Roofing Labor Cost per Square
Roofing labor costs $200 to $350 per square to install shingles, or $2.00 to $3.50 per square foot, before materials. Metal runs $400 to $800 per square for labor alone, and tile up to $1,700. Tearing off the old roof adds $1 to $5 per square foot. Enter your roof to price the labor, or check a quote you already have.
Your roof
Roof surface, not floor area.
A square is 100 sq ft.
What is going on, not coming off.
$1 to $3 per sq ft; tile or slate $2 to $5.
Optional. Total in dollars.
Tear-off follows the old roof choice.
Compares local roofer pay.
Architectural shingles, labor only
per square ÷ 100
20 squares × $300 to $350
2,000 sq ft × $1 to $3
labor plus tear-off
Enter a quote to compare it with the $500 to $900 a square range for labor, materials and tear-off
National figures. Pick a state to see how roofer pay there compares; totals are rounded to the nearest $100. Need your roof size? Use the roof area calculator.
Price the whole roof, not just the labor
Labor is one line of a quote. These two pages give the materials and the installed total.
Roofing labor cost per square by roof type
Roofers price labor by the square, which is 100 square feet of roof surface. The labor rate depends mostly on the material: shingles go on fastest, while tile and slate need more skill and more careful handling. Labor and materials are HomeGuide’s figures; the per square foot and combined columns are our arithmetic.
| Roof type | Labor per square | Labor per sq ft | Materials per square | Labor and materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asphalt shingles, 3-tab | $200 to $300 | $2.00 to $3.00 | $80 to $130 | $280 to $430 |
| Architectural shingles | $300 to $350 | $3.00 to $3.50 | $100 to $250 | $400 to $600 |
| Metal | $400 to $800 | $4.00 to $8.00 | $100 to $800 | $500 to $1,600 |
| Tile | $500 to $1,700 | $5.00 to $17.00 | $200 to $1,200 | $700 to $2,900 |
| Wood shakes | $400 to $800 | $4.00 to $8.00 | $300 to $700 | $700 to $1,500 |
| Slate | $400 to $1,400 | $4.00 to $14.00 | $600 to $1,600 | $1,000 to $3,000 |
| Flat or built-up | $200 to $450 | $2.00 to $4.50 | $100 to $650 | $300 to $1,100 |
Three figures in the source disagree with each other. For wood shakes its text says $25 to $30 per square foot of labor, but its table says $400 to $800 per square; we use the table, which matches the installed wood shake price in our cost calculator. For flat roofs we use the $100 to $650 materials figure from its text rather than the table’s $15 to $800, because only the text figure adds up to its $300 to $1,100 installed price. Tile labor plus materials reaches $2,900 a square, above the $2,500 top of our tile roof cost range; both are shown as published.
Roofing labor cost by roof size
Multiply the squares by the per-square rate. The shingle columns use the full shingle range of $200 to $350 a square, and the tear-off column adds $1 to $3 per square foot for removing one layer of shingles. Totals are rounded to the nearest $100.
| Roof size | Squares | Shingle labor | Shingle labor and tear-off | Metal labor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | 10 | $2,000 to $3,500 | $3,000 to $6,500 | $4,000 to $8,000 |
| 1,500 sq ft | 15 | $3,000 to $5,300 | $4,500 to $9,800 | $6,000 to $12,000 |
| 2,000 sq ft | 20 | $4,000 to $7,000 | $6,000 to $13,000 | $8,000 to $16,000 |
| 2,500 sq ft | 25 | $5,000 to $8,800 | $7,500 to $16,300 | $10,000 to $20,000 |
| 3,000 sq ft | 30 | $6,000 to $10,500 | $9,000 to $19,500 | $12,000 to $24,000 |
| 3,500 sq ft | 35 | $7,000 to $12,300 | $10,500 to $22,800 | $14,000 to $28,000 |
Roof size means the area of the roof itself. HomeGuide notes that a pitched roof is typically 15 to 40 percent larger than the floor area of the house, so a 1,500 square foot house can have about 17 to 21 squares of roof. The roof area calculator works out the real figure from your footprint and pitch.
How to work out roofing labor cost
Take the calculator’s starting values: a 2,000 square foot roof getting architectural shingles, with one layer of old shingles to remove.
- 2,000 ÷ 100 = 20 squares.
- Labor is 20 × $300 to $350 = $6,000 to $7,000.
- Tear-off is 2,000 × $1 to $3 = $2,000 to $6,000.
- Labor and tear-off together come to $8,000 to $13,000.
Checking a roofing quote against these rates
Most quotes give one total for the whole job. To compare one with published rates, turn it into a price per square: divide the total by the number of squares. Then compare it with the range for the same scope. For a full replacement that means labor, materials and tear-off together. In the example, a $12,000 quote for 20 squares is $600 a square. Architectural shingles cost $300 to $350 for labor and $100 to $250 for materials, and tear-off adds $100 to $300 a square, so the range is $500 to $900 and the quote sits inside it.
A quote above the range is not wrong by itself. HomeGuide lists the reasons labor runs higher: pitches over 6:12, two or more stories, complex roof shapes, high demand after storms, and the peak season from late spring to fall. It also lists items a quote may price separately:
- Replacing rotted decking or sheathing: $2 to $5 per square foot installed.
- New flashing: $200 to $1,000 for the roof.
- Ridge vent: $7 to $15 per linear foot installed.
- Drip edge: $1.50 to $3.00 per linear foot installed.
- Permit: $100 to $500, depending on the city.
Ask for an itemized estimate with labor, materials, tear-off and disposal on separate lines, so the labor part of two quotes can be compared.
Labor per hour, and what roofers are paid
HomeGuide puts roofing labor at $30 to $100 an hour, cheaper for shingles than for metal, tile or slate. That is what a contractor charges, not what a roofer earns. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the mean roofer wage at $27.95 an hour and the median at $26.65 for May 2025. A contractor’s rate also covers crew size, insurance, equipment, overhead and margin, which is why it sits well above the wage. Pay for every state is on our roofer wages by state page, and the calculator’s state box shows how one state compares with the national mean.
What this page does not give
- Labor rates by state. HomeGuide says labor varies by location and demand but publishes no per-state rate. Wages are not prices, so we do not scale the national rates with them.
- A surcharge for steep or tall roofs. The source says they cost more but gives no figure, so the calculator adds none.
- What roofing companies pay crews. These are prices charged to homeowners. None of our sources publishes a subcontractor rate per square.
- A second layer of tear-off. The source says more layers cost more to remove but gives no per-layer figure.
Sources
- HomeGuide roofing labor cost guide, dated November 7, 2025 and read on November 2, 2026. Labor and materials per square by roof type, labor per square foot, tear-off cost, hourly rates, add-on costs, labor share and new construction labor.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, roofers (47-2181): national and state mean and median wages, as used on our roofer wages by state page.
- Per square foot figures, sums, roof-size totals and the quote check are our arithmetic on those figures. Every source is listed on the methodology page, and nobody involved in this site installs roofs.
Related cost guides
Roofing labor cost FAQ
How much do roofers charge per square for labor?
About $200 to $350 per square, or per 100 square feet, to install asphalt shingles: $200 to $300 for 3-tab and $300 to $350 for architectural shingles. Labor alone runs $400 to $800 per square for metal, $500 to $1,700 for tile, $400 to $1,400 for slate and $200 to $450 for a flat roof, according to HomeGuide. Materials and tear-off are extra.
How much is roofing labor per square foot?
Divide the per-square price by 100. Shingle labor is $2.00 to $3.50 per square foot and metal roofing labor is $4.00 to $8.00 per square foot. Tearing off the old roof adds $1 to $3 per square foot for shingles or metal and $2 to $5 for tile or slate.
How do you calculate labor cost for a roof?
Divide the roof area in square feet by 100 to get squares, then multiply by the labor price per square for your roof type. Add tear-off separately, priced per square foot of roof. A 2,000 square foot architectural shingle roof is 20 squares, so labor is $6,000 to $7,000 at $300 to $350 a square, and tear-off at $1 to $3 a square foot adds $2,000 to $6,000.
What is the labor cost to install a metal roof?
HomeGuide puts metal roofing labor at $400 to $800 per square, or $4 to $8 per square foot, not counting the metal itself. On a 1,500 square foot roof that is $6,000 to $12,000 for labor. Standing seam takes more labor time and skill than corrugated panels, so it sits toward the top of the range.
How much do roofers charge per hour?
HomeGuide puts roofing labor at $30 to $100 an hour, with shingle work at the low end and metal, tile and slate higher. That is a contractor's charge, not a wage: the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the mean roofer wage at $27.95 an hour and the median at $26.65 (May 2025). The difference pays for insurance, equipment, overhead and margin.
What share of a roof replacement is labor?
HomeGuide's text says labor is 50 to 70 percent of the cost to replace a roof. Its own per-square table for a shingle replacement works out lower: labor of $200 to $350 inside a total of $400 to $900, which is about 39 to 50 percent.
How much is roofing labor for new construction?
About the same per square as a replacement, $200 to $350 for shingles, according to HomeGuide, but there is no old roof to tear off and the job usually goes faster. Shingles on new construction cost $300 to $600 per square with materials and labor together.