Roofing Cost Guides
Roofing cost guides for US homeowners, covering replacement, shingles, metal, tile, repairs and flat roofs, plus Florida, Texas and California. Every figure on these pages is a national estimate or a state average built from public data, with the sources listed on each page. None of them is a quote.
What each roof costs, at a glance
Roofing is quoted per square, where one square is 100 square feet of roof surface. These are the installed ranges each guide works from, so you can see where your material sits before reading further.
| Roof type | Installed per square | Priced in |
|---|---|---|
| Asphalt shingles, by grade | $300 to $700 | Asphalt shingle roof cost |
| Flat and low-slope membrane | $300 to $1,100 | Flat roof replacement cost |
| Metal, corrugated up to copper | $500 to $3,000 | Metal roof cost |
| Concrete and clay tile | $700 to $2,500 | Tile roof cost |
| Slate tile | $1,000 to $3,000 | Tile roof cost |
| Repairs, priced per job rather than per square | $150 to $6,000 and up | Roof repair cost |
Each range is the one used by the guide it links to. Two of them need a word of explanation. The metal range reaches $3,000 because it includes copper, while the summary table on the replacement guide stops at $1,600, the top of standing seam. Wood and cedar shakes have no guide of their own yet; the replacement guide prices them at $700 to $1,500 per square.
Roof replacement cost by state
State pages give the published average range for that state, how local roofer wages compare with the national figure, and the state rules that shape a re-roof.
For roofer pay in every state, not just these three, see roofer wages by state: mean and median wages and employment for all 50 states and DC, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Which guide answers your question
| Your question | Start with |
|---|---|
| What does a new roof cost on a house my size? | Roof replacement cost |
| Which shingle grade should I pay for? | Asphalt shingle roof cost |
| Is metal worth the extra over asphalt? | Metal roof cost |
| What will this leak or missing shingle cost me? | Roof repair cost |
| Should I repair it or replace it? | How long does a roof last |
| Will my insurance pay for any of this? | Does insurance cover roof replacement |
| What do roofers earn in my state? | Roofer wages by state |
How to use these guides
Before a cost range means anything, you need to know how many squares you have. That takes two steps and about five minutes:
- Measure your pitch with the roof pitch calculator, or read it off a plan.
- Turn your house footprint and that pitch into roof surface area with the roof area calculator, then into squares and shingle bundles with the roofing square calculator.
With a square count in hand, a quoted price per square becomes something you can compare between contractors instead of a number you have to take on trust. The roof replacement cost calculator turns that square count straight into a cost range for your material.
What moves a quote up or down
Four things explain most of the gap between two bids on the same house. Each is covered in full on the replacement guide.
- Pitch. A steeper roof is a bigger roof. Going from 4:12 to 10:12 raises the surface area multiplier from 1.054 to 1.302, about 24 percent more roof on the same footprint, and steep work is slower and riskier to price.
- Tear-off and existing layers. Removing the old roof runs $100 to $300 per square, and a roof carrying two layers has twice as much to strip and haul away.
- Decking repair. The most common mid-job increase, because the sheathing is only visible once the old roof is off. It costs $200 to $500 per square of affected area.
- Complexity. Hips, valleys, dormers, chimneys, skylights and multiple planes all add cutting, flashing and waste.
Calculators for your own roof
- Roof Replacement Cost Calculator: a cost range from your squares and material, split into materials, labor and tear-off.
- Metal Roof Cost Calculator: eight metal types, with the same roof in asphalt for comparison.
- Roof Area Calculator: true roof surface area from your footprint, pitch and overhang.
- Roofing Square Calculator: squares, waste allowance and shingle bundles.
- Roofing Guides: whether the roof needs replacing at all, plus insurance and warranty.
Where the numbers come from
Cost figures on this site are researched from public sources: published contractor cost surveys, retail material pricing, manufacturer product data and federal wage statistics. Nobody here installs roofs, and we do not claim any field experience. Each guide lists the sources used for that guide and shows the arithmetic that turned them into a range.
The methodology page sets out every source, how the ranges are built, the rounding rules, how often figures are reviewed, and what the figures are not. If a number on any of these pages does not match its source, that is a mistake and we want to hear about it.