Roof Replacement Cost (2026 Price Guide)
Enter your roof area, pick a material, and choose your state. Labor is adjusted by BLS wage data for roofers; materials are not.
Estimate calculator
Estimate only — not a quote. Removal of old layers, decking repair, and pitch change are billed separately.
What the national ranges look like
Most U.S. homeowners pay between $5,500 and $12,000 for a full asphalt shingle roof replacement on a typical 1,700–2,000 sq ft roof, which works out to roughly $4.25 to $8.50 per square foot installed. That range already includes tear-off of one existing layer, underlayment, flashing and disposal in most markets.
Metal roofs land far higher — $8 to $16 per square foot — because the material itself costs more and installation is slower. Tile and slate run $10 to $25 per square foot and up, driven as much by structural reinforcement as by the tile.
Cost per square, and why roofers talk that way
Roofers price in "squares." One square is 100 square feet of roof surface. A $600 per square price is $6.00 per square foot. When you compare quotes, convert everything to price per square first — it is the only apples-to-apples number.
Be careful with the difference between roof area and house footprint. A 1,500 sq ft house rarely has a 1,500 sq ft roof. Pitch and overhangs usually add 20–40%. If a contractor quotes off your footprint without measuring, the number is a guess.
What actually moves the price
Pitch. Anything steeper than a 6/12 slows installation and adds fall protection. Expect a 10–25% premium on steep sections.
Layers. Removing two or three old layers costs $1,000–$3,000 extra. Some jurisdictions do not allow a third layer at all.
Decking. Rotten sheathing is usually discovered mid-job, priced per sheet, and is the single most common reason a final invoice exceeds the estimate. Ask what the per-sheet rate is before you sign.
Access and height. Two-story homes, tight lots, and landscaping that blocks the dumpster all add labor hours.
How to read three quotes without getting fooled
Cheapest is not the same as best value. Ask each contractor for the same five lines: price per square, number of squares, tear-off layers included, decking rate per sheet, and whether permits and disposal are in the number.
If one quote is 30% below the others, it is almost always missing tear-off, underlayment upgrade, or the permit. That difference shows up later as a change order.
Doing it alongside other work
A re-roof is the cheapest moment to handle anything else that lives up there. Gutters, ridge ventilation and any exterior painting on the gable ends all cost less when the scaffolding is already up and a crew is already on site.
Ask for those as separate lines on the same quote. Bundling them into one number is how you lose the ability to compare bids.
What each roofing material costs
Installed price per square foot, including material and labor for a single-story asphalt roof. "Per square" is the trade unit: one square is 100 square feet of roof surface.
| Material | Per sq ft | Per square (low) | Per square (high) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-tab asphalt shingles | $4.25 – $6.00 | $425 | $600 |
| Architectural shingles | $5.00 – $7.40 | $500 | $740 |
| Standing seam metal | $8.00 – $14.00 | $800 | $1,400 |
| Corrugated metal | $6.50 – $9.50 | $650 | $950 |
| Clay or concrete tile | $10.00 – $22.00 | $1,000 | $2,200 |
| Synthetic slate | $5.50 – $11.00 | $550 | $1,100 |
The same floor plan, six different roofs
Roof area is not floor area. A 2,000 sq ft footprint has more roof than that, and the steeper the roof the bigger the difference. The multiplier below is geometry, not an estimate: it is the square root of one plus the pitch over twelve, squared.
| Pitch | Name | Area factor | Roof surface | Squares |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 / 12 | Low slope | 1.014× | 2,028 | 20.3 |
| 4 / 12 | Shallow | 1.054× | 2,108 | 21.1 |
| 6 / 12 | Standard | 1.118× | 2,236 | 22.4 |
| 8 / 12 | Steep | 1.202× | 2,404 | 24.0 |
| 10 / 12 | Very steep | 1.302× | 2,603 | 26.0 |
| 12 / 12 | Extreme | 1.414× | 2,828 | 28.3 |
Steep roofs also carry a labor premium that this table does not capture, because we could not find a published figure for it that we would stand behind.
Where the money goes on a 2,000 sq ft roof
| Component | Low | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed costs (permit, dumpster, delivery) | $650 | $650 | 7% |
| Materials | $4,675 | $9,350 | 55% |
| Labor | $3,825 | $7,650 | 45% |
| Total | $9,150 | $17,650 |
What a roofer earns where you live
Median annual pay for roofers, from federal wage data. The multiplier is how this site adjusts labor on every calculator page.
| State | Median pay | Labor factor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | $77,900 | ×1.40 | Highest |
| New Jersey | $76,600 | ×1.38 | |
| Minnesota | $74,490 | ×1.34 | |
| Massachusetts | $72,750 | ×1.31 | |
| Alaska | $66,750 | ×1.20 | |
| New York | $66,020 | ×1.19 | |
| California | $63,600 | ×1.14 | |
| Connecticut | $62,070 | ×1.12 | |
| Oklahoma | $43,680 | ×0.79 | Lowest |
| Mississippi | $44,940 | ×0.81 | |
| New Mexico | $45,300 | ×0.81 | |
| Alabama | $45,670 | ×0.82 | |
| Wyoming | $45,650 | ×0.82 | |
| Tennessee | $45,690 | ×0.82 | |
| South Carolina | $45,760 | ×0.82 | |
| Texas | $46,030 | ×0.83 |
All 51 states are in the calculator above. These 16 are the extremes. See the full analysis in the state-by-state breakdown.
How the per-square-foot price falls
The same roof at seven different sizes, priced with the same model. The line falls because the fixed costs are spread across more squares — not because the work gets cheaper.
Frequently asked
How much does a new roof cost for a 2,000 sq ft house?
For asphalt shingles, expect roughly $8,500 to $17,000 depending on pitch complexity, number of tear-off layers and local labor rates. The roof area will usually exceed the 2,000 sq ft footprint by 20–40%.
Is a metal roof worth the extra cost?
Metal typically costs 1.5–2x asphalt up front but lasts two to three times as long. Whether it pays off depends on how long you stay in the house and on local hail or wildfire exposure.
Can I roof over the old shingles?
Sometimes, and it saves $1,000–$3,000 in tear-off. Many codes limit you to two layers total, and you lose the chance to inspect or repair decking.