Roof Replacement Cost (2026)

Roof replacement cost: $9,000–$17,000 for a full tear-off replacement in architectural asphalt shingles on a typical home; most pay around $10,800.

Every HomeCostOwl headline range is the complete standard job, installed: materials, labour, standard permits and disposal included. Anything not included is named and priced in its own section on the same page.

A roof replacement is the biggest single maintenance bill most homes ever produce, and the hardest to sanity-check, because almost every number published for it is measuring a slightly different job. This guide fixes that first: it defines exactly what job its prices describe, builds the price from the materials and labour that job actually contains, and then shows its work. The prices describe a typical home at about 2,000 sq ft of roof surface, 20 roofing squares. The same job in basic 3-tab shingles runs less, $8,000–$12,000; premium materials run far more, standing-seam metal typically $18,000–$32,000 on the same roof, and tile $20,000–$40,000.

What “roof replacement” means in this guide

Every price below is for the standard, complete job:

• Full tear-off of one existing shingle layer, down to the deck, with disposal
• New synthetic underlayment, plus ice-and-water shield at the eaves and valleys
• New drip edge and flashing where the roof meets walls, chimneys and vents
• New asphalt shingles, installed and permitted

Not included (each is priced separately in the sections below, because each varies too much to hide inside an average): replacing rotted decking, structural repairs, a second tear-off layer, new gutters, and skylight replacement. All per-square-foot figures are per square foot of roof surface, a sloped roof is bigger than the floor under it, and guides that quote per floor foot are quietly using a smaller yardstick.

How the total is built: the Component-Built Cost Method

Every installed price in this guide is built the same way, our Component-Built Cost Method. For a roof, the build runs per square (100 sq ft of roof surface), with the permit added per job:

Total installed cost = (Materials + Tear-off & disposal + Installation labour) × your roof’s squares + Permit

• Materials, everything that stays on the roof, per square. Field shingles: $110–$150 at retail for mainstream architectural lines (three bundles to a square; basic 3-tab runs $80–$110). The underlayment and flashing package: synthetic underlayment and ice-and-water shield $20–$35, plus starter strip, ridge cap, drip edge, flashing and valley metal, and fasteners $35–$60. Materials total: $165–$245 per square for architectural asphalt.
• Tear-off & disposal, stripping one existing shingle layer down to the deck and disposing of it: $100–$250 per square. (A second layer is extra, priced in the tear-off section below.)
• Installation labour, the crew’s install work: $200–$350 per square on a walkable pitch (≤6/12). Roofers charge roughly $40–$90 per worker-hour, and steep or cut-up roofs move a job up the band.
• Permit, charged per job, not per square: $100–$1,400 by city (most cities $100–$1,000). Spread over a typical 20-square job, it adds roughly $5–$50 per square.

Adding the components gives ≈ $470–$895 per square ($4.70–$8.95 per sq ft) for architectural asphalt; the published band in this guide ($450–$850 per square) sits inside that build and inside the published cross-checks, the build’s top end covers the steeper, higher-labour cases priced under “What changes the price” below. The full method, including how the component build is checked against at least three independent published sources before anything is published, is on How We Estimate.

Worked example: a typical 20-square architectural asphalt roof

The guide’s standard job on the typical home it prices throughout: about 2,000 sq ft of roof surface (20 squares), one story, a walkable 6/12 pitch, one existing layer to tear off, sound decking (no sheet replacement needed):

Line item	Cost
Materials, field shingles (20 squares × $120 per square, within the $110–$150 retail range above)	$2,400
Materials, underlayment, ice-and-water shield, starter strip, ridge cap, drip edge, flashing and fasteners (20 × $70, within the $55–$95 package range above)	$1,400
Tear-off & disposal, one layer (20 × $125, within the $100–$250 range above)	$2,500
Installation labour (20 × $210, within the $200–$350 range above)	$4,200
Permit (within the $100–$1,400 per-job range above)	$300
Total	$10,800

Step by step: $2,400 + $1,400 = $3,800; $3,800 + $2,500 = $6,300; $6,300 + $4,200 = $10,500; $10,500 + $300 = $10,800, the “around $10,800” most homeowners pay, inside the $9,000–$17,000 headline range (and $540 per square, inside the published $450–$850 band). Your quote moves inside that range with your material tier, your roof’s pitch and shape, your deck’s condition, and your market’s labour rate, each priced in its own section below.

Roof replacement cost at a glance

Job (full tear-off + replacement)	Typical installed range	Source
Architectural asphalt shingles, per sq ft of roof	$4.50–$8.50	HomeGuide, 2026 (total build $4–$9/sq ft) · The Civil Studies, 2026 ($5–$8.50/sq ft) · Component build, retail prices checked Oct 2026 ($4.70–$8.95/sq ft)
Architectural asphalt, per roofing square (100 sq ft)	$450–$850	HomeGuide, 2026, and RoofGenius estimator, 2026 (both $400–$900 per square) · Component build ($470–$895 per square)
3-tab asphalt shingles, per sq ft of roof	$4.00–$6.00	Fixr, 2026 (asphalt $3–$6/sq ft) and The Civil Studies, 2026 (3-tab $3–$6/sq ft), published band is the overlap
Standing-seam metal, per sq ft of roof	$9.00–$16.00	The Civil Studies, 2026 (metal $9–$18/sq ft); published band is the overlap with wholesale pricing guides at $9–$16/sq ft (cost-check record)
Concrete or clay tile, per sq ft of roof	$10.00–$20.00	Published bands blend, sources spread $7–$25/sq ft across clay vs concrete: The Civil Studies, 2026 ($12–$25+) · Angi, 2026 (tile totals $8,500–$26,400)
Typical home, architectural asphalt (≈20 squares)	$9,000–$17,000	HomeGuide, 2026 (asphalt average range $5,700–$16,000) · Angi, 2026 (asphalt $5,800–$20,000) · Component build at $450–$850 per square
Most homeowners pay (asphalt replacement)	around $10,800	HomeGuide, 2026 (asphalt national average $10,800), bracketed by Angi, 2026 (average $9,610) and Forbes Home, 2026 (average ≈ $11,500)

The low end of each range is a simple roof: one layer to remove, a walkable pitch, few penetrations, sound decking. The high end adds steep pitch, a cut-up roofline with valleys and dormers, a second layer, or a high-cost labour market. Material is the biggest single lever, the sections below price each tier from its components.

What’s included in the headline range, and what isn’t

Included in every headline figure on this page (the complete standard job, installed): full tear-off of one existing shingle layer, with disposal; new synthetic underlayment; ice-and-water shield at the eaves and valleys; new drip edge and flashing; new asphalt shingles, installed; and the permit.

Not included, named and priced on this page:

• Decking replacement, where tear-off finds rotted sheets: $70–$125 per sheet installed during a re-roof, and if the whole deck has failed, a full redeck runs $2–$5 per sq ft.
• A second tear-off layer: an extra $50–$150 per square over the single-layer figures.
• Disposal beyond the standard load, a second dumpster load: $400–$800.
• Full-deck ice-and-water shield (extending the membrane beyond the eaves and valleys): about +$2–$4 per sq ft of added coverage, roughly $2,500–$5,500 on a typical 20-square roof. This one is a derived figure: it is computed from the published installed bands for the membrane and for synthetic underlayment (see the extras section below), not a number any single source publishes.
• Skylight replacement while the roof is open: $800–$2,400 per skylight into the existing opening (cutting in a brand-new skylight where none existed is a different job: roughly $1,600–$4,200).
• Structural repairs, excluded and not priced here; the cost depends entirely on what the deck inspection finds.
• New gutters, not part of a roof replacement; priced as their own line if the jobs are bundled.

Start with pitch: it sets your real roof size

Roofers don’t price your floor plan; they price roof surface, and pitch (steepness) is what turns one into the other. Pitch is written as rise over run, 6/12 means the roof climbs 6 inches for every 12 inches across. Multiply your home’s footprint by the pitch factor to get a first estimate of roof area:

Pitch	Roof area multiplier	Labour band
4/12	× 1.054	Standard, walkable
5/12	× 1.083	Standard, walkable
6/12	× 1.118	Standard, walkable
7/12	× 1.158	Steeper, slower work
8/12	× 1.202	Steeper, slower work
9/12	× 1.250	Steep, safety gear, staging
10/12	× 1.302	Steep, safety gear, staging
12/12	× 1.414	Very steep, slowest, priciest per square

So a 1,800 sq ft footprint at 6/12 is about 2,010 sq ft of roof, roughly 20 squares before waste and eaves overhang. Pitch also raises labour, not just area: published guides put the steep-pitch premium at roughly $1,000–$3,000 on a typical home once crews need fall protection and staging. Use the calculator to work your own numbers, it applies this same table and the same component prices as the rest of this guide:

You can also open it on its own page: Roof Pitch Calculator.

Cost per square by material

A “square” is 100 sq ft of roof surface, and it is the unit every quote is built from, if a roofer gives you one number, ask for the per-square price and you can compare quotes honestly. Here is what a square of each material costs, and what is inside the number:

Material	Materials only, per square	Installed, per square (tear-off incl.)	Installed, per sq ft	Expected lifespan
3-tab asphalt shingles	$80–$130	$400–$600	$4.00–$6.00	15–20 years
Architectural asphalt shingles	$100–$250	$450–$850	$4.50–$8.50	25–30 years
Standing-seam metal	$400–$900	$900–$1,600	$9.00–$16.00	40–70 years
Concrete / clay tile	$300–$1,600	$1,000–$2,000	$10.00–$20.00	50 years and up
Natural slate	$600–$1,600	$1,200–$3,000	$12.00–$30.00	75–100+ years

Notes the tables elsewhere usually skip:

• 3-tab vs architectural is mostly a materials decision. The labour to install them is nearly identical; architectural costs more per square because the shingles do (≈ $110–$150 per square at retail for mainstream architectural lines, vs ≈ $80–$110 for 3-tab). What the extra buys is lifespan, 25–30 years against 15–20, and better wind ratings. On a cost-per-year basis architectural usually wins, which is why it is now the default replacement choice.
• Designer/premium asphalt (the top of the architectural materials band, up to $250/square) prices like a different product because it is one, thicker, heavier, slate- or shake-look lines.
• Metal splits in two. Exposed-fastener panels are the entry point and can price from about $7/sq ft installed; standing seam, the long-life, concealed-fastener system most people mean by “a metal roof”, is the $9–$16 band above. Metal prices also moved up through 2025 on steel and aluminium tariffs, so treat metal quotes as the most time-sensitive in this guide.
• Tile splits in two as well. Concrete tile usually lands at the lower half of its band (≈ $10–$15/sq ft installed); clay tile at the upper half (≈ $14–$20+). Both are heavy, roughly three times the weight of asphalt per square, so a structure check is part of the job when switching from shingles, and that check is not in these figures.
• Slate is priced here for completeness; it is a specialist trade with specialist labour, and quotes vary more than any other material.

Cost by home size

For a one-story home with a 6/12 pitch (roof ≈ 15% larger than the footprint once pitch and eaves are counted), in architectural asphalt with a one-layer tear-off:

Home size (floor area)	Approx. roof size	Typical installed range
1,000 sq ft	≈ 11.5 squares	$5,200–$9,800
1,500 sq ft	≈ 17 squares	$7,700–$14,500
2,000 sq ft	≈ 23 squares	$10,400–$19,600
2,500 sq ft	≈ 29 squares	$13,100–$24,700
3,000 sq ft	≈ 34.5 squares	$15,500–$29,300

Two cautions that save real confusion. First, a two-story home with the same floor area has a much smaller roof, roughly half the footprint, and costs substantially less to reroof than the one-story version; published “cost by home size” tables that don’t say which they’re describing are a common source of duelling numbers. Second, these are architectural-asphalt figures; run the same sizes in 3-tab and the totals drop by roughly a tenth, and in metal they roughly double.

Roof replacement cost by region and state

The national range is the headline, but roofing is a local market: labour is 40–50% of the job (see the next section), and it is the part that moves. We publish a state figure only where at least two established sources support one, for roofing, that means HomeGuide’s member-reported state ranges checked against Angi’s state averages. Nine states clear that bar (state figures checked October 2026):

State	Typical range, full replacement	Angi’s architectural-shingle average
California	$6,200–$21,500	$21,500
New York	$6,200–$18,200	$18,200
Michigan	$6,400–$17,900	$13,600
North Carolina	$6,000–$17,000	$14,600
Texas	$5,600–$15,800	$13,700
Pennsylvania	$5,500–$15,500	$14,100
Ohio	$5,500–$15,400	$13,900
Illinois	$5,500–$15,400	$13,800
Florida	$5,400–$15,200	$15,200

Read the table honestly: the ranges are HomeGuide’s spans for a full replacement across materials, and Angi’s averages are for architectural shingles only, which is why Angi runs near the top of each range, and why in California and New York its average sits above HomeGuide’s span. Where the two sources disagreed, we widened the range to cover both rather than pick the dataset we liked.

Region by region, the pattern the state figures support is this: Pacific and Northeast prices run highest (California and New York top the table on expensive labour markets); Southeast, South Central and Midwest largest states cluster in the middle, within a few thousand dollars of each other; and for the Mountain region, no state in either dataset clears our two-source bar, so we publish no figure rather than invent one. We also don’t publish six tidy regional ranges: no two established sources publish regional ranges for roofing on a comparable basis, so a “regional average” here would be manufactured precision. If your state isn’t in the table, start from the national range and weigh the factors below, then let local quotes settle it.

What actually moves by region: labour, most of all, roofer rates run roughly $40–$90 an hour nationally, and that spread is the regional story. Permits are set city by city, anywhere in the $100–$1,400 band in our sources. Materials move least: shingles are sold by national chains at close to national prices (the bundle prices in our build above are national retailer listings), the exceptions are freight-heavy materials and anything tariff-exposed, which today means metal and tile more than asphalt, and code-driven specification: ice-and-water shield coverage in the snow belt and wind-rated installation on the hurricane coast both add real money in the regions that require them.

Where the money goes: materials vs labour

On a typical architectural asphalt square, the installed price breaks down roughly like this:

• Shingles: $110–$150 at retail for mainstream architectural lines (three bundles to a square, you can verify this on any retailer’s shelf, which is the point). Premium and designer lines run higher.
• The layer you don’t see: $55–$95, synthetic underlayment (≈ $10–$15/square), ice-and-water shield at eaves and valleys, starter strip, ridge cap, drip edge, flashing and fasteners. Quotes that look cheap sometimes get there by going quiet on this layer; it is the roof’s second line of defence and not the place to save.
• Tear-off and disposal: $100–$250 for one layer, more below.
• Installation labour: $200–$350, roofers charge roughly $40–$90 per worker-hour, and a crew installs fast on a simple, walkable roof and slowly on a steep, cut-up one. Labour is roughly 40–50% of a typical asphalt job.
• Permit: $100–$1,000 in most cities (a few run to $1,400), usually a flat line on the quote rather than a per-square cost.

Contractors buy materials at trade prices below the retail figures above, and their quotes also carry insurance, warranty and overhead, which is why a quote is not simply “retail materials + hours,” and why the honest comparison is quote against quote for the same scope, not quote against a shopping list.

Tear-off: the cost hiding inside (and outside) most quotes

Removing the old roof is real work and real money, roughly $100–$250 per square for a single layer, covering the crew time to strip it, the dumpster, and disposal fees. It is inside every price in this guide. It is worth knowing that it is not inside every price elsewhere: some calculator sites quote the cost of “new shingles over a bare deck,” which assumes your old roof has already vanished. If a quote looks $1,500–$3,000 lighter than the others, this is the first place to look.

• A second layer doubles down. Two layers to remove adds most of another tear-off charge per square, budget roughly an extra $50–$150 per square over the single-layer figures, plus heavier disposal, and on a big or two-layer roof, disposal can step up on its own: a second dumpster load typically runs $400–$800.
• Roof-over (overlay) is the cheaper door, with a price later. Laying new shingles over one sound existing layer skips tear-off entirely: on a typical home the same job runs roughly $6,600–$10,300 in architectural shingles instead of $9,000–$17,000. The honest catches: most codes cap a roof at two layers total; the new layer ages faster over a hot, uneven base; and nobody inspects the deck, so rotted wood stays hidden until it isn’t. An overlay buys years, not a new roof, if you plan to stay in the home, tear-off is almost always the better money.

What changes the price

• Pitch. Covered above: steeper means more roof area and slower, safer-working crews. Moving from a walkable 6/12 to a steep 10/12 can add $1,000–$3,000 to a typical job before materials change at all.
• Roof shape. A plain gable roof is the cheap shape. Every hip, valley, dormer and change of plane adds cuts, waste and flashing work, a cut-up roof in architectural shingles can price like a simple roof one material tier up.
• Stories and access. A two-story drop, a tight lot with no dumpster position, or a roof the crew can’t stage materials onto all add labour hours.
• Layers. Each extra layer of old shingles is more tear-off time and more disposal weight (see above).
• Decking condition. The deck is only visible once the old roof is off. Sound decking costs nothing extra; rotted sheets must be replaced before the new roof goes on. Decking is priced per sheet, published rates cluster at $70–$125 per sheet installed during a re-roof, and you should still get your roofer’s per-sheet rate in writing before tear-off day, this is the single most common “surprise” line on a final invoice.
• Region. Labour is 40–50% of the job, so the same roof costs noticeably more in a high-cost metro than in a rural market, see “Roof replacement cost by region and state” above for the state figures we can stand behind.
• Timing and urgency. A planned replacement in a roofer’s quieter season gets scheduling choice and sometimes sharper pricing. A leak-driven emergency replacement in storm season gets neither, and storm surges can push local prices up for months.

The extras, priced honestly

• Underlayment upgrade. Synthetic underlayment (in our standard scope) already beats old-style felt on durability. Premium breathable synthetics add a modest per-square amount; the bigger step is full-deck ice-and-water shield instead of eaves-and-valleys only, typically adds $2–$4 per sq ft over the area it extends to (roughly $2,500–$5,500 on a typical 20-square roof; published installed prices for the membrane itself run $1.50–$5.50 per sq ft, so quotes vary). Worth it in severe ice-dam country, wasted money in mild climates, and most roofers will add that a fully sealed deck needs excellent attic ventilation, because the membrane doesn’t breathe.
• Flashing. Step flashing, counter-flashing and chimney flashing are part of a proper job (in our scope). A chimney cricket (the small peaked diverter behind a wide chimney) is extra carpentry where one is needed.
• Ventilation. Ridge vent is commonly added or renewed during a replacement and is cheap while the roof is open. A chronically under-vented attic cooks shingles from beneath and can void material warranties, if your roofer flags ventilation, that is a legitimate line, not an upsell.
• Skylights. Replacing a skylight while the roof is open is far cheaper than doing it later, budget $800–$2,400 per skylight for a same-size replacement into the existing opening (cutting in a brand-new skylight where none existed costs more, roughly $1,600–$4,200). Reusing an old skylight in a new roof is a classic false economy, since the flashing work happens either way.
• Decking, if the tear-off finds rot. Priced per sheet at $70–$125 installed (see “What changes the price”). A handful of sheets is normal on an older roof; if the whole deck has failed, a full redeck runs $2–$5 per sq ft, a different scale of problem, and one a good contractor flags from the attic before quoting, not after tear-off.
• Gutters. Not part of a roof replacement and not in these prices. If your gutters are due, bundling the jobs shares the scaffolding and the crew visit, price it as its own line.

Why you’ll see $11,500 and $31,871 for “the same roof”

Search this topic for ten minutes and you will meet two numbers that cannot both be the average, and both are real. They are measuring different jobs.

• The homeowner-survey averages: $9,610–$11,500. Angi’s project data averages $9,610 across all materials; HomeGuide’s member-reported asphalt projects average $10,800; Forbes Home puts its average near $11,500. These are dominated by the most common real-world job: a modest-sized, single-layer asphalt roof on a straightforward house, often in a mid-cost labour market. Smaller and simpler than the roof in a brochure, and exactly the job most readers of this page have.
• The defined-scope figure: $31,871. The Cost vs Value Report doesn’t survey anybody; it prices one precisely specified job with a professional contractor’s full cost structure: tear off and replace 30 squares (3,000 sq ft of roof, half again the typical home’s) of architectural shingles on a rectangular hip roof with two skylights, new underlayment, galvanized drip edge and a full aluminium flashing package, including contractor overhead and margin. Every element of that sentence adds money: 30 squares, the hip shape, the skylights, the complete flashing spec.

Neither number is lying to you; they just refuse to say what they’re counting. A 30-square hip roof with skylights genuinely costs around $30,000. A 17-square gable roof in the Midwest genuinely costs around $11,000. The only useless figure is one that won’t tell you its scope, which is why this guide defined its scope in the first section and prices by the square, so you can rebuild the number for your roof instead of borrowing somebody else’s average.

Signs replacement can’t wait

Some roofs can be watched for another season. These signs say the watching is over:

• Shingles curling, cupping or losing their granules across whole slopes (a handful of bald shingles in the gutter is the early warning; bare, shiny fibreglass showing through is the late one)
• Multiple leaks, or one leak that keeps moving, water entering at several points means the system, not a spot, has failed
• A sagging or spongy deck, structural until proven otherwise; this one is a call-now sign, not a budget-and-plan sign
• The roof is at or past its material’s expected life (15–20 years for 3-tab, 25–30 for architectural) and showing any of the above
• Daylight or a water-stained, mouldy attic underside, the deck is telling you what the shingles couldn’t

One bad sign on a young roof is a repair. Two or more on an ageing roof is a replacement conversation.

Roof repair vs full replacement

The deciding questions, in order:

1. How old is the roof against its material’s lifespan? A leak on a 7-year-old architectural roof is a repair. The same leak on a 22-year-old 3-tab roof is the roof asking to be replaced.
2. How much of the roof is affected? Damage confined to one slope or one flashing detail is repairable. Damage spread across slopes, or a repair quote that reaches roughly half the cost of replacement (the rule of thumb Angi publishes too), points to replacement.
3. What does the deck look like? Widespread deck rot turns “repair” into “partial rebuild” quickly, and the maths flips with it.
4. Partial replacement is the middle option, one slope or one section redone. It costs more per square than a whole roof (permits, tear-off and setup are the same, spread over fewer squares) and the new section rarely matches the old one’s colour, but it is the right call when one slope genuinely failed early, storm damage on one face is the common case.

Our companion article walks the decision in full: Roof Repair vs Replacement: How to Decide. And if storm damage is what started this, tree work and roof work often arrive together, so see Tree Removal Cost for the other half of that bill.

Ways to save, honestly

• Replace on your schedule, not the leak’s. A planned job gets three quotes and a quiet-season date; an emergency job in storm season gets a premium and a queue. If your roof is in its last few years, getting quotes a season early is the cheapest move in this guide.
• Compare quotes per square, same scope. Ask each roofer to separate: tear-off (per layer), materials (brand and line named), labour, permit, and the per-sheet decking rate. A quote that won’t itemise is a quote that plans to improvise.
• Architectural over 3-tab is a saving, not an upgrade splurge. The labour is the same; the material difference is roughly $30–$40 per square at retail, and it buys roughly a decade more life. 3-tab only wins if you’re roofing to sell soon.
• Keep your shape decisions boring. The roof you have is the cheapest roof to replace, material changes that need structural checks (tile over a shingle-built frame) are where budgets double.
• Check insurance only when there’s an insurable event. Wear and age are yours; storm damage may not be (next section). Filing for the right reason at the right time is legitimate; expecting a policy to fund an end-of-life roof is not a plan.
• Do the free prep. Clear the attic of anything fragile (tear-off vibrates the whole house), move vehicles and patio furniture out of the drop zone, and confirm the crew has an outlet and a dumpster spot. Billable hours shouldn’t be spent on logistics you could do with a coffee in hand.

Does insurance pay for a roof replacement?

In general terms only, every policy differs, and your policy document and insurer are the authority, not this page:

• Sudden, accidental damage is the insurable kind. Wind, hail, a fallen tree, fire, damage from a specific event is what homeowners policies are built around, and a storm-damaged roof is commonly handled as a claim, minus your deductible (wind/hail deductibles are often a percentage of the home’s insured value, not a flat amount).
• Age and wear are not. A roof that wore out over 20 years is maintenance, and claims for it are denied as a matter of course.
• How the payout is calculated varies by policy. Some policies pay replacement cost; others pay actual cash value, which deducts depreciation for the roof’s age, on an older roof that deduction can be most of the cheque. Many insurers also use roof age schedules that reduce coverage as the roof gets older.
• Documentation is the difference. Photos of the damage, the date of the storm, and a roofer’s written assessment are what a claim runs on. If a storm has damaged your roof, document first and sign nothing with a door-to-door “free roof” crew before you’ve spoken to your insurer, post-storm solicitation is where this industry’s worst actors hunt.

How we estimate these costs

Every range on this page is built with our Component-Built Cost Method, from the components of the job (shingles at verifiable retail prices per square, the underlayment/flashing/accessory package, tear-off and disposal, installation labour by pitch band, and the permit), and then checked against at least three independent published cost sources (for this page: Angi’s 2026 project data, HomeGuide’s member-reported project costs, Fixr’s 2026 cost data, and Forbes Home’s 2026 research, all checked October 2026; the Cost vs Value Report’s defined-scope figure is used only in the reconciliation section above). Where the sources disagree, and on per-square-foot figures they genuinely do, because they don’t all define the job the same way, we publish the range that matches the scope defined at the top of this page, and we say so in our internal cost-check record.

Prices are re-checked quarterly. Full method: How We Estimate. Your own roof replacement cost should pass the same test: every line traceable to a component above, shingles, the underlayment and flashing package, tear-off, labour, permit.

FAQ

How much does a roof replacement cost per square?
For architectural asphalt shingles, $450–$850 per square (100 sq ft of roof surface) fully installed with a one-layer tear-off, $4.50–$8.50 per sq ft (costs checked October 2026). Basic 3-tab runs $400–$600 per square; standing-seam metal $900–$1,600; tile $1,000–$2,000. Per-square is the most useful number on this page: divide any quote by your roof’s squares and you can compare it directly.

How long does a roof last?
By material: 3-tab asphalt 15–20 years; architectural asphalt 25–30 years; metal 40–70 years; concrete and clay tile 50 years and well beyond; slate 75–100+ years. Climate moves these as much as material does, severe hail, high UV and freeze-thaw cycles all shorten a roof’s real life below its warranty headline, which is why a 25-year-old 3-tab roof in a storm belt is done even if the calendar says it might have a year left.

How long does a roof replacement take?
Most asphalt replacements on an average home take 1–3 days: typically a day for tear-off and deck inspection, then one to two days to dry-in and shingle. Steep, cut-up or large roofs take longer; tile and slate jobs are measured in weeks, not days. Weather can pause a job mid-way, a good crew leaves the roof watertight at the end of every day, and it’s fair to ask how before you sign.

Should I tear off the old roof or shingle over it?
Tear off, in almost every case where you plan to stay. An overlay (roof-over) saves the $100–$250 per square of tear-off and disposal (costs checked October 2026), but it adds weight, hides the deck’s condition, runs hotter, shortens the new layer’s life, and most codes allow only two layers total, so the tear-off bill arrives anyway, doubled, at the next replacement. An overlay makes sense mainly as a short bridge: a sound single layer, a tight budget, and a planned sale or a planned full replacement within a few years.

Does homeowners insurance cover roof replacement?
It can, for damage from a covered event like wind, hail, a fallen tree or fire, usually minus your deductible, and the payout may be reduced by depreciation depending on whether your policy pays replacement cost or actual cash value. It does not cover a roof that has simply worn out. See the insurance section above for the general picture, and treat your own policy as the deciding document.

What is the best time of year to replace a roof?
Late spring and autumn are the practical sweet spots in most of the country: dry, mild weather for the crew and the materials, and (outside storm season) shorter queues and keener quotes. Shingles can be installed in winter in many regions, but cold makes them brittle and sealant strips need warmth to bond, a winter quote should come with a clear answer on both points. Whenever you book, booking before the roof forces the issue is the real discount.

Sources

• Angi project data (2026)
• HomeGuide member-reported project costs (checked October 2026)
• Fixr cost data (2026)
• Forbes Home research (2026)
• Cost vs Value Report, defined-scope figure used in the reconciliation section only