Jacksonville roofing contractors: workers' comp rates and a real payroll example
Duval County has 104 roofing contractor businesses. Class 5551 is $6.752 per $100 of payroll in 2026; a 7-person Jacksonville crew runs about $22,079 a year.
Roofing businesses in Duval County
Duval County had 104 roofing contractors (NAICS 238160) establishments in 2023, employing 1,255 people, according to the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns.
That is 4.7% of the 2,201 such establishments statewide, and the seventh highest count among the nine counties that hold the ten cities in this guide series.
Their average annual payroll per employee was about $46,770. Workers' comp is priced on payroll, so this is the starting point for any Jacksonville estimate.
Narrowing to ZIP codes with a Jacksonville postal address, the same Census program lists 87 roofing contractor establishments in 2023.
Roofing firms make up 3.3% of the 3,171 construction establishments in Duval County.
For roofing contractor firms, Duval County's average pay of $46,770 sits above Miami-Dade County ($39,520) and below Palm Beach County ($51,564).
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 1,370 roofers in the Jacksonville metro area in May 2024, at a median wage of $21.90 an hour, below the Florida median of $22.23.
At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $45,550 a year, which adds roughly $3,076 of class 5551 premium.
2026 Florida class codes and rates
| Class | What it covers | Rate per $100 payroll | FWCJUA minimum premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5551 | ROOFING - ALL KINDS | $6.752 | $2,900 |
Rates are the 2026 Florida manual rates published by the FWCJUA, matching the standard filing approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation for policies effective on or after January 1, 2026.
Worked example for a Jacksonville crew
Take a 7-person Jacksonville crew paid the county average: $327,000 of annual payroll in class 5551.
At $6.752 per $100, the manual premium is about $22,079 a year, or about $3,154 per employee, before your experience modifier, credits and fees.
If the business were placed in the FWCJUA instead, the 2026 surcharges of 93% (Tier 1) and 183% (Tiers 2 and 3) would put the same payroll at about $42,613 or $62,484.
The experience modifier then moves that number: at a 0.85 mod the Jacksonville crew would pay about $18,767, and at a 1.25 mod about $27,599.
This is an illustration built from public averages, not a quote.
Class 5551 manual premium by headcount at Duval County average pay
| Employees | Annual payroll | Manual premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $47,000 | $3,173 |
| 3 | $140,000 | $9,453 |
| 7 | $327,000 | $22,079 |
| 10 | $468,000 | $31,599 |
| 20 | $935,000 | $63,131 |
How roofing contractors are classified
Every person on a roof crew sits in one class: 5551, Roofing — All Kinds. That covers shingle, tile, metal, modified-bitumen and single-ply work, new roofs and repairs alike. There is no lower-rated "repair only" roofing code in Florida, so a crew doing small leak calls carries the same manual rate as a crew re-roofing a warehouse. Office staff who never go on a job site can be split out to 8810 Clerical at $0.105 per $100, and that split is often the single largest lever on a roofer's premium. Owners who climb ladders and estimate on roofs do not qualify for the clerical rate.
Usually included
- Shingle, tile, metal and flat-roof installation and repair
- Tear-off and debris removal by the roofing crew
- Roof coatings and waterproofing applied on the roof
- Roof flashing and edge metal installed by the roofing crew
Rated separately
- Sheet-metal fabrication in a shop
- Clerical staff with no job-site duties (8810)
- Outside sales staff who never go on roofs
At audit
- Auditors compare roofing payroll to permit history and material invoices, so a jump in squares installed with flat payroll invites questions about uninsured subs.
- Owners who estimate on roofs stay in 5551 for that time; only purely clerical staff move to 8810.
Permits and licensing in Jacksonville
In Jacksonville, the City of Jacksonville Building Inspection Division handles roofing permits. Under section 440.103 of Florida law, a roofing business has to show proof of workers' comp or an exemption to receive a building permit.
Jacksonville and Duval County have operated as one consolidated government since 1968, so a single Building Inspection Division issues permits and runs inspections across almost the whole county. That makes Jacksonville the largest city in Florida by population and one of the largest in land area in the continental United States, and it means a crew can drive an hour between two jobs without leaving city limits. Drive time between sites is paid time, and it lands in the same class code as the work at the end of the drive.
Jacksonville's construction market spreads across a huge footprint: industrial and distribution buildings along the I-95 and I-295 corridors, port work at JAXPORT's terminals, federal work at the naval stations, new subdivisions in the St. Johns and Nassau county suburbs, and older housing stock in neighborhoods such as Riverside and Springfield. That spread means crews travel, and the payroll for drive time stays in the class code of the work. Many Jacksonville contractors also cross into Georgia, and out-of-state work needs other-states coverage on the policy. JEA, the city-owned utility, provides electric, water and sewer service across most of Duval County, so new services and utility relocations run through a single public utility. Riverfront redevelopment downtown and along the St. Johns River adds marine, park and mixed-use projects to the industrial and suburban work.
- JAXPORT and the naval stations at Mayport and Jacksonville bring port, logistics and federal construction work that often requires higher limits and waiver-of-subrogation endorsements.
- Northeast Florida gets fewer direct hurricane landfalls than South Florida, but nor'easters and tropical storms still drive coastal repair surges at the Beaches.
Common claims for roofing contractors in Jacksonville
Jacksonville roofers cover a very wide service area, from shingle re-roofs in Mandarin and Arlington to metal and flat roofs on industrial buildings near the port. Coastal roofs take wind-driven rain and salt, which means more tear-off and repair work after storms, often done fast and in poor conditions.
- Falls from roof edges, ladders and openings, the claim type that drives the 5551 rate
- Heat illness on dark membrane and tile roofs in summer
- Back and shoulder strains from carrying bundles, tile and underlayment
- Burns from torch-down and hot-asphalt work
- Lacerations from metal panels, flashing and cutting tools
What to have ready for a Jacksonville roofing quote
- Payroll for your Jacksonville roofing work, split by class (5551) and with office staff listed separately
- Certificates or exemptions for every sub on your Jacksonville jobs, checked in the Proof of Coverage database
- Three years of loss runs for the roofing business, plus your current experience modifier if you have one
- Recent permits pulled with the City of Jacksonville Building Inspection Division, which show the volume and type of Jacksonville work
- Any jobs planned outside Duval County or outside Florida this year, so the policy covers them
Get a workers' comp quote for your Jacksonville roofing business
Send your payroll by class and your loss runs, and a licensed Bright Coast agent will shop the carriers writing roofing contractors in Duval County. Certificates can be issued the same day for qualified accounts.
Questions from Jacksonville roofing contractors
What does workers' comp cost roofing contractors in Jacksonville, FL?
Florida rates are set statewide, so a Jacksonville business pays the same $6.752 per $100 of payroll for class 5551 as anywhere else in the state. What changes is payroll: at Duval County's 2023 average of about $46,770 per employee, each worker adds roughly $3,154 of manual premium a year before your experience modifier and credits.
How many roofing contractor businesses operate in Jacksonville?
The Census Bureau's 2023 ZIP Code Business Patterns lists 87 roofing contractor establishments in ZIP codes with a Jacksonville postal address, out of 104 across Duval County and 2,201 statewide. Every one of them with employees has to carry Florida workers' comp, so certificates are routine in Jacksonville bids.
Where do roofing contractors in Jacksonville get permits, and is proof of coverage required?
Permits inside Jacksonville come from the City of Jacksonville Building Inspection Division. Roofing contractors in Jacksonville work under a state certified or registered license from the Florida DBPR. Construction employers in Jacksonville need workers' comp from their first hire; the policy or exemption shows up in the state's Proof of Coverage records that permit offices check.
Can a roofer use a cheaper repair code for small leak calls?
No. Florida has one roofing class, 5551, for all roofing work, new or repair, so every hour on a roof is rated the same way. The way to lower the premium is to split out true office payroll, keep a clean loss history and document subcontractor certificates.
Do I need extra coverage if my Jacksonville crew works in Georgia?
Usually yes. A Florida policy covers Florida work; for jobs across the state line, ask for other-states coverage (Part 3) on the policy, listing Georgia. Without it, an injury on a Georgia job may fall outside the policy's primary coverage.
Does hurricane season change workers' comp costs for roofing contractors in Jacksonville?
Not the rate itself. Workers' comp is billed on actual payroll, so a busy post-storm season in Jacksonville shows up at audit as additional premium. Reporting the higher payroll during the year spreads that cost out instead of leaving one large bill at the end.
Sources
- Florida DBPR, Construction Industry Licensing Board
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 (metropolitan areas and Florida)
- U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023 (establishments by size class, ZIPs grouped by postal city)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.103 — Building permits; proof of workers' compensation coverage
- Florida Workers' Compensation Joint Underwriting Association, 2026 rates and minimum premiums by class
- Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Commissioner approves 6.9% workers' compensation rate decrease effective January 1, 2026
- FWCJUA, Bulletin 25-9: 2026 Tier 1, 2 and 3 surcharges
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (establishments, employment and annual payroll by county and NAICS)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.02 — Definitions (employer, construction industry, corporate officers)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.05 — Election of exemption
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.10 — Liability for compensation (contractors and subcontractors)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.107 — Compliance, stop-work orders and penalties
- Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, Proof of Coverage database
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census population, QuickFacts
- City of Jacksonville, Building Inspection Division
- NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical cyclone climatology (Atlantic season June 1 – November 30)
Reviewed 2026-10-13. Rates and figures are for illustration; a quote depends on your payroll, classifications, experience modifier and carrier.