INDUSTRY REPORTS · June 30, 2026

The Roofing Opportunity Index: 50 Best States to Start a Roofing Company (2026)

The Roofing Opportunity Index ranks all 50 states using 2023 Census income and 2022 roofing-contractor density. See the top 10 and bottom 10 for 2026.

By The Roofing Brief Team

The Roofing Opportunity Index ranks U.S. states by how attractive each is for starting or operating a roofing business, combining a demand signal (2023 median household income from the U.S. Census Bureau) with a competition signal (roofing-contractor density per 100,000 residents from 2022 County Business Patterns). New Jersey ranks first among the 50 states, scoring 80.4 of 100, because it pairs the highest state median household income in the country ($99,781, 2023) with one of the lowest roofing-contractor densities (4.24 establishments per 100,000 residents, 2022). Idaho ranks last among states at 15.4, where a thin population supports the most saturated contractor market in the nation (15.42 establishments per 100,000 residents, 2022). This page states every weight, every input source, and every limitation so the ranking can be audited and reproduced.

Executive Summary

The Roofing Opportunity Index combines two verified Tier 1 inputs per state: 2023 median household income (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023 1-year estimates) weighted 40 percent, and 2022 roofing-contractor density per 100,000 residents (The Roofing Brief, U.S. Roofing Contractor Count Report, 2022 CBP) weighted 60 percent and inverted so that less competition scores higher.
New Jersey ranks first among the 50 states with a composite score of 80.4 of 100, driven by a 2023 median household income of $99,781 and a 2022 contractor density of 4.24 establishments per 100,000 residents.
New Hampshire (73.8), Maryland (73.3), Massachusetts (71.8), and Connecticut (71.5) complete the top five, every one of them a high-income state with below-average contractor saturation.
Idaho (15.4), Wyoming (16.1), Montana (20.1), Nebraska (23.9), and Oklahoma (28.7) are the five lowest-scoring states, where high contractor density relative to population compresses opportunity for a new entrant.
The national roofing-contractor density was 7.36 establishments per 100,000 residents in 2022, against a total of 24,532 roofing establishments across all 50 states and the District of Columbia (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).
The 2023 U.S. median household income was $77,719, down 0.2 percent from 2022 after adjusting for inflation, a change not statistically different from zero (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023).
The District of Columbia scores 100 on the raw formula but is reported separately and excluded from the state ranking, because it had only 7 roofing establishments in 2022, a sample too small to read as a competitive market.
The median age of owner-occupied U.S. homes reached 42 years in 2024, a structural demand tailwind for reroofing nationwide (NAHB, Eye on Housing, 2024 ACS).

Key Findings

New Jersey leads the 50-state Roofing Opportunity Index with a score of 80.4 of 100, the only state combining a top-three income with a bottom-five contractor density (The Roofing Brief analysis of Census ACS 2023 and 2022 CBP).
Idaho ranks 50th at 15.4, with the highest contractor density in the country at 15.42 establishments per 100,000 residents in 2022 (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).
Wyoming ranks 49th at 16.1, with the third-highest contractor density of any state at 14.79 establishments per 100,000 residents in 2022 (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).
The District of Columbia had the lowest contractor density of all 51 jurisdictions at 1.04 establishments per 100,000 residents in 2022, but only 7 establishments total (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).
Massachusetts had the highest 2023 state median household income at $99,858, narrowly ahead of New Jersey at $99,781 and Maryland at $98,678 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023).
Mississippi had the lowest 2023 state median household income at $54,203, followed by West Virginia at $55,948 and Louisiana at $58,229 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023).
California operated the most roofing establishments of any state in 2022 at 2,795, followed by Texas at 2,347 and Florida at 2,027 (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).
North Dakota had the fewest roofing establishments of any state in 2022 at 64, ahead of Delaware at 66 and Alaska at 67 (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).
New York had the oldest owner-occupied housing stock in 2024 with a median age of 64 years, the strongest reroof-demand profile by housing age in the country (NAHB, Eye on Housing, 2024 ACS).
Nevada had the newest owner-occupied housing stock in 2024 with a median age of 25 years, followed by Texas at 28 years (NAHB, Eye on Housing, 2024 ACS).
West Virginia had the highest homeownership rate in 2024 at roughly 75.5 percent, while New York (54.3 percent) and the District of Columbia (40.9 percent) had the lowest (PropertyShark analysis of Census ACS 2024 1-year estimates).
Among the 50 states, the top 10 on the index carried an average 2023 median household income of about $93,000, versus about $74,000 for the bottom 10, confirming that income is a variable separating the leaders.

How the Index Is Built: The Transparent Formula

The Roofing Opportunity Index is a composite of two normalized inputs, each rescaled to a 0 to 100 range across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, then combined with fixed weights. The formula is published in full so any analyst can reproduce it.

Step 1. Demand input (income). Take each state’s 2023 median household income from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, then min-max normalize it: income_score = (state_income − min_income) / (max_income − min_income) × 100. Higher income raises the score, because higher household income supports larger roofing tickets, faster collections, and more premium-material and full-replacement work.

Step 2. Competition input (contractor density). Take each state’s 2022 roofing-contractor establishments per 100,000 residents, then min-max normalize and invert it: competition_score = 100 − (state_density − min_density) / (max_density − min_density) × 100. Lower density raises the score, because fewer established roofers per capita means less direct competition for a new entrant.

Step 3. Weighted composite. Opportunity Index = 0.40 × income_score + 0.60 × competition_score. Competition carries the larger weight (60 percent) because contractor density is the most roofing-specific of the two verifiable inputs, while income is a general demand proxy (40 percent).

Density for the 20 states published by The Roofing Brief (the 10 most and 10 least saturated) is used as printed. For the remaining 30 states and the District of Columbia, density is computed transparently as establishments ÷ 2022 state population × 100,000, using the verified 2022 establishment counts from The Roofing Brief and 2022 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program. This keeps every state on a single, comparable scale.

Top 10 States to Start a Roofing Company (2026)

These are the 10 highest-scoring states on the Roofing Opportunity Index. Each pairs strong household income with relatively low contractor saturation. Scores are out of 100.

Rank	State	Index Score	2023 Median Household Income	2022 Contractor Density (per 100k)
1	New Jersey	80.4	$99,781	4.24
2	New Hampshire	73.8	$96,838	5.30
3	Maryland	73.3	$98,678	5.76
4	Massachusetts	71.8	$99,858	6.32
5	Connecticut	71.5	$91,665	4.94
6	New York	67.4	$82,095	4.22
7	Hawaii	66.9	$95,322	6.67
8	Nevada	66.1	$76,364	3.52
9	California	65.0	$95,521	7.16
10	Virginia	63.5	$89,931	6.55

The leaders cluster in the high-income Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, where households can fund larger roofing projects and contractor density sits below the 7.36 national average. New York and Nevada rank high largely on competition: New York had a 2022 density of 4.22 per 100,000 and Nevada 3.52 per 100,000, both among the five least-saturated markets in the country. New York carries an added structural tailwind, the oldest owner-occupied housing stock in the nation at a median 64 years (NAHB, Eye on Housing, 2024 ACS), though housing age is not a scored input in this index.

Bottom 10 States to Start a Roofing Company (2026)

These are the 10 lowest-scoring states. Most are Mountain West and Plains states where roofing-contractor density is high relative to a small population base, so a new entrant faces dense competition.

Rank	State	Index Score	2023 Median Household Income	2022 Contractor Density (per 100k)
41	Oregon	32.9	$80,160	12.15
42	South Dakota	32.9	$71,810	10.66
43	Vermont	30.8	$81,211	12.83
44	New Mexico	30.4	$62,268	9.56
45	Colorado	30.3	$92,911	15.03
46	Oklahoma	28.7	$62,138	9.95
47	Nebraska	23.9	$74,590	13.31
48	Montana	20.1	$70,804	13.54
49	Wyoming	16.1	$72,415	14.79
50	Idaho	15.4	$74,942	15.42

Colorado is the clearest example of high competition offsetting high demand: its 2023 median household income of $92,911 ranks among the top 10 states, but its 2022 contractor density of 15.03 establishments per 100,000 residents was the second highest in the nation, dropping it to 45th on the index. The pattern across the bottom 10 is consistent. Eight of the 10 sit in the top quartile of contractor density, so the constraint is market saturation, not buying power.

Full 50-State Roofing Opportunity Index

The complete ranking of all 50 states. The District of Columbia is listed beneath the table because its 7-establishment market is too small to treat as a competitive landscape.

Rank	State	Index Score	2023 Median HH Income	2022 Estab.	Density /100k
1	New Jersey	80.4	$99,781	393	4.24
2	New Hampshire	73.8	$96,838	74	5.30
3	Maryland	73.3	$98,678	355	5.76
4	Massachusetts	71.8	$99,858	441	6.32
5	Connecticut	71.5	$91,665	179	4.94
6	New York	67.4	$82,095	830	4.22
7	Hawaii	66.9	$95,322	96	6.67
8	Nevada	66.1	$76,364	112	3.52
9	California	65.0	$95,521	2,795	7.16
10	Virginia	63.5	$89,931	569	6.55
11	Rhode Island	60.1	$84,972	71	6.49
12	Delaware	57.4	$81,361	66	6.48
13	Michigan	55.7	$69,183	474	4.72
14	Arizona	53.4	$77,315	495	6.73
15	Utah	52.8	$93,421	329	9.73
16	South Carolina	52.1	$67,804	283	5.36
17	Pennsylvania	51.4	$73,824	855	6.59
18	Tennessee	51.1	$67,631	392	5.56
19	Minnesota	51.0	$85,086	497	8.69
20	Georgia	50.9	$74,632	746	6.84
21	Alaska	50.2	$86,631	67	9.13
22	Illinois	50.1	$80,306	1,012	8.04
23	Mississippi	49.0	$54,203	108	3.67
24	Kentucky	48.6	$61,118	226	5.01
25	Texas	47.7	$75,780	2,347	7.82
26	Alabama	47.2	$62,212	280	5.52
27	North Dakota	46.6	$76,525	64	8.21
28	North Carolina	46.1	$70,804	784	7.33
29	Wisconsin	44.8	$74,631	489	8.30
30	Maine	44.5	$73,733	114	8.23
31	Indiana	44.4	$69,477	512	7.49
32	West Virginia	44.0	$55,948	92	5.18
33	Ohio	43.6	$67,769	866	7.37
34	Missouri	42.2	$68,545	485	7.85
35	Louisiana	42.1	$58,229	278	6.06
36	Washington	42.1	$94,605	973	12.50
37	Iowa	41.3	$71,433	275	8.59
38	Florida	40.5	$73,311	2,027	9.11
39	Arkansas	39.3	$58,700	207	6.80
40	Kansas	34.6	$70,333	293	9.98
41	Oregon	32.9	$80,160	515	12.15
42	South Dakota	32.9	$71,810	97	10.66
43	Vermont	30.8	$81,211	83	12.83
44	New Mexico	30.4	$62,268	202	9.56
45	Colorado	30.3	$92,911	878	15.03
46	Oklahoma	28.7	$62,138	400	9.95
47	Nebraska	23.9	$74,590	262	13.31
48	Montana	20.1	$70,804	152	13.54
49	Wyoming	16.1	$72,415	86	14.79
50	Idaho	15.4	$74,942	299	15.42

District of Columbia (reported separately, excluded from state ranking): raw index score 100.0, 2023 median household income $108,210, 7 roofing establishments in 2022, density 1.04 per 100,000 residents. The District scores at the ceiling because it has both the highest income and the lowest density of all 51 jurisdictions, but a 7-establishment market is too small to interpret as a viable competitive landscape, so it is not ranked among the states.

Demand Context: Housing Age and Homeownership

Income and contractor density are the two inputs scored in the index because they are the only two roofing-relevant variables available for all 50 states from verifiable, fetchable sources. Two further demand signals, housing age and homeownership, are reported here as context. They were not scored per state because complete, source-verifiable state tables were not retrievable at publication.

Older roofs drive reroofing demand, and U.S. housing keeps aging. The median age of owner-occupied homes reached 42 years in 2024, up from 40 years in the prior reading, according to NAHB’s analysis of the American Community Survey (NAHB, Eye on Housing, 2024 ACS). The oldest housing stock concentrates in the Northeast: New York at a median 64 years, Massachusetts at 59 years, and Rhode Island at 59 years (NAHB, 2024 ACS). The newest stock concentrates in the Sun Belt: Nevada at a median 25 years and Texas at 28 years, with South Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona near 29 years (NAHB, 2024 ACS). Older-stock states therefore carry a reroof-demand tailwind that the income-and-competition index does not capture, which strengthens the case for the high-ranking Northeast states and tempers it for newer-stock states such as Nevada and Texas.

Homeownership matters because owners, not landlords, commission most residential reroofs. West Virginia had the highest homeownership rate in 2024 at roughly 75.5 percent, while New York (54.3 percent) and the District of Columbia (40.9 percent) had the lowest, against a national rate near 65 percent (PropertyShark analysis of U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 1-year estimates). A low homeownership rate is one reason to treat the New York and District of Columbia rankings with caution: a larger share of the roof stock there is owned by landlords and institutions rather than retail homeowners.

Original Synthesis

Three original, derived insights built only from the verified public datasets cited on this page. Each lists its formula, inputs, and limitations.

Insight 1: The Roofing Opportunity Index (proprietary composite)

The index itself is the primary synthesis. Formula: Opportunity Index = 0.40 × normalized(2023 median household income) + 0.60 × inverted normalized(2022 contractor density per 100,000). Inputs: Census ACS 2023 1-year median household income; The Roofing Brief 2022 CBP contractor counts and densities; Census 2022 Population Estimates for the 30 states whose density was computed rather than published. Result: New Jersey ranks first among states (80.4), Idaho last (15.4). Limitation: the index does not score housing age, homeownership, weather-driven replacement frequency, labor cost, insurance environment, or licensing barriers, each of which materially affects roofing economics.

Insight 2: Income-versus-competition quadrant

Splitting states at the national contractor density (7.36 per 100,000) and the U.S. median household income ($77,719) produces four quadrants. High income, low competition (the opportunity sweet spot) includes New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Virginia. High income, high competition includes Colorado, Washington, Utah, and Oregon, states where demand is strong but a new roofer faces a crowded field. Low income, low competition includes Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, and West Virginia, where weaker buying power offsets thin competition. Low income, high competition, the least attractive quadrant, includes Oklahoma and New Mexico. Limitation: quadrant boundaries are national averages and treat states near a threshold as categorically different when they are nearly identical.

Insight 3: Where competition, not demand, is the binding constraint

Among the 50 states, contractor density spans a 4.4-fold range, from 3.52 per 100,000 in Nevada to 15.42 per 100,000 in Idaho (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP), while 2023 median household income spans a 1.8-fold range, from $54,203 in Mississippi to $99,858 in Massachusetts (Census ACS 2023). Because competition varies more than twice as widely as income across states, contractor density is the dominant driver of differences in the index, which is why it carries the 60 percent weight. Limitation: the wider spread reflects population scale (low-population states show high per-capita density from small absolute counts), so density should be read alongside absolute establishment counts, which are provided in the full table.

Charts We Recommend

Roofing Opportunity Index, ranked bar chart. Data: index score for all 50 states. Source: this analysis. Insight: the clean separation between the high-income Northeast leaders and the saturated Mountain West laggards. Citation-worthy because it is the single-image summary of the proprietary index.
Income-versus-competition scatter with quadrant lines. Data: 2023 median household income (y) against 2022 contractor density (x) for 50 states, with reference lines at $77,719 and 7.36. Source: Census ACS 2023 and The Roofing Brief 2022 CBP. Insight: which states sit in the opportunity sweet spot. Citation-worthy because it shows the two index inputs in one frame.
Contractor density choropleth map. Data: establishments per 100,000 by state, 2022. Source: The Roofing Brief 2022 CBP. Insight: the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest saturation band. Citation-worthy as a standalone competition map.
Housing-age overlay map. Data: median age of owner-occupied homes by state, 2024. Source: NAHB Eye on Housing 2024 ACS. Insight: the Northeast old-stock cluster that compounds the income advantage. Citation-worthy as the demand-tailwind view.

Methodology

This index ranks the 50 U.S. states (the District of Columbia is computed but reported separately) on attractiveness for starting or operating a roofing business, using two inputs sourced from primary or primary-restating publications.

Source selection. Inputs were limited to variables that are (1) roofing-relevant, (2) available for all 50 states, and (3) verifiable against a fetched source. Two variables met all three tests: 2023 median household income (U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 1-year, official PDF) and 2022 roofing-contractor density (The Roofing Brief U.S. Roofing Contractor Count Report, built on Census County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 238160). The 2023 income vintage was chosen over the 2024 release for independent verifiability and for consistency with the companion Roofing Affordability Index, which uses the same 2023 ACS input.

Inclusion and exclusion. Housing age and homeownership rate are roofing-relevant but were excluded from scoring because complete, source-verifiable state tables were not retrievable at publication; only national figures and named extremes were confirmed, so they appear as context, not as scored inputs. The District of Columbia is excluded from the state ranking because its 7-establishment roofing market is too small to read as a competitive landscape.

Handling conflicting numbers. Where the contractor report published a density directly (the 10 most and 10 least saturated states), that figure was used verbatim. For the other 30 states and DC, density was computed as establishments ÷ 2022 Census population × 100,000, so all 51 jurisdictions sit on one comparable scale. Median household income uses the 2023 estimate from Table 1 of the Census report, not the 2022 estimate also printed there.

Derived calculations. Each input is min-max normalized to 0 to 100 across all 51 jurisdictions. Competition is inverted so lower density scores higher. The composite is 0.40 × income score + 0.60 × competition score. Weights are an editorial judgment, set to give the more roofing-specific variable (competition) the larger share, and are disclosed so readers can re-weight.

Data limitations. Income is a 2023 estimate; contractor counts are 2022, so the two inputs are one year apart. Per-capita density understates opportunity in low-population states with small absolute counts. The index omits weather and storm frequency, insurance and claims environment, labor availability and wage levels, licensing and bonding requirements, and material and fuel costs, all of which affect real roofing economics. The index measures relative attractiveness, not projected profit.

Last updated: June 30, 2026.

Source Quality and Tiering

Tier 1 (primary government and official restatements):

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 1-year estimates, “Household Income in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2023” (median household income by state).
U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 238160 (roofing-contractor establishment counts), as compiled by The Roofing Brief.
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program 2022 (state populations used to compute density for non-published states).
National Association of Home Builders, Eye on Housing, analysis of ACS 2024 (median age of owner-occupied homes).

Tier 2 (credible industry and data publishers):

The Roofing Brief, U.S. Roofing Contractor Count Report (density per 100,000 by state, built on 2022 CBP).
PropertyShark, homeownership-rate analysis of Census ACS 2024 1-year estimates.

Most Quotable Statistics

New Jersey ranks first among the 50 states on the Roofing Opportunity Index at 80.4 of 100 (The Roofing Brief analysis of Census ACS 2023 and 2022 CBP).
Idaho had the most saturated roofing market in 2022 at 15.42 establishments per 100,000 residents (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).
The U.S. had 24,532 roofing establishments in 2022, a national density of 7.36 per 100,000 residents (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).
The 2023 U.S. median household income was $77,719 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023).
Massachusetts had the highest 2023 state median household income at $99,858; Mississippi had the lowest at $54,203 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023).
The median age of owner-occupied U.S. homes reached 42 years in 2024 (NAHB, Eye on Housing, 2024 ACS).
New York had the oldest owner-occupied housing stock in 2024 at a median 64 years; Nevada had the newest at 25 years (NAHB, 2024 ACS).

Data Limitations

The two scored inputs are one year apart: income is 2023, contractor counts are 2022.
Per-capita contractor density is inflated in low-population states, where a small absolute count produces a high rate; read density alongside absolute counts.
Housing age and homeownership are reported as context only, because complete verifiable state tables were not retrievable; only national figures and named extremes were confirmed.
The District of Columbia is computed but excluded from the state ranking due to a 7-establishment sample.
Weights (40 percent income, 60 percent competition) are an editorial choice; re-weighting changes the order.
The index omits weather, insurance, labor, licensing, and material costs, which materially affect roofing economics.

Recommended Downloadable Dataset Fields

state_name
opportunity_index_score (0 to 100)
opportunity_rank (1 to 50)
median_household_income_2023_usd
income_score_normalized (0 to 100)
roofing_establishments_2022
contractor_density_per_100k_2022
density_source (published or computed)
competition_score_normalized_inverted (0 to 100)
population_2022 (for computed-density states)
median_owner_occupied_home_age_years_2024 (where available)
homeownership_rate_2024 (where available)

Press Summary

The Roofing Brief’s Roofing Opportunity Index ranks the 50 U.S. states by how attractive each is for starting a roofing company, combining two verifiable inputs: 2023 median household income from the U.S. Census Bureau (weighted 40 percent) and 2022 roofing-contractor density per 100,000 residents from County Business Patterns (weighted 60 percent and inverted, so less competition scores higher). New Jersey ranks first among states at 80.4 of 100, pairing the highest state income in the country ($99,781) with one of the lowest contractor densities (4.24 per 100,000). New Hampshire, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Connecticut round out the top five. Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana rank lowest, held back by the most saturated contractor markets in the nation. The index excludes the District of Columbia from the state ranking because its 7-establishment market is too small to read. Full methodology, weights, and limitations are published for reproduction.

Five Headlines Journalists Can Use

New Jersey Tops 2026 Index of Best States to Start a Roofing Company
Where Roofers Face the Least Competition: New Index Ranks All 50 States
High Income, Few Rivals: The Five States Best Built for a New Roofing Business
Idaho and Colorado Are the Most Crowded Roofing Markets in America
The Roofing Opportunity Index: 2023 Census Income Meets 2022 Contractor Density

Frequently Asked Questions

Which state is the best to start a roofing company in 2026?

Among the 50 states, New Jersey ranks first on the Roofing Opportunity Index with a score of 80.4 of 100, combining a 2023 median household income of $99,781 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023) with a 2022 contractor density of 4.24 establishments per 100,000 residents (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).

Which state ranks lowest?

Idaho ranks 50th at 15.4, where the 2022 contractor density of 15.42 establishments per 100,000 residents is the highest in the nation (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).

What two inputs drive the index?

The index uses 2023 median household income (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023) weighted 40 percent, and 2022 roofing-contractor density per 100,000 residents (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP) weighted 60 percent and inverted so less competition scores higher.

How many roofing establishments are there in the U.S.?

There were 24,532 roofing establishments across all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2022, a national density of 7.36 per 100,000 residents (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).

Which state has the most roofing competition per capita?

Idaho had the highest density of any state in 2022 at 15.42 establishments per 100,000 residents, followed by Colorado at 15.03 (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).

Which state has the least roofing competition per capita?

Among the 50 states, Nevada had the lowest density in 2022 at 3.52 establishments per 100,000 residents; the District of Columbia was lower at 1.04 but is excluded from the state ranking (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).

Why is the District of Columbia excluded from the ranking?

The District scores 100 on the raw formula but had only 7 roofing establishments in 2022, a sample too small to treat as a competitive market, so it is reported separately (The Roofing Brief, 2022 CBP).

Does the index account for how old the roofs are?

No. Housing age is reported as context, not scored, because a complete verifiable state table was not retrievable. The median age of owner-occupied U.S. homes was 42 years in 2024, with New York oldest at 64 years (NAHB, Eye on Housing, 2024 ACS).

Why does competition carry more weight than income?

Contractor density varies about 4.4-fold across the 50 states (3.52 to 15.42 per 100,000), while income varies about 1.8-fold ($54,203 to $99,858), so competition is the larger source of difference and the more roofing-specific signal (The Roofing Brief 2022 CBP; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023).

What does the index not measure?

It omits weather and storm frequency, insurance and claims environment, labor availability and wages, licensing and bonding rules, and material and fuel costs, all of which affect roofing economics. It measures relative attractiveness, not projected profit.

Related Research

U.S. Roofing Contractor Count Report, the contractor-density dataset behind the competition input.
U.S. Housing Stock, Roof Age and Material Report, the demand-side housing-age and roofing-material context.
Roofing Affordability Index, which pairs roofing cost against household income by geography and uses the same 2023 ACS income input.

Cite This Research

The Roofing Brief, “The Roofing Opportunity Index: Best States to Start a Roofing Company”, 2026, https://theroofingbrief.com/roofing-opportunity-index/

Embed or use with credit: “According to The Roofing Brief’s Roofing Opportunity Index (2026), New Jersey ranks as the best state to start a roofing company, combining high household income with low contractor density.” Link back to https://theroofingbrief.com/roofing-opportunity-index/.