Short answer: As of September 2026, the five highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are B&M Roofing (80.6), Fortenberry Roofing (77.3), Strong Roofing (71.6), Gulf South Roofing (69.9), Daniels Roofing Solutions (58.0). Each holds a certification we verified on the manufacturer’s own register, every rating was corroborated elsewhere, and placement on this page is not for sale.
The Roofing Brief scored 8 certified roofing contractors serving the Gulfport metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top five individually to confirm its record. The Mississippi Coast logged 75 tornadoes in ten years across Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Stone counties, more than five times the count in any other metro in this batch, with April the peak month. That record should shape a Gulfport roof as much as the obvious history does: Hurricane Katrina, after which the Legislature required stronger wind and flood building standards in the coastal counties. Gulfport now sits in the wind-borne debris region with a 145 mph design wind speed, and the city’s re-roof permit checklist requires a Florida Product Approval specification sheet and installation instructions for every roofing material. From July 2026 there is new money to go further, as the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program offers grants of up to $10,000 toward a roof built to the IBHS FORTIFIED standard. No President’s Club contractor serves this metro, so the ranking turns on two Master Elite firms 3.3 points apart.
Wind loads, codes and the Gulfport housing stock
Mississippi licenses roofers as roofers, which is less common than it should be: residential roofing above $10,000 needs a Residential Roofer licence from the Mississippi State Board of Contractors, backed by a trade examination as well as a business and law exam. After a hurricane or tornado outbreak, crews from other states arrive fast, so take the licence number before any work or payment and check it on the Board’s search. Inside Gulfport, the permit application must state the number of squares, the roof pitch and the number of storeys, and for metal or tile roofs it must name the underlayment so the city can verify compliance. A contractor who has not assembled that paperwork before has not permitted many Gulfport roofs.
Insurance is where a stronger roof pays for itself on the Coast. The Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association, the wind pool that insures many coastal homes, gives premium credits for IBHS FORTIFIED designations that reach 30 per cent at the Gold level, and its FORTIFIED Roof endorsement means that when a covered claim replaces half or more of a roof, the policy pays up to $1,500 extra toward building it to the FORTIFIED standard, plus up to $500 for the evaluation. The Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program, created by Senate Bill 2409 and signed by the governor in April 2026, adds grants of up to $10,000 for single-family primary residences insured for wind, awarded by lottery from roughly $16 million a year. Ask each contractor below whether they have completed FORTIFIED Roof jobs, because the designation depends on a certified evaluator’s documentation of work that is normally hidden once the shingles are on.
The tornado record here is the heaviest in this batch, and much of it is written in roof damage. On 19 June 2023 an EF2 with 130 mph winds crossed Moss Point, removing most of the roof from a bank and from the First Missionary Baptist Church on Main Street and damaging older homes nearby; at one small multi-family building, the survey found that the age and type of construction let the roof failure bring down a wall. On 10 April 2024 another EF2 crossed the Pearl River into Hancock County near the Stennis Space Center. April accounts for 70 of the decade’s severe reports and 2024 was the busiest year. Hail is secondary but frequent: 69 reports, 66 of them an inch or larger.
Katrina’s legacy is visible in who is on this list. Strong Roofing’s founder is a licensed insurance adjuster whose firm, by its own account, helped hundreds of homeowners settle claims and rebuild after 2005, and three of the five have worked the Coast since the late 1980s or 1990s. Gulf South Roofing and Daniels Roofing Solutions are the younger firms, founded in 2019 and 2021; both have perfect ratings, and neither yet has the decades of warranty history of the older three. If a FORTIFIED roof or a grant is part of your plan, choose the contractor first on that experience, and only then on price.
The 5 best roofers in Gulfport, MS
Scored 2026-09-25. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Gulfport is 4.688, across a pool of 8 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B&M Roofing | 80.6 | Master Elite | 4.8 (467) | 4.789 | not published | Gulfport, MS |
| 2 | Fortenberry Roofing | 77.3 | Master Elite | 4.9 (213) | 4.86 | 1998 | Ocean Springs, MS |
| 3 | Strong Roofing | 71.6 | Certified | 4.9 (396) | 4.876 | 1988 | Gulfport, MS |
| 4 | Gulf South Roofing | 69.9 | Certified | 5.0 (117) | 4.906 | 2019 | Gulfport, MS |
| 5 | Daniels Roofing Solutions | 58.0 | Certified | 5.0 (25) | 4.792 | 2021 | Saucier, MS |
1. B&M Roofing — TRB Score 80.6
B&M Roofing is based in Gulfport, MS, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Master Elite (GAF), IBHS FORTIFIED contractor (company-stated). Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 31.6 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 15.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 80.6 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Member listing under Contractors/Builders. Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce
What they actually do. Residential and commercial roofing on the Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama coasts. The company states it has served the Coast since 1994; its current LLC dates from 2013.
Why it ranks here. Master Elite with 467 registry reviews at 4.8, the deepest record in the metro, scoring 80.6. It leads Fortenberry Roofing by 3.3 points on proximity and review depth; Fortenberry rates higher.
Best fit for: Gulfport and Long Beach homeowners who want the top-ranked Master Elite firm in the city.
What we would want clarified. No BBB profile or rating was locatable, and public sources disagree on when the business began. Ask to see its Mississippi Residential Roofer licence and, if you want a FORTIFIED roof, a FORTIFIED certificate from a completed job. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (228) 861-5399, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
2. Fortenberry Roofing — TRB Score 77.3
Fortenberry Roofing is based in Ocean Springs, MS, in business since 1998, led by Kelly Fortenberry, Not accredited, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 34.4 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 13.1 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 5.8 | 10 |
| Total | 77.3 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Business profile for Fortenberry Roofing, Ocean Springs; not accredited. BBB
What they actually do. Residential roofing and storm damage work across the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Why it ranks here. Master Elite, 4.9 across 213 reviews, scoring 77.3. It rates higher than B&M Roofing but sits 17 miles east in Ocean Springs.
Best fit for: Ocean Springs, Gautier and Jackson County homeowners.
What we would want clarified. No BBB accreditation. From Ocean Springs, west Harrison and Hancock County addresses are a long drive, so ask about response times on warranty calls. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (228) 861-8914, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
3. Strong Roofing — TRB Score 71.6
Trades as Strong Roofing; listed on the GAF registry as Strong Roofing Inc.
Strong Roofing is based in Gulfport, MS, in business since 1988, led by Burt Goltz, BBB accredited (company states since 2006), A+, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Certified (GAF), GuildQuality member. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 35.0 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 14.6 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 71.6 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Business profile for Strong Roofing, Inc., Gulfport. BBB
- Customer satisfaction survey profile. GuildQuality
What they actually do. Residential roofing across the Mississippi Gulf Coast; the founder is a Mississippi-licensed insurance adjuster.
Why it ranks here. 4.9 across 396 reviews with base-level certification, scoring 71.6.
Best fit for: Homeowners with an open insurance claim who want a firm that understands the adjusting side.
What we would want clarified. Base-level GAF certification is why it sits 5.7 points below Fortenberry. The accreditation date comes from the company’s own description; confirm it on the BBB profile. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (228) 313-3997, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
4. Gulf South Roofing — TRB Score 69.9
Gulf South Roofing is based in Gulfport, MS, in business since 2019, BBB accredited since 19 January 2022, A+, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Certified (GAF), Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce member. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 36.3 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 11.6 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 69.9 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 19 January 2022, rated A+. BBB
- Member listing under Contractors/Builders. Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce
What they actually do. Licensed residential and commercial roofing across the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Why it ranks here. A perfect 5.0 across 117 reviews, scoring 69.9, 1.7 behind Strong Roofing.
Best fit for: Gulfport homeowners who want a younger, highly rated local firm with BBB accreditation.
What we would want clarified. Founded in 2019, so its warranty record is seven years long at most. Ask for its Residential Roofer licence number and check it. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (228) 231-1630, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
5. Daniels Roofing Solutions — TRB Score 58.0
Trades as Daniels Roofing Solutions; listed on the GAF registry as Daniels Roofing Solutions LLC.
Daniels Roofing Solutions is based in Saucier, MS, in business since 2021, led by Tim Daniels, Not accredited, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Certified (GAF), Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce member. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 31.7 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 7.9 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 6.3 | 10 |
| Total | 58.0 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Business profile, not accredited; business started 24 November 2021. BBB
- Member listing under Contractors/Builders. Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce
What they actually do. Residential and commercial roofing, leak repair, inspections and gutters from Saucier in north Harrison County.
Why it ranks here. 5.0 across 25 reviews, scoring 58.0, 11.9 points behind fourth place.
Best fit for: North Harrison and Stone County homeowners around Saucier and Wiggins.
What we would want clarified. Trading since November 2021, with 25 reviews and no BBB accreditation, the thinnest record in this top five. Ask for references and the licence number before signing. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (228) 363-3123, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
75 tornadoes in ten years, and what they did to Gulfport roofs
Aggregate hail counts tell you very little about a specific roof. These are the individual events: every severe-weather report logged by the National Weather Service across the 4 counties of the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 69 hail reports, 117 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 75 tornadoes. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $3.1 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
The biggest hail to fall on Gulfport in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 May 2022 | 2.0 in | Wool Market | Harrison |
| 27 April 2023 | 2.0 in | Harleston | Jackson |
| 8 March 2024 | 1.75 in | Harleston | Jackson |
| 9 April 2021 | 1.75 in | Pascagoula | Jackson |
| 10 April 2024 | 1.75 in | Lorraine | Harrison |
| 12 March 2023 | 1.75 in | Ligana | Harrison |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 15 May 2022 near Wool Market, measured at 2.0 inches. That is hen-egg sized. Two inches is the threshold at which insurers expect functional damage and full replacement claims.
Wind. The strongest thunderstorm gust logged in the metro was 66 knots, about 76 mph, near Harrison on 1 July 2025. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 75 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF2 near Escatawpa on 19 June 2023.
What the National Weather Service wrote about it
The NWS logs a written account of each severe-weather episode. This is its description of the 1 April 2016 event near D Iberville, reproduced verbatim:
The Harrison County Emergency Manager reported damage to power poles near the junction of Interstate 10 and Interstate 110. Event time was estimated by radar.
That is what the specification has to anticipate here, written up by the agency that recorded it rather than by a contractor selling the repair.
When it happens. Severe weather reports cluster in April (70), June (43), May (33). The worst years on record were 2024 (38), 2023 (37), 2021 (35). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Gulfport, the months outside that window are when crews are least stretched and least likely to be triaging emergency callouts ahead of your job.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, county-level detail files 2016 to 2025, filtered to the counties of this statistical area by The Roofing Brief. Damage figures are as reported to the NWS and undercount insured losses.
What to do with this. Gulfport sees enough damaging hail that a Class 4 impact-rated shingle is worth pricing, though not automatically worth buying. Get both quotes and weigh the premium against any insurance discount.
How to tell a Gulfport roofer’s claims from their record
Licensing is required in MS. Mississippi requires a Residential Roofer licence from the Mississippi State Board of Contractors for any residential roofing work above $10,000 in combined labour and materials. It is a dedicated roofing classification, separate from the Residential Builder licence for new construction and the Residential Remodeler licence for other improvements.
Unlike a registration, this is a real licence: every classification requires passing a Business and Law Management examination plus a trade-specific examination administered by PSI. A Mississippi Residential Roofer has been tested on roofing specifically, which most states do not do.
Check here: Mississippi State Board of Contractors licence search. Ask which classification the contractor holds. A Residential Builder or Residential Remodeler licence is not the same as a Residential Roofer licence, and a full Jackson replacement will almost always clear the $10,000 line that makes the licence mandatory.
Four checks to run before you sign anything, in any state.
- Verify certification at the source. Use the GAF verification tool rather than trusting a badge image on a company website.
- Get the certificate of insurance from the insurer, not the contractor, and confirm general liability and workers compensation are both active on the day work starts.
- Confirm who pulls the permit. If a contractor asks you to pull it as the homeowner, that moves liability onto you. Decline.
- Get warranty terms in writing before any deposit, and check the manufacturer warranty being promised actually requires the certification tier the contractor holds.
The shape of the Gulfport contractor market
8 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS statistical area, of which 0 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 1,284 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.688. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 426,793, a change of 2.53% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Gulfport rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS pool was scored out of 100 on four published components: certification tier, a Bayesian adjusted rating, review depth and distance from the metro centre. In this metro that meant scoring 8 certified contractors, of whom 0 hold President’s Club standing and 2 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.688. The top five were then researched individually against Better Business Bureau records, state licence registers and manufacturer directories. The findings are printed above whether they flatter the contractor or not, and nobody paid to appear.
The full method, the weightings, what the GAF certification tiers actually mean, who is eligible to be ranked and what we do not claim are all set out on our roofer ranking methodology page. Last updated: September 2026. Scoring run: 2026-09-25. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
The questions that come up most in Gulfport
Who is the best roofer in Gulfport, MS?
B&M Roofing of Gulfport, MS scores highest in the Gulfport metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score, at 80.6 out of 100 as of September 2026. It holds Master Elite certification with a 4.8 rating across 467 reviews. Highest-scoring is not the same as best fit for your specific job, and the four companies behind it score within 22.6 points.
How many certified roofing contractors serve Gulfport?
8 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS statistical area as of September 2026, of which 0 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Gulfport get?
The Gulfport-Biloxi, MS statistical area recorded 66 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 2 of 2 inches or larger between 2016 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Events Database. The largest hailstone reported measured 2.0 inches.
Did any contractor pay to appear on this list?
No. The Roofing Brief takes no placement fees, no lead fees and no affiliate commission from any roofing contractor. Ranking comes entirely from the published formula applied to public registry data, followed by an individual research pass on the top five.
What was the worst hailstorm in Gulfport in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 2.0 inches, reported near Wool Market on 15 May 2022. That is hen-egg sized. Two inches is the threshold at which insurers expect functional damage and full replacement claims. Across the decade the metro recorded 69 hail reports. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $3.1 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Gulfport?
Severe-weather reports in the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS statistical area cluster in April, June, May, on the NOAA record for 2016 to 2025. If the work can wait, booking outside that window usually buys you shorter lead times and more of the contractor’s attention.
Do roofers need a licence in MS?
Mississippi requires a Residential Roofer licence from the Mississippi State Board of Contractors for any residential roofing work above $10,000 in combined labour and materials. It is a dedicated roofing classification, separate from the Residential Builder licence for new construction and the Residential Remodeler licence for other improvements. Unlike a registration, this is a real licence: every classification requires passing a Business and Law Management examination plus a trade-specific examination administered by PSI. A Mississippi Residential Roofer has been tested on roofing specifically, which most states do not do.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Gulfport?
Ask which classification the contractor holds. A Residential Builder or Residential Remodeler licence is not the same as a Residential Roofer licence, and a full Jackson replacement will almost always clear the $10,000 line that makes the licence mandatory.
Is Gulfport a hard market to find a good roofer in?
The Mississippi Coast logged 75 tornadoes in ten years across Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Stone counties, more than five times the count in any other metro in this batch, with April the peak month. That record should shape a Gulfport roof as much as the obvious history does: Hurricane Katrina, after which the Legislature required stronger wind and flood building standards in the coastal counties. Gulfport now sits in the wind-borne debris region with a 145 mph design wind speed, and the city’s re-roof permit checklist requires a Florida Product Approval specification sheet and installation instructions for every roofing material. From July 2026 there is new money to go further, as the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program offers grants of up to $10,000 toward a roof built to the IBHS FORTIFIED standard. No President’s Club contractor serves this metro, so the ranking turns on two Master Elite firms 3.3 points apart.
Roofer rankings for other metros
The Roofing Brief scores certified roofing contractors in the 400 largest U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan areas on the same formula.
- Best roofers in Slidell, LA, about 44 miles from Gulfport
- Best roofers in New Orleans, LA, about 58 miles from Gulfport
- Best roofers in Mobile, AL, about 60 miles from Gulfport
- Best roofers in Jackson, MS, another MS metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Ocala, FL, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Youngstown, OH, a metro of comparable size
See the full index of all 400 metro roofer rankings, or read how to find and vet a roofing contractor anywhere in the country.
Cite this analysis
The Roofing Brief. “Best Roofers in Gulfport, MS: The Roofing Brief Contractor Score.” Published September 2026. Inputs: GAF certification registry; NOAA Storm Events Database 2016-2025; U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 population estimates; Better Business Bureau and independent review-platform records for each ranked contractor.