How much does roofing cost nationally?

Our cost index tracks Asphalt Shingle Roof Replacement at a national average of $14,568 (range $12,885 to $16,381) for a full tear-off and replacement, disposal included. That is the roof most homeowners actually buy. The same job in other materials: Wood Shingle at $35,590, Metal at $34,999, Tile at $25,613, Slate at $54,258. Numbers come from BLS roofer wages times published labor hours plus tracked material prices, permit fees, and benchmarked overhead.

The material IS the price tier. Asphalt shingle ($14,568) is the common pick: lowest cost, 15 to 30 year life, every roofer installs it. Tile ($25,613, priced as concrete/ceramic tile) is the surprise of the ladder: a 50 year material that our index prices well below metal in every city, though it needs the structure to carry its weight. Metal ($34,999, priced as standing seam, the concealed-fastener system most residential metal buyers mean) runs 40 to 70 years and sheds snow and heat well. Wood shingle ($35,590) prices right at standing seam level, at or above it in nearly every metro we track, since cedar costs what cedar costs, and it wants regular maintenance on top. Slate ($54,258) is the century roof and priced like one. Flat roofs are a separate job priced on membrane, not shingles, at $8,392 for a typical 1,200 sq ft low-slope section, a smaller reference than the whole-roof prices above.

One square is 100 square feet of roof surface. Roofers bid in squares, and a typical single-family roof runs 20 to 30 squares. Two numbers drive your price: the square count and the pitch. Steeper roofs take longer, need more safety setup, and waste more material at cuts, so the same house footprint can price very differently under a steep roof.

Asphalt shingles: 15 to 30 years depending on shingle grade and climate. Wood shingles: 20 to 40 with maintenance. Metal: 40 to 70. Tile and slate: 50 to 100 plus, often outlasting the fasteners and underlayment beneath them, which is why old tile roofs get relaid rather than replaced. Heat, hail, and freeze-thaw cycles move every one of those ranges.

Usually yes for a full replacement, but the local rules vary more than almost any other trade. Some cities exempt like-for-like residential reroofs entirely, others exempt everything except tile or structural work, and cold-climate cities enforce ice and water shield requirements at inspection. Our city pages carry the local permit answer with the fee.

Decking is the big one. Nobody knows how much of the wood under your old shingles is rotten until tear-off, so a straight bid carries an allowance, then prices extra sheets per sheet. Our base price includes up to two sheets of decking replacement; a fair bid states its allowance and the per-sheet rate in writing. The other common adders: ice and water shield where code requires it, chimney and vent flashing, and steep-pitch charges.