Short answer: As of September 2026, the five highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are Bob & Jerry’s Roofing, Inc. (92.6), High Tower Roofing (92.3), DBR Construction LLC (91.9), Stronghold Roofing & Solar (91.7), Affordable Roofing L.L.C. (88.7). All of them carry a verifiable manufacturer certification, every rating here was cross-checked against an independent record, and no money changed hands for any placement.
The Roofing Brief scored 14 certified roofing contractors serving the Lakeland metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top five individually to confirm its record. Polk County produced one of the two tightest top fives in this programme. Places one through four are separated by 0.9 of a point, and all five hold GAF’s President’s Club tier, the top rung of the certification. When a ranking is this compressed the honest answer is that the formula cannot separate them, and the decision comes down to which of them is nearest, who can start soonest, and which quote is written most clearly. What the ranking does tell you is that all five clear a bar most of the market does not. Florida’s licence split still applies: Certified is statewide, Registered is county-only, and you want the number either way.
Weather, codes and the Lakeland housing stock
Polk County sits far enough inland that people assume hurricanes are a coastal problem, and Hurricane Irma corrected that on 10 September 2017 when its eye tracked directly over the county, tearing roofs off homes and mobile homes across the area. An EF2 tornado struck near Lakeland the same day, and another hit near Lakeland Linder in October 2019. The routine record is modest: 24 hail reports over the decade, topped by 2-inch stones at Davenport in May 2022, and 31 severe wind reports, with April the peak month.
Inland does not mean exempt. Florida requires a replacement roof on a site-built single-family home to include hurricane mitigation measures, so the secondary water barrier that seals the deck applies here as it does on the coast, and roofing products still need a Florida Product Approval rated for the wind speed at your address. The 25 percent rule applies too: work on more than a quarter of the roof within twelve months can pull the whole system up to current code unless the existing roof already complies with the 2007 code or later.
Permits are jurisdiction-specific in a county with this many small cities. Lakeland, Winter Haven, Bartow, Auburndale, Haines City and Davenport each run their own building department alongside Polk County’s, so the right office depends on the address. Minor shingle repair below 25 square feet generally does not need a permit; a replacement always does.
The certified market here is unusually strong, which changes the advice. All five contractors below hold GAF’s President’s Club tier and are separated by about one point, so there is no meaningful quality gap to hunt for. Spend the effort on the quote instead: how many layers are being removed, what happens if the deck is soft, what the fastening pattern is, and whether the warranty being offered is the enhanced manufacturer warranty that only higher-tier contractors can register.
The 5 best roofers in Lakeland, FL
Scored 2026-09-19. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Lakeland is 4.9, across a pool of 14 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob & Jerry’s Roofing, Inc. | 92.6 | President’s Club | 4.9 (437) | 4.9 | 1981 | Auburndale, FL |
| 2 | High Tower Roofing | 92.3 | President’s Club | 4.8 (635) | 4.807 | 2012 | Lakeland, FL |
| 3 | DBR Construction LLC | 91.9 | President’s Club | 4.9 (110) | 4.9 | not published | Lakeland, FL |
| 4 | Stronghold Roofing & Solar | 91.7 | President’s Club | 4.8 (470) | 4.81 | 2019 | Lakeland, FL |
| 5 | Affordable Roofing L.L.C. | 88.7 | President’s Club | 5.0 (87) | 4.964 | not published | Haines City, FL |
1. Bob & Jerry’s Roofing, Inc. — TRB Score 92.6
Bob & Jerry’s Roofing, Inc. is based in Auburndale, FL, in business since 1981, BBB accredited since 4 April 2002, A+ rating, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 36.0 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 14.1 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 7.4 | 10 |
| Total | 92.6 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated and accredited since 4 April 2002, a 24-year record, 45 years in business. BBB
- Listed on Angi with a review history spanning more than a decade. Angi
What they actually do. Residential and commercial roofing across Polk County.
Why it ranks here. Forty-five years trading and 24 years of unbroken A+ accreditation, the longest record in the metro by two decades, with 437 registry reviews at 4.9. It leads a field where the top four sit inside a single point of each other.
Best fit for: Homeowners weighting the longest verifiable record in Polk County, and anyone in the Auburndale and Winter Haven corridor.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (863) 965-9595, 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. High Tower Roofing — TRB Score 92.3
High Tower Roofing is based in Lakeland, FL, in business since 2012, BBB accredited since 30 September 2013, A+ rating, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 32.3 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 15.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 92.3 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated and accredited since 30 September 2013, a 13-year record, 14 years in business. BBB
- 744 reviews on Birdeye. Birdeye
What they actually do. Residential and commercial roofing across Lakeland and Polk County.
Why it ranks here. 635 registry reviews corroborated by 744 on a second platform, the deepest evidence base in the Lakeland pool, from a firm based in Lakeland itself with thirteen years of unbroken accreditation. On volume of verifiable feedback this is the strongest record here.
Best fit for: Lakeland city homeowners, and anyone who wants the largest review corpus in the metro.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (863) 510-5477, 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. DBR Construction LLC — TRB Score 91.9
DBR Construction LLC is based in Lakeland, FL, BBB accredited since 9 May 2023, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 36.0 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 10.9 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 91.9 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- BBB accredited since 9 May 2023. BBB
- Certified Roofing Contractor licence CCC1333156, verified active. Florida licensing
- Rated 5.0 overall on Angi and 4.9 across 105 reviews. Angi
What they actually do. Roofing and construction including repairs, replacement and insurance claim handling.
Why it ranks here. A state Certified Roofing Contractor licence independently verified as active, which is the specific check Florida’s two-tier licence system makes necessary, and a 4.9 rating corroborated across three sources.
Best fit for: Lakeland homeowners with an insurance claim, and anyone who wants the licence verified before the first visit.
What we would want clarified. 110 registry reviews is a modest base beside the two contractors above it, and BBB accreditation dates only to 2023. 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 (863) 602-4200, 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. Stronghold Roofing & Solar — TRB Score 91.7
Trades as Stronghold Roofing & Solar; listed on the GAF registry as Residential Roofing Depot LLC.
Stronghold Roofing & Solar is based in Lakeland, FL, in business since 2019, BBB accredited since 10 February 2026, A+ rating, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 32.4 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 14.3 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 91.7 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated and accredited since 10 February 2026, 7 years in business. BBB
- Rated 5.0 overall on HomeAdvisor. HomeAdvisor
- Registered with GAF under the legal name Residential Roofing Depot LLC while trading as Stronghold Roofing & Solar. GAF
What they actually do. Residential roofing and solar across Polk County.
Why it ranks here. 470 registry reviews at 4.8 and a clean 5.0 on HomeAdvisor. Worth knowing when you check the paperwork: the manufacturer registers this company under the legal name Residential Roofing Depot LLC, so a licence search under the trading name will come back empty.
Best fit for: Combined roof and solar projects, and Lakeland homeowners.
What we would want clarified. BBB accreditation only since February 2026 despite seven years trading, so the formal complaint record is very short. 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 (863) 225-8482, 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. Affordable Roofing L.L.C. — TRB Score 88.7
Affordable Roofing L.L.C. is based in Haines City, FL, BBB accredited since 8 December 2017, A+ rating, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 38.5 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 10.4 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 4.8 | 10 |
| Total | 88.7 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- A+ rated and accredited since 8 December 2017, a 9-year record. BBB
- Holds a Certified Roofing licence and ten other licences on the county board record, verified active. Licensing
- BuildZoom score of 111, the top 4 per cent of Florida licensed contractors. BuildZoom
What they actually do. Shingle, metal and tile roof installation and repair.
Why it ranks here. A clean 5.0 across 87 registry reviews with nine years of unbroken A+ accreditation and a BuildZoom ranking in the top 4 per cent of the state. The only ranked contractor covering the eastern side of Polk County toward the Disney corridor.
Best fit for: Haines City, Davenport and eastern Polk County homeowners, and tile roofs.
What we would want clarified. Twenty-one miles from the metro centre, the furthest in this top five, and 87 reviews is the smallest base here. 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 (863) 228-8232, 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.
20 hail reports and 31 wind reports over Lakeland
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 1 county of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 24 hail reports, 31 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 10 tornadoes. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $10.6 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
The biggest hail to fall on Lakeland in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 May 2022 | 2.0 in | Davenport | Polk |
| 13 May 2024 | 1.75 in | Duette | Polk |
| 13 May 2024 | 1.75 in | Lake Alfred | Polk |
| 14 April 2016 | 1.75 in | Lake Marion Lake | Polk |
| 18 June 2022 | 1.75 in | Cypress Gardens | Polk |
| 26 April 2023 | 1.75 in | Lake Alfred | Polk |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 15 May 2022 near Davenport, 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 60 knots, about 69 mph, near Fountain Hgts on 19 April 2019. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 10 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF2 near Lakeland Mccollum Ar on 10 September 2017.
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 5 June 2024 event near Polk, reproduced verbatim:
Public video and reports shared via social media depict multiple fences toppled and damage to multiple pool cages just south of Lakeland Linder International Airport.
That is the kind of damage a roof in this metro has to be specified against, described by the agency that recorded it rather than by a contractor selling the repair.
When it happens. Severe weather reports cluster in April (24), May (9), June (7). The worst years on record were 2016 (15), 2019 (9), 2018 (7). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Lakeland, 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. Hail is not the governing risk in Lakeland. Weight your decision toward wind rating, ventilation and flashing detail rather than paying extra for impact-rated shingles.
Before you sign anything in Lakeland
Licensing is required in FL. Florida requires a roofing contractor licence to install, repair, or replace any roofing system. A Certified Roofing Contractor licence is issued by the state and valid statewide; a Registered Roofing Contractor licence is issued locally and valid only in the issuing county or municipality.
A general contractor licence does not cover roofing in Florida. The licence must specifically read Certified Roofing Contractor or Registered Roofing Contractor.
Check here: Florida DBPR licence search. The DBPR record shows status, expiry and full disciplinary history. Anything other than Current, Active means the contractor cannot legally roof in Florida.
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 Lakeland market behind this ranking
14 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL statistical area, of which 6 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 2,734 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.9. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 852,878, a change of 17.63% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Lakeland rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 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 14 certified contractors, of whom 6 hold President’s Club standing and 5 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.9. The top five were then researched individually against Better Business Bureau records, state licence registers and manufacturer directories. Good and bad findings are published together, and no contractor paid for a place here.
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: 2026-09-19. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
Questions Lakeland homeowners ask
Who is the best roofer in Lakeland, FL?
Bob & Jerry’s Roofing, Inc. of Auburndale, FL scores highest in the Lakeland metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score, at 92.6 out of 100 as of September 2026. It holds President’s Club certification with a 4.9 rating across 437 reviews. Highest-scoring is not the same as best fit for your specific job, and the four companies behind it score within 3.9 points.
How many certified roofing contractors serve Lakeland?
14 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL statistical area as of September 2026, of which 6 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Lakeland get?
The Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL statistical area recorded 20 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 1 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 Lakeland in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 2.0 inches, reported near Davenport 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 24 hail reports. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $10.6 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Lakeland?
Severe-weather reports in the Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL statistical area cluster in April, May, June, on the NOAA record for 2016 to 2025. Scheduling discretionary work away from that window tends to get you a better crew and a faster start, because nobody is juggling emergency callouts.
Do roofers need a licence in FL?
Florida requires a roofing contractor licence to install, repair, or replace any roofing system. A Certified Roofing Contractor licence is issued by the state and valid statewide; a Registered Roofing Contractor licence is issued locally and valid only in the issuing county or municipality. A general contractor licence does not cover roofing in Florida. The licence must specifically read Certified Roofing Contractor or Registered Roofing Contractor.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Lakeland?
The DBPR record shows status, expiry and full disciplinary history. Anything other than Current, Active means the contractor cannot legally roof in Florida.
Is Lakeland a hard market to find a good roofer in?
Polk County produced one of the two tightest top fives in this programme. Places one through four are separated by 0.9 of a point, and all five hold GAF’s President’s Club tier, the top rung of the certification. When a ranking is this compressed the honest answer is that the formula cannot separate them, and the decision comes down to which of them is nearest, who can start soonest, and which quote is written most clearly. What the ranking does tell you is that all five clear a bar most of the market does not. Florida’s licence split still applies: Certified is statewide, Registered is county-only, and you want the number either way.
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 Tampa, FL, about 33 miles from Lakeland
- Best roofers in Orlando, FL, about 49 miles from Lakeland
- Best roofers in North Port, FL, another FL metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Deltona, FL, another FL metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Cape Coral, FL, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Boise, ID, 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 Lakeland, FL: 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.