Short answer: As of October 2026, the five highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Cedar Rapids, IA metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are Robison Construction (93.7), Cutter Construction LLC (67.1), Nguyen Enterprise Roofing & Construction (66.6), Evans Home Repair Inc (56.3), Sunrise Builders LLC (54.9). Each is certified by a manufacturer whose register we checked by hand, each rating has been tested against a source outside that register, and nobody bought a place on this page.
The Roofing Brief scored 8 certified roofing contractors serving the Cedar Rapids metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top five individually to confirm its record. Iowa does not license roofers. It registers them, and the distinction is the single most useful thing a Cedar Rapids homeowner can understand before taking quotes. The Iowa Division of Labor states the purposes of contractor registration in its own words: compliance with unemployment insurance laws, compliance with workers’ compensation laws, and public availability of contractor biographical information. Competence is not among them, and Iowa Code chapter 91C contains no examination, experience or trade requirement of any kind. What the city does regulate is the work itself, and Cedar Rapids writes unusually specific conditions onto the face of its roofing permit: nail penetration, maximum existing layers, minimum shingle weight and 24 inches of eave protection inside the wall line.
Hail, codes and what they cost a Cedar Rapids homeowner
The convective record here is moderate. Across 2016 to 2025 Linn, Benton and Jones counties logged 141 hail reports of an inch or more and 307 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports. But any assessment of roofing risk in this metro that works from averages is missing the point, because one afternoon in 2020 did more structural damage to this city than any ordinary decade of hail. NWS Quad Cities measured an unofficial 126 mph gust at Atkins in Linn County and estimated winds around 140 mph in southwest Cedar Rapids, and its own summary states that straight line winds of this magnitude are equivalent to an EF3 tornado.
The registration regime is worth reading literally. Iowa Code 91C.2 sets three conditions: compliance with Iowa workers’ compensation insurance law with annual evidence of coverage, possession of an employer account number or special contractor number from Iowa Workforce Development, and, for an out-of-state contractor, either a $25,000 surety bond or Department of Transportation prequalification. Iowa Code 91C.4 caps the fee at fifty dollars a year. Section 91C.1 excludes anyone earning less than two thousand dollars annually. Roofers are squarely inside the requirement and so are subcontractors: the state’s own registration guidance lists roofers by name among the trades covered.
The out-of-state bond deserves a paragraph of its own because it is widely misread as consumer protection. Iowa Code 91C.7(3) conditions release of the bond upon the payment of all taxes, including contributions due under the unemployment compensation insurance system, penalties, interest and related fees which may accrue to the state of Iowa, and lets the director demand an increase if the bond will not cover accruing tax liability. The Division of Labor says it plainly: the bond guarantees that taxes, penalties and interest can be collected under it for nonpayment. A homeowner with a defective roof is not a beneficiary of that bond. If an out-of-state contractor tells you the $25,000 bond protects your work, that is not what the statute says it is for.
What does bind the work is local. Iowa Code 103A.12(1) makes the state building code applicable only in a subdivision whose governing body has enacted an ordinance accepting it, so the residential code here is a local adoption rather than a statewide mandate. Where it applies, 481 IAC 301.8 adopts the 2024 International Residential Code with Iowa amendments, effective 10 September 2025 under ARC 9474C. And the City of Cedar Rapids requires a roofing permit priced on the valuation of the job, warning on the form itself that work started before the permit is issued and posted is subject to penalty.
The 5 best roofers in Cedar Rapids, IA
Scored 2026-10-02. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Cedar Rapids is 4.6, across a pool of 8 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robison Construction | 93.7 | President’s Club | 4.9 (208) | 4.842 | 2004 | Cedar Rapids, IA |
| 2 | Cutter Construction LLC | 67.1 | Certified | 4.8 (191) | 4.759 | 2004 | Cedar Rapids, IA |
| 3 | Nguyen Enterprise Roofing & Construction | 66.6 | Master Elite | 4.7 (23) | 4.632 | 2006 | Hiawatha, IA |
| 4 | Evans Home Repair Inc | 56.3 | Certified | 5.0 (32) | 4.756 | 2002 | Conroy, IA |
| 5 | Sunrise Builders LLC | 54.9 | Certified | 5.0 (9) | 4.661 | 2017 | Cedar Rapids, IA |
1. Robison Construction — TRB Score 93.7
Robison Construction is based in Cedar Rapids, IA, in business since 2004, led by Brad Robison, President, BBB accredited since 22 June 2009, A+ rating, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 33.7 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 15.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 93.7 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 22 June 2009 with an A+ rating, a business start date of 1 August 2004, Brad Robison as president, at 701 Center Point Rd NE. BBB describes a general contractor, home builder, construction and remodeling contractor that installs siding, windows, doors and roofing and builds pole buildings, garages, decks and patios.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Roofing, siding, windows, doors, pole buildings, garages, decks and patios, remodeling.
Why it ranks here. The clear top score in the metro, carrying the only President’s Club certification here alongside 4.9 across 208 reviews, with one of the longest BBB accreditations in the group running to June 2009 and an A+ rating. Of the five firms on this page it is the one with both the strongest rating and the deepest review base at the same time, and it has been trading in Cedar Rapids since before the derecho.
Best fit for: A straightforward full replacement where review depth and length of trading matter most.
What we would want clarified. We could find no working website for it. BBB lists none, and both robisonconstruction.com and robisonbuilds.com resolve to unrelated companies in Texas and Washington State, so do not use either to check it. Its Iowa registration number is unknown to us because the state’s public register at laborportal.iwd.iowa.gov is a JavaScript application whose search we could not call, and its GAF tier is unverified because the manufacturer’s directory refused our requests. BBB files it under roofing but records a scope spanning most of residential construction. 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 (319) 382-7863, 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. Cutter Construction LLC — TRB Score 67.1
Cutter Construction LLC is based in Cedar Rapids, IA, in business since 2004, led by Mike Cutter, President, and Bryan Cutter, Director of Operations, BBB accredited since 31 March 2008, A+ rating, zero complaints closed in the last three years, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Certified (GAF), Iowa construction contractor registration C103142, self-published in the company’s website footer, not confirmed against the state register. 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 | 30.3 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 14.8 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 67.1 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 31 March 2008 with an A+ rating, a business start date of 1 December 2004, Michael Cutter as owner, at 1049 Juniper Dr SW, and zero complaints closed in the last three years.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Roofing, siding, home additions, masonry, concrete, garages, decks, finished basements, snow removal.
Why it ranks here. The only firm in this metro that publishes an Iowa contractor registration number at all, C103142, in its own website footer. In a state where the register is public by statute under Iowa Code 91C.5 but practically hard to query, a contractor volunteering the number is doing the thing you want. Run by twin brothers Mike and Bryan Cutter, both Cedar Rapids natives, with a 4.8 across 191 reviews, accreditation back to March 2008 and no complaints closed in the last three years.
Best fit for: Homeowners who want a verifiable registration number to start from, and a firm with a clean recent complaint record.
What we would want clarified. Be clear what that number is and is not. An Iowa registration is a registration, not a competency licence: chapter 91C requires workers’ compensation compliance and an employer account number and imposes no examination, so C103142 tells you the company is correctly enrolled with the state, not that anyone passed a test. We could not confirm its status because the state register could not be queried. Founding year differs between BBB at 1 December 2004 and the company’s own 2005. GAF tier unverified, with a logo shown and no named tier. 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 (319) 317-2999, 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. Nguyen Enterprise Roofing & Construction — TRB Score 66.6
Nguyen Enterprise Roofing & Construction is based in Hiawatha, IA, in business since 2006, led by Nicholas Nguyen, Owner, BBB accredited since 10 September 2018, A+ rating, zero complaints closed in the last three years, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 25.3 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 8.9 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 8.4 | 10 |
| Total | 66.6 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 10 September 2018 with an A+ rating, established 2006, Nicholas Nguyen as owner, at 3430 Lewis Bottoms Rd, Palo IA. BBB states the company provides general construction, roofing, siding, windows and remodeling services and records zero complaints closed in the last three years.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Roofing, siding, windows, general construction, remodeling.
Why it ranks here. Rated 4.7 with BBB accreditation at A+ since September 2018, no complaints closed in the last three years, and trading since 2006 under a named owner. It is the second of two firms on this page holding a GAF tier above the base level.
Best fit for: Smaller replacement and repair work from an owner-run firm in Linn County.
What we would want clarified. Its 23 reviews are the thinnest base of the five, which is why our formula puts it third despite a strong rating, and a 4.7 over 23 ratings carries much less information than the same figure over 200. We could not find a working website: nguyenroofing.com is a parked GoDaddy for-sale page, so do not treat that domain as the company. Its address is unresolved, with GAF listing Hiawatha and BBB holding Palo, both in Linn County. No Iowa registration number and no verified GAF tier. 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 (319) 432-7173, 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. Evans Home Repair Inc — TRB Score 56.3
Evans Home Repair Inc is based in Conroy, IA, in business since 2002, led by Jason Evans, Owner, BBB accredited since 27 April 2009, A+ rating, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 30.2 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 9.8 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 4.2 | 10 |
| Total | 56.3 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 27 April 2009 with an A+ rating, a business start date of 1 April 2002, Jason Evans as owner, at 406 10th Ave, Conroy IA, and that this company offers roofing contractor services.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Roofing.
Why it ranks here. The longest-established firm on this page by BBB’s record, with a business start date of 1 April 2002 and accreditation since April 2009 at A+, and the only one BBB describes purely as a roofing contractor rather than a multi-trade builder. Its 5.0 rating is the joint highest here. Twenty-three years in this market means it has reroofed through both the 2008 flood recovery and the derecho.
Best fit for: Homeowners who want a roofing-only specialist rather than a general contractor, and who do not mind a firm based outside the core counties.
What we would want clarified. Almost nothing about it is independently documented beyond BBB’s single line. Its own site at evanshomerepair.com serves only a Squarespace placeholder, so service list, service area, certifications and history are all unconfirmed. Its 32 reviews are a slim base behind the 5.0. It is based in Conroy, in Iowa County, west of the Linn, Benton and Jones group, so it works into this metro from outside it and you should confirm it covers your address. No Iowa registration number obtained and no verified GAF credential. 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 (319) 383-7839, 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. Sunrise Builders LLC — TRB Score 54.9
Sunrise Builders LLC is based in Cedar Rapids, IA, in business since 2017, led by John Helmuth, Owner, BBB accredited since 14 August 2023, A+ rating, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 26.4 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 6.5 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 54.9 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 14 August 2023 with an A+ rating, founded 1 April 2017, John Helmuth as owner, at 1120 Depot Ln SE Ste 100. BBB records specialisation in deck, roof and gutter installation and replacement including asphalt shingle, dimensional shingles, standing seam metal roofing, seamless metal roofing, rubber roofing, wooden and composite decks, vinyl siding and garage additions.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Roof replacement, asphalt and dimensional shingles, standing seam metal, seamless metal, rubber roofing, gutters, decks, vinyl siding, custom garages, storm damage repair and restoration.
Why it ranks here. The most specific material range documented in this metro, and the reason it earns a place here on nine reviews. BBB records standing seam metal, seamless metal and rubber roofing alongside asphalt and dimensional shingles, which is a wider material list than any other firm on this page and the relevant one if you are considering metal on a low-slope section or a porch. It carries 5.0 and BBB accreditation at A+.
Best fit for: Metal and rubber roofing, and low-slope sections where asphalt is the wrong answer.
What we would want clarified. Nine reviews is the thinnest record we have published in this metro and tells you very little on its own: treat the 5.0 as encouraging rather than as evidence. Founded April 2017 and accredited only since August 2023, it is much the youngest firm here. Its own website publishes no physical address, only a phone number and a gmail address, which is worth resolving before you pay a deposit. No Iowa registration number shown on the site or obtained from the register, and no verified GAF credential. 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 (319) 775-5719, 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.
What 2.75 inch hail does to a Cedar Rapids roof
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 3 counties of the Cedar Rapids, IA statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 188 hail reports, 307 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 58 tornadoes. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $366,000; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
The biggest hail to fall on Cedar Rapids in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 April 2020 | 2.75 in | Hiawatha | Linn |
| 11 July 2020 | 2.75 in | Fairfax | Linn |
| 7 April 2020 | 2.5 in | Cedar Rapids | Linn |
| 7 April 2020 | 2.5 in | Marion | Linn |
| 7 April 2020 | 2.25 in | Marion | Linn |
| 7 April 2020 | 2.0 in | Marion | Linn |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 7 April 2020 near Hiawatha, measured at 2.75 inches. That is baseball sized, comfortably past the point where a roof is written off rather than repaired.
Wind. The strongest thunderstorm gust logged in the metro was 126 knots, about 145 mph, near Benton on 10 August 2020. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 58 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF2 near Vinton on 17 July 2016.
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 10 August 2020 event near Benton, reproduced verbatim:
Widespread straight-line winds that produced extensive damage were reported throughout Benton County, associated with a derecho. These winds lasted around an hour in total, even though the initial line of convection moved out fast. Damaging straight-line winds continued and were associated with the rear inflow jet. Maximum wind speeds were reported up to 80 mph for much of the county, with areas in central Benton County that had wind speed estimates from 120 mph wind or greater. The maximum measured unofficial wind gust was 126 mph in Atkins, IA. These estimates were determined based off damage surveys and photos submitted through social media. These strong winds extensively damaged most…
That account is the design case for a roof here, and it comes from the agency that recorded it rather than by a contractor selling the repair.
When it happens. Severe weather reports cluster in July (183), April (96), June (72). The worst years on record were 2020 (96), 2023 (96), 2017 (77). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Cedar Rapids, 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. Cedar Rapids 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.
The afternoon a straight line wind did EF3 damage to Cedar Rapids
On the afternoon of Monday 10 August 2020 a derecho crossed eastern Iowa. NWS Des Moines records the full event path as over 750 miles long, with the strongest winds in the corridor between Highway 30 and Interstate 80 running from central Iowa eastward. In Linn County the maximum measured unofficial gust was 126 mph at Atkins. In southwest Cedar Rapids, from damage to an apartment complex, NWS estimated maximum winds around 140 mph, and its damage survey attributes the most extreme winds, estimated at 110 to 140 mph, to destruction across Benton, Linn, Jones, Cedar and Clinton counties. The comparison is the Weather Service’s own, not ours: straight line winds of this magnitude are equivalent to an EF3 tornado.
NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information logs it as the Central Severe Weather Derecho of August 2020 at $11,027 million unadjusted, $13,452.9 million CPI adjusted, with 4 deaths. That makes a single day’s thunderstorm the costliest such event in the entire billion-dollar disaster record. More than 1.9 million customers lost power regionally, 585,000 of them in Iowa. The ReLeaf Cedar Rapids planning work states the city is estimated to have lost over 65 percent of its urban tree canopy to the storm.
The reason this matters for a roof, rather than merely as history, is that derecho loading is not tornado loading even where the wind speeds match. A tornado delivers a rotating, short-duration load along a narrow path. The 10 August event delivered sustained straight-line flow from a near-constant direction across a swath running from Benton through Linn, Jones, Cedar and Clinton counties, so a single windward slope, eave and rake took the load continuously rather than for seconds. Uplift that a roof edge can survive as a gust can peel it as a sustained pressure, which is why edge metal, starter course adhesion and nailing pattern decided which houses lost a few shingles and which lost a deck.
Those are exactly the details Cedar Rapids writes onto its permit, and they are the right things to put in a contract by name. The permit requires nails driven to penetrate into the sheathing three quarters of an inch or through the thickness of the sheathing. It does not authorise a new covering over more than two existing roof coverings or over unsound or rotted sheathing. It sets a minimum asphalt shingle weight of not less than 235 pounds per square, requires 15-pound felt underlayment except over existing roofing, and requires eave protection from the eave edge to a minimum of 24 inches inside the wall line, installed over the top of the roof edge. Nailing depth, existing layer count and sheathing condition are permit conditions here, not optional best practice.
One thing we deliberately do not tell you, because we could not source it: what the derecho changed about how Cedar Rapids builds. Iowa’s move to the 2024 IRC took effect 10 September 2025, and nothing in that rulemaking links it to the 2020 event, so we will not imply a causal chain that the record does not support. Linn County’s housing stock has a median year built of 1977, which is the more honest framing: the typical house that met the derecho was built decades before any current code edition, and will be reroofed under conditions written for a city that has now seen what 140 mph does.
The 10 August 2020 derecho, from primary records
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum measured gust, Linn County | 126 mph, unofficial, at Atkins | NWS Quad Cities |
| Maximum estimated wind, Cedar Rapids | around 140 mph | NWS Quad Cities |
| NWS tornado equivalence | equivalent to an EF3 tornado | NWS Quad Cities |
| Damage, unadjusted | $11,027 million | NOAA NCEI billion-dollar disasters |
| Damage, CPI adjusted | $13,452.9 million | NOAA NCEI billion-dollar disasters |
| Deaths | 4 | NOAA NCEI |
| Customers without power, region | over 1.9 million, 585,000 in Iowa | NWS Des Moines |
| Urban tree canopy lost, Cedar Rapids | estimated over 65 percent | ReLeaf Cedar Rapids plan |
| Median year built, Linn County housing | 1977 | ACS 2023 five-year estimates, B25035 |
Source: NWS Quad Cities event summary for 10 August 2020; NWS Des Moines derecho page; NOAA NCEI billion-dollar disaster record; City of Cedar Rapids roofing permit application; ReLeaf Cedar Rapids; US Census Bureau ACS table B25035.
How to tell a Cedar Rapids roofer’s claims from their record
Licensing is required in IA. Iowa requires contractor registration with the Iowa Division of Labor for anyone performing more than $2,000 of construction work in a calendar year. It is a registration, not a licence: there is no trade examination and no competency test of any kind.
Registration requires proof of unemployment insurance and workers compensation. A contractor whose principal place of business is outside Iowa must additionally file a $25,000 surety bond before it can register. That bond exists specifically because out-of-state contractors are harder to pursue, and it is a fund a wronged Iowa customer can claim against.
Check here: Iowa Division of Labor contractor registration search. Ask where the contractor’s principal place of business is. If it is outside Iowa, it must have filed a $25,000 bond, and you should confirm that before signing. Storm-chasing crews that follow hail across state lines are exactly who that bond requirement was written for.
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 Cedar Rapids contractor market
8 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Cedar Rapids, IA statistical area, of which 1 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 637 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.6. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 278,677, a change of 0.78% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Cedar Rapids rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Cedar Rapids, IA 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 1 hold President’s Club standing and 1 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.6. The top five were then researched individually against Better Business Bureau records, state licence registers and manufacturer directories. Anything unflattering that research surfaced appears above alongside the rest, and no company bought its position.
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: October 2026. Scoring run: 2026-10-02. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
Cedar Rapids roofing questions, answered
Who is the best roofer in Cedar Rapids, IA?
Robison Construction of Cedar Rapids, IA scores highest in the Cedar Rapids metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score, at 93.7 out of 100 as of October 2026. It holds President’s Club certification with a 4.9 rating across 208 reviews. Highest-scoring is not the same as best fit for your specific job, and the four companies behind it score within 38.8 points.
How many certified roofing contractors serve Cedar Rapids?
8 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Cedar Rapids, IA statistical area as of October 2026, of which 1 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Cedar Rapids get?
The Cedar Rapids, IA statistical area recorded 141 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 11 of 2 inches or larger between 2016 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Events Database. The largest hailstone reported measured 2.75 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 Cedar Rapids in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Cedar Rapids, IA statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 2.75 inches, reported near Hiawatha on 7 April 2020. That is baseball sized, comfortably past the point where a roof is written off rather than repaired. Across the decade the metro recorded 188 hail reports. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $366,000; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Cedar Rapids?
Severe-weather reports in the Cedar Rapids, IA statistical area cluster in July, April, June, on the NOAA record for 2016 to 2025. Booking non-urgent roof work outside those months usually means shorter lead times, because local crews are not simultaneously triaging storm callouts.
Do roofers need a licence in IA?
Iowa requires contractor registration with the Iowa Division of Labor for anyone performing more than $2,000 of construction work in a calendar year. It is a registration, not a licence: there is no trade examination and no competency test of any kind. Registration requires proof of unemployment insurance and workers compensation. A contractor whose principal place of business is outside Iowa must additionally file a $25,000 surety bond before it can register. That bond exists specifically because out-of-state contractors are harder to pursue, and it is a fund a wronged Iowa customer can claim against.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Cedar Rapids?
Ask where the contractor’s principal place of business is. If it is outside Iowa, it must have filed a $25,000 bond, and you should confirm that before signing. Storm-chasing crews that follow hail across state lines are exactly who that bond requirement was written for.
The afternoon a straight line wind did EF3 damage to Cedar Rapids?
On the afternoon of Monday 10 August 2020 a derecho crossed eastern Iowa. NWS Des Moines records the full event path as over 750 miles long, with the strongest winds in the corridor between Highway 30 and Interstate 80 running from central Iowa eastward. In Linn County the maximum measured unofficial gust was 126 mph at Atkins. In southwest Cedar Rapids, from damage to an apartment complex, NWS estimated maximum winds around 140 mph, and its damage survey attributes the most extreme winds, estimated at 110 to 140 mph, to destruction across Benton, Linn, Jones, Cedar and Clinton counties. The comparison is the Weather Service’s own, not ours: straight line winds of this magnitude are equivalent to an EF3 tornado.
Is Cedar Rapids a hard market to find a good roofer in?
Iowa does not license roofers. It registers them, and the distinction is the single most useful thing a Cedar Rapids homeowner can understand before taking quotes. The Iowa Division of Labor states the purposes of contractor registration in its own words: compliance with unemployment insurance laws, compliance with workers’ compensation laws, and public availability of contractor biographical information. Competence is not among them, and Iowa Code chapter 91C contains no examination, experience or trade requirement of any kind. What the city does regulate is the work itself, and Cedar Rapids writes unusually specific conditions onto the face of its roofing permit: nail penetration, maximum existing layers, minimum shingle weight and 24 inches of eave protection inside the wall line.
Is wind or hail the bigger risk to a roof in Cedar Rapids?
Wind, by a wide margin. The Cedar Rapids, IA statistical area logged 307 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports against 141 hail reports of an inch or more between 2016 and 2025. Wind damage shows up at the rake, ridge and edge rather than across the field of the roof, so the fastening schedule and edge detail matter more here than the impact rating of the shingle.
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 Davenport, IA, about 62 miles from Cedar Rapids
- Best roofers in Des Moines, IA, another IA metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Slidell, LA, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Bremerton, WA, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Rochester, MN, also scored, about 147 miles away
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 Cedar Rapids, IA: The Roofing Brief Contractor Score.” Published October 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.