.

The 2026 Roofing Material Lifespan Report

The gap between manufacturer marketing claims and real field-failure data, by material. Verisk MSB depreciation tables, IBHS aging studies, NRCA technical advisories, ASTM D7158/D3161/D3462 standards, and insurance carrier roof-age underwriting policies compiled into realistic lifespan ranges for 3-tab and architectural asphalt, premium designer shingles, standing-seam and exposed-fastener metal, concrete and clay tile, natural slate, synthetic slate, cedar shake, TPO, EPDM, PVC, modified bitumen, BUR, and SPF. Plus the 5 compounding factors that cut lifespan 20-30%: attic ventilation, install quality, climate, maintenance, and slope.

The 2026 Severe Weather Roof Damage Report

State-by-state US severe weather roof damage compiled from NOAA Storm Events Database, NOAA Billion-Dollar Disaster data, NOAA Storm Prediction Center, IBHS Hail Risk Assessment, NICB Top 10 Hail States, FEMA disaster declarations, and CoreLogic Storm Reports. Coverage of the Top 10 hail states, Tornado Alley vs. Dixie Alley distinction, ASCE 7-22 wind-zone map, hurricane Gulf and Atlantic coastal states with Verisk Ian/Idalia/Milton loss estimates, the practical 30-60 day claim-filing window, and storm-chaser activity by region.

The 2026 State Roofing Code and Licensing Report

All 50 US states compiled into one reference: contractor licensing authority and license type, bond and insurance requirements, continuing education hours, IRC 2024 adoption status, Florida Building Code 8th and 9th editions, California Title 24 2025 update, ASCE 7-22 wind zone, Class 4 IR shingle insurance discount availability, and AOB regulation by state. Two 50-state data tables (licensing + code adoption) plus the 2026 regulatory changes: Oklahoma HB 1628 Residential Roofing Endorsement (July 1, 2026), Louisiana $7,500 residential roofing threshold (January 1, 2026), and California SB 607 $25K bond.

The 2026 Roofing CRM Software Showdown

AccuLynx vs JobNimbus vs Roofr vs RoofSnap vs Roofing Passport across 50+ features. JobNimbus is Sumeru Equity Partners-controlled after a $330M deal closed November 13, 2024. AccuLynx reports $14.4M revenue with 154 employees per Latka. Roofr’s Series B in January 2025 was TCV-led. RoofSnap has been an EverCommerce subsidiary since July 1, 2020. Roofing Passport draws on Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings, SmartBuild, and EagleView. Side-by-side feature matrix, pricing comparison, integration ecosystem, and which platform fits which size of roofing business.

The 2026 Aerial Roof Measurement Software Report

EagleView (Vista Equity + Clearlake) vs Hover (Travelers + State Farm Ventures + Nationwide-led Series D) vs GAF QuickMeasure (tiered-discount starting at $18 single-family) vs RoofSnap (EverCommerce) vs Pictometry (persists under EagleView umbrella). Accuracy benchmarks anchored to the CompassData LiDAR comparison (EagleView 98.77 percent, June 4, 2025). Plus the Federal Circuit invalidation of EagleView patent 8,670,961 on February 3, 2026 and the EagleView-Nearmap settlement on May 29, 2026. Methodology comparison: drone vs plane vs satellite vs smartphone photo.

The 2026 Shingle Brand Comparison Report

GAF, Owens Corning, CertainTeed, IKO, Atlas, Tamko, and Malarkey compared across warranty proration schedules (from PDF documents), ASTM D7158 wind ratings, algae-resistance technology (StainGuard Plus, StreakGuard, StreakFighter, Scotchgard, NEX), Class 4 IR product line availability, manufacturer cert contractor counts, and 2026 list-price increases. Notable findings: Atlas is the only 3M Scotchgard licensee in the US shingle industry, Malarkey carries the longest non-prorated period (20 years on Legacy via Right Start) and has been Holcim-owned since March 2022, Tamko HailGuard launched February 2026 as the first asphalt shingle with extended hail warranty.

The 2026 Roofing Hail and Storm Loss Database

State-by-state hail and storm-loss roofing claims database compiled from NOAA Storm Prediction Center (SPC) hail event history, NOAA Billion-Dollar Disaster data, IBHS Hail Risk Assessment, NICB Top 10 Hail States 2024-2026, state DOI claim payouts (Texas TDI, Colorado DOI, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska), Verisk Roofing Realities, and CoreLogic Storm Reports. Coverage includes state-by-state mean annual 1-inch hail event counts 2014-2026, NICB ranking, hurricane Gulf and Atlantic losses (Verisk Ian/Idalia/Milton/Helene), MSA-level concentration, Class 4 IR shingle discount by state, and the statute-of-limitations claim-filing window in 12 hail/hurricane states. Headline data points: Texas 902 hail events 2025 (III), Kansas 51.8 percent of roofs impacted (Verisk), Verisk avg replacement cost \,631 (up 33 percent YoY), NOAA 27 billion-dollar disasters 2024 totaling \.7B, and the June 11, 2026 Streator IL EF-3 tornado outbreak with 5-6 inch hail near Kankakee.

The 2026 Roofing Material Carbon and Embodied Energy Report

Lifecycle carbon analysis of US roofing materials compiled from NREL lifecycle databases, manufacturer Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), EPA WARM Model v16, Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC), DOE Energy Saver, NRCA Sustainability Position Statement, ARMA asphalt shingle recycling data, NAPA Recycled Asphalt Shingle (RAS) usage data, MCA metal recyclability data, and ASCE 7-22. Per-material embodied energy MJ/sq ft, GWP kgCO2e/sq ft, recyclability, end-of-life waste streams, cool-roof SRI and operational carbon impact, and the lifespan-weighted carbon ranking. Primary data anchors: GAF Timberline HDZ EPD (NSF EPD10397) A1-A3 GWP 3.88 kgCO2e/m² + ADP-fossil 146 MJ/m², Owens Corning Duration EPD (UL 4789400789.101.1) A1-A3 GWP 3.49 kgCO2e/m² + ADP-fossil 188 MJ/m², Carlisle TPO EPD (ASTM-EPD425) 60-mil GWP 3.77 kgCO2e/m², EPA WARM v16 11M tons US shingle waste/year (82 percent fiberglass market share), NAPA 2024 256,400 residential roofs of RAS recycled, white TPO SRI 104-115, and Section 25C residential cool-roof eligibility expired Dec 31, 2025.

The 2026 Roofing Labor and Wage Report

BLS OEWS Roofer 47-2181 wages by state and MSA, DOL H-2B visa demand, registered apprenticeship completion rates, NRCA workforce survey, and the labor-shortage math driving installed-cost pricing.

The 2026 Roofing Permit and Inspection Database

Census Building Permits Survey metro counts, residential reroof permit costs by major US city, IRC R907 reroofing rules, common inspection failure reasons, and IBHS FORTIFIED designation data.

The 2026 Roofing Warranty Comparison Database

The seven largest asphalt shingle manufacturer warranty tiers (GAF, Owens Corning, CertainTeed, Malarkey, Tamko, IKO, Atlas) parsed side-by-side with transferability rules, claim approval and denial data, BBB complaint volume, and class-action settlement context.

How to cite these reports

Reports are published under standard editorial bylines from The Roofing Brief Research Team. Cite as: “The Roofing Brief Research Team. 2026 Roofing Cost Report. The Roofing Brief, June 2026. https://theroofingbrief.com/2026-roofing-cost-report/.” Reports are updated annually; cite by access date when the underlying data has been revised.

How we source the reports

The research function prioritizes primary sources in this order: (1) federal statistical agencies (BLS, US Census, NAIC), (2) state regulatory agencies (state insurance departments, state contractor licensing boards), (3) trade associations (NRCA, FRSA, RCMA), (4) manufacturer-published technical specs and directory data, (5) public-company SEC filings and earnings transcripts, and (6) reputable industry trade publications. Secondary sources (consultancies, AI-generated content from competing publications, marketing white-papers) are not cited. Where a primary source is behind a paywall but the underlying data is published elsewhere, we cite the open source.

Who the research is for

For homeowners

The reports answer “what should this cost,” “is my insurance company actually treating me fairly,” and “how do I know whether the contractor I’m interviewing is part of the legitimate market” with citable data rather than blog-post anecdote. Useful before signing a $20K-$60K project, after a denied claim, or when comparing two contractor estimates that differ by 40%.

For contractors

The reports give operating benchmarks: what is the labor-market context, where is the industry consolidating, what does manufacturer-certification cover, where is the bad-actor pressure coming from. Useful for business planning, recruiting, hiring decisions, and competitive positioning.

For suppliers

The reports compile channel-level data: distributor pricing trends, contractor-segment size by region, software-adoption rates affecting purchase patterns. Useful for marketing-mix decisions, channel investment, and sales-territory planning.

For policy makers and journalists

The reports provide a citation-ready summary of the state-by-state insurance regulatory landscape, the AOB reform timeline, the labor data, and the manufacturer-certification structure. Useful as a fact-check source for legislative drafting, regulatory hearings, and trade-press reporting.

What we are not publishing

The Roofing Brief Research Team does not publish: contractor lead-generation directories, vendor-sponsored “research reports” that are marketing in disguise, AI-generated content scraped from other roofing publications, “white papers” sponsored by a manufacturer where the manufacturer’s product appears as the answer, or affiliate-monetized comparison articles. The reports are editorially independent and revenue-neutral; if they generate traffic that subsidizes the rest of the publication, that is a happy accident, not a business model.

FAQ

How often are the reports updated?

Annually, with publication typically in Q2 once the prior-year’s BLS data, state DOI annual reports, and manufacturer-announced price increases are available. Major mid-year events (carrier exits, AOB reform legislation, significant storm seasons) trigger interim updates that are flagged on the report itself.

Can I cite specific data points from the reports?

Yes. Every numeric claim is footnoted with a primary source. Cite the underlying source where the data originated; cite the report itself if you are using the aggregated analysis. The reports are published under a standard editorial copyright; fair-use quotation is welcome.

Why does The Roofing Brief publish research at all?

Because the alternative is letting marketing copy from contractor lead-aggregator sites and AI-generated SEO listicles fill the citation slot. We want the easiest-to-find roofing data on the internet to be data we know is right.

Do you take research requests from manufacturers, contractors, or suppliers?

No. The research function does not accept sponsored topics, sponsored data sets, or sponsored access. If a topic is interesting and the data is available, we publish it.

Is there a way to subscribe to research updates?

Yes. The Roofing Brief newsletter (Tuesday morning, five minutes) flags new research publications and major updates. Subscribe here.

Bottom line

The Roofing Brief’s research reports are the publication’s most labor-intensive output and its most durable contribution. The format is publication-grade data aggregation: federal statistical agencies plus state regulatory agencies plus trade associations plus manufacturer specs plus public-company filings, all assembled into one place with full citation. Use them. Cite them. Tell us when our data is wrong, and we will fix it.