Key Findings
- 80% of well-rated Florida roofers never reach the map's top 3. Of 1,472 roofing companies with 4.5 stars or higher and at least 20 Google reviews, 1,177 did not appear in the top three Google Maps results in any of our 420 searches.
- The hidden roofers are not worse. Their median rating is 4.9 stars, the same as the companies that do make the top 3. Their median review count is higher: 60 reviews, compared with 52.
- Distance decides more than quality. The median company in a top-3 spot was 4.7 km from the city center. The median hidden roofer was 9.5 km away, about twice as far.
- A few companies hold most of the visibility. In the median city, just three companies took 41% of all top-3 spots. In Panama City, three companies took 58%.
- Their websites do not rescue them. Of the hidden roofers with a website, 95% did not reach the first page of Google's regular results for the same searches either.
Why This Matters for Homeowners
When you search "roofers near me," Google Maps shows three companies at the top, and most people choose from those three. Our data shows those three are mostly the companies closest to where you searched, not necessarily the best-reviewed ones. A roofer 10 km away with 200 five-star reviews can be invisible to you, while a closer company with fewer reviews takes the top spot.
That is the gap we built Florida Roofing Hub to close. In each city we cover, we list the five best-reviewed independent roofers that Google Maps rarely shows.
What We Found, City by City
The table below shows every city in the study. "Well rated" means a roofing company with 4.5 stars or higher and at least 20 reviews. "Hidden" means a well-rated company that never appeared in the top 3 of any of that city's 15 searches. "Top 3 held by 3" is the share of the city's 45 top-3 spots taken by the three companies that appeared there most often.
| City | Roofing Cos. | Well Rated | Hidden | Top 3 Held by 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa | 246 | 122 | 108 (89%) | 38% |
| Miami | 243 | 71 | 58 (82%) | 38% |
| Orlando | 248 | 135 | 114 (84%) | 33% |
| Jacksonville | 204 | 86 | 73 (85%) | 33% |
| Naples | 129 | 41 | 33 (80%) | 56% |
| Pensacola | 121 | 37 | 29 (78%) | 49% |
| Brandon | 190 | 88 | 72 (82%) | 40% |
| Fort Myers | 238 | 89 | 74 (83%) | 33% |
| West Palm Beach | 218 | 72 | 56 (78%) | 29% |
| Sarasota | 159 | 88 | 74 (84%) | 36% |
| Tallahassee | 48 | 16 | 8 (50%) | 49% |
| Ocala | 83 | 31 | 20 (65%) | 36% |
| Clearwater | 168 | 71 | 62 (87%) | 42% |
| St. Petersburg | 123 | 54 | 46 (85%) | 44% |
| Fort Lauderdale | 311 | 137 | 122 (89%) | 27% |
| Bradenton | 160 | 71 | 59 (83%) | 49% |
| Port St. Lucie | 155 | 49 | 36 (73%) | 51% |
| Lakeland | 146 | 57 | 47 (82%) | 42% |
| Cape Coral | 224 | 95 | 82 (86%) | 33% |
| Boca Raton | 206 | 80 | 70 (88%) | 51% |
| Gainesville | 54 | 23 | 14 (61%) | 40% |
| Daytona Beach | 101 | 28 | 20 (71%) | 44% |
| Riverview | 159 | 82 | 69 (84%) | 38% |
| Panama City | 92 | 22 | 15 (68%) | 58% |
| Jupiter | 79 | 24 | 20 (83%) | 51% |
| Boynton Beach | 165 | 48 | 40 (83%) | 36% |
| Delray Beach | 164 | 45 | 37 (82%) | 42% |
| Palm Beach | 189 | 63 | 53 (84%) | 49% |
Cities in order of how often people there search for a roofer. Counts are per city; a company can appear in more than one city.
How We Did It
Searches. In October 2026, we ran three common roofing searches in each of 28 Florida cities: "roofing company near me," "roofers [city]" and "roof repair near me." We chose the cities by how often people there search for a roofer. Because Google Maps results change with the searcher's location, we ran every search from five points across each city: the city center and four points spread about 5 to 12 km from it (inland for coastal cities). That is 15 searches per city and 420 in total, each collecting up to 100 results.
Companies. The searches returned 8,122 listings, or 7,091 different businesses once a company appearing in more than one city is counted once. We kept only businesses whose main Google category is roofing: 3,854 companies. We used each company's Google rating and review count as shown in the results on the day of the search.
Definitions.
- Well rated: 4.5 stars or higher and at least 20 Google reviews.
- Top 3: positions one to three in a Google Maps search.
- Hidden: a well-rated company that never appeared in the top 3 of any search in any city in the study.
- Distance: straight-line distance from the company's Google listing to the city center.
- First page: the top 10 regular Google results for the same searches in that city.
Limits. Google Maps results vary by device, search history and time, so a different day or a different exact location can produce different results. Ratings and review counts change daily. Distance is measured to each company's listed address, which may not be where its crews work. This study measures visibility in search results. It does not rate workmanship, and being hidden says nothing bad about a company.
No company paid to be included, and no company's position in this study can be bought.
Use This Data
Journalists, researchers and homeowners are welcome to cite this study. Please link to this page. For questions about the data, contact our editorial team.