AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Roofers?

Task-level automation exposure for Roofers: 25 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

8% weighted task index

25 of 25 tasks scored

Median Salary

$55,440 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

High

135,490 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+5.3% employment change

12,000 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$24,100 – $77,900

Highest medians

Illinois $77,900

New Jersey $76,600

Minnesota $74,490

Massachusetts $72,750

Alaska $66,750

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $24,100

Oklahoma $43,680

Mississippi $44,940

New Mexico $45,300

Wyoming $45,650

State figures come from the 47-2181 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 8%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 91%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 4%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 0%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 65/100 High

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

25 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 4%

1 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 0%

0 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 96%

24 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#13574 · Core · 20% automatable

Inspect problem roofs to determine the best repair procedures.

visual inspection — On-site physical condition assessment is human work

Inspect work sites to determine condition or necessary repairs.

#13590 · Core · 10% automatable

Waterproof or damp-proof walls, floors, roofs, foundations, or basements by painting or spraying surfaces with waterproof coatings or by attaching waterproofing membranes to surfaces.

physical manipulation — Applying sealants requires hands-on coating

Apply sealants or other protective coatings.

#13583 · Core · 10% automatable

Cover exposed nailheads with roofing cement or caulking to prevent water leakage or rust.

physical manipulation — Applying sealants requires hands-on coating

Apply sealants or other protective coatings.

#19851 · Core · 6% automatable

Apply reflective roof coatings, such as special paints or single-ply roofing sheets, to existing roofs to reduce solar heat absorption.

physical manipulation — Applying paint requires physical brush or spray work

Install roofing materials. Apply paint to surfaces.

#13586 · Core · 3% automatable

Remove snow, water, or debris from roofs prior to applying roofing materials.

physical manipulation — Manual clearing of debris and vegetation outdoors

Remove debris or vegetation from work sites.

#13580 · Core · 6% automatable

Cut felt, shingles, or strips of flashing to fit angles formed by walls, vents, or intersecting roof surfaces.

physical manipulation — Hand cutting of flexible flooring materials

Cut carpet, vinyl or other flexible materials.

#13581 · Core · 3% automatable

Install vapor barriers or layers of insulation on flat roofs.

physical manipulation — Insulation installation requires manual fitting

Install insulation in equipment or structures.

#13585 · Core · 2% automatable

Cover roofs or exterior walls of structures with slate, asphalt, aluminum, wood, gravel, gypsum, or related materials, using brushes, knives, punches, hammers, or other tools.

physical manipulation — Roofing requires hazardous manual labor

Install roofing materials.

#13579 · Core · 2% automatable

Install, repair, or replace single-ply roofing systems, using waterproof sheet materials such as modified plastics, elastomeric, or other asphaltic compositions.

physical manipulation — Roofing requires hazardous manual labor

Install roofing materials.

#20794 · Core · 2% automatable

Attach roofing paper to roofs in overlapping strips to form bases for other materials.

physical manipulation — Roofing requires hazardous manual labor

Install roofing materials.

#13575 · Core · 10% automatable

Set up scaffolding to provide safe access to roofs.

physical manipulation — Erecting temporary structures requires physical assembly

Assemble temporary equipment or structures.

#13578 · Core · 5% automatable

Cement or nail flashing strips of metal or shingle over joints to make them watertight.

physical manipulation — Hands-on adhesive application in unstructured construction settings

Apply adhesives to construction materials. Install roofing materials.

#13592 · Core · 2% automatable

Apply plastic coatings, membranes, fiberglass, or felt over sloped roofs before applying shingles.

physical manipulation — Roofing requires hazardous manual labor

Install roofing materials.

#13584 · Core · 2% automatable

Install partially overlapping layers of material over roof insulation surfaces, using chalk lines, gauges on shingling hatchets, or lines on shingles.

physical manipulation — Roofing requires hazardous manual labor

Install roofing materials.

#19853 · Core · 3% automatable

Install attic ventilation systems, such as turbine vents, gable or ridge vents, or conventional or solar-powered exhaust fans.

physical manipulation — Green structural installation is hands-on

Install green structural components, equipment or systems.

#13596 · Core · 12% automatable

Punch holes in slate, tile, terra cotta, or wooden shingles, using punches and hammers.

physical manipulation — Drilling construction materials is hands-on tool work

Drill holes in construction materials.

#13594 · Core · 3% automatable

Glaze top layers to make a smooth finish or embed gravel in the bitumen for rough surfaces.

physical manipulation — Hands-on spreading of loose materials

Spread sand, dirt or other loose materials onto surfaces.

#13593 · Core · 8% automatable

Smooth rough spots to prepare surfaces for waterproofing, using hammers, chisels, or rubbing bricks.

physical manipulation — Abrasive hand work on physical surfaces

Smooth surfaces with abrasive materials or tools.

#13595 · Core · 3% automatable

Apply gravel or pebbles over top layers of roofs, using rakes or stiff-bristled brooms.

physical manipulation — Hands-on spreading of loose materials

Spread sand, dirt or other loose materials onto surfaces. Install roofing materials.

#19855 · Core · 3% automatable

Install skylights on roofs to increase natural light inside structures or to reduce energy costs.

physical manipulation — Door and window installation is hands-on

Install doors or windows.

#20793 · Supplemental · 64% automatable

Estimate materials and labor required to complete roofing jobs.

data analysis — Material takeoffs from plans; human verifies quantities

Estimate materials requirements for projects. Estimate construction project labor requirements.

#13591 · Supplemental · 4% automatable

Mop or pour hot asphalt or tar onto roof bases.

physical manipulation — Physical pouring of materials into areas

Pour materials into or on designated areas.

#13587 · Supplemental · 2% automatable

Apply alternate layers of hot asphalt or tar and roofing paper to roofs.

physical manipulation — Roofing requires hazardous manual labor

Install roofing materials.

#13589 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Spray roofs, sidings, or walls to bind, seal, insulate, or soundproof sections of structures, using spray guns, air compressors, or heaters.

physical manipulation — Applying sealants requires hands-on coating

Apply sealants or other protective coatings.

#19852 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Attach solar panels to existing roofs, according to specifications and without damaging roofing materials or the structural integrity of buildings.

physical manipulation — Rooftop solar installation is physical field work

Install solar energy systems.

Embed this calculator on your site ↓

Bloggers & authors: Embed this interactive calculator directly in your articles or comparison guides. It loads dynamically via a responsive iframe (auto-resizing to prevent double scrollbars) and provides a direct, high-value tool for your audience.

<div class="giniloh-calculator-embed" data-calculator="roofers"></div>
<script src="https://giniloh.com/embed.js" async></script>

Community Sentiment

Do you agree?

Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?

Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

Best AI Proof Jobs in a Changing Market

Worried robots are coming for your paycheck? You’re not alone—but the real story is far more hopeful. This guide cuts through the scare headlines to reveal exactly where smart, sustainable career opportunities exist right now. We’ve curated a list of true ai proof jobs—roles in healthcare, skilled trades, and cybersecurity that not only survive automation but thrive because of human judgment and empathy. You’ll get specific, money-making data on projected growth (the BLS says wind turbine technicians, for instance, will grow 44% by 2032), real salary ranges from active job listings, and a simple self-assessment quiz to identify your own most resilient path. Plus, we name companies hiring today and the niche job boards they use. Stop worrying and start planning—your secure career is closer than you think.

Read Article ->