A full asphalt shingle roof replacement costs about $560 per square installed in 2026, and most jobs fall between $380 and $900 per square. A square is 100 ft² of roof surface. A 25-square roof, a common size for a single-story house of 1,800–2,000 ft², comes to about $14,000, with bids between $9,500 and $22,500.
Below: how to count the squares on one house, what the base price includes and leaves out, how location changes it, what moves a bid inside the range, and how to check a quote line by line.
Figures are typical US installed prices for asphalt shingle roofs in 2026, not a quote. Sources are listed at the end.
Why published averages disagree
The numbers in search results for this question do not agree with each other. NerdWallet, citing Angi, puts the average replacement at $9,500 with a range from about $5,800 to $46,000 (updated September 2025).
An average taken across roofs of every size, pitch and material cannot place one house inside a range that wide. Roofers remove size from the comparison by pricing per square, and that is the unit every figure on this page uses.
Step 1: Count the squares
Roofers price roof area, not floor area. Three corrections turn a floor plan into roof area:
- Use the footprint. A two-story house with 3,000 ft² of living space sits on a footprint of about 1,500 ft².
- Add the overhang. Eaves and rakes usually extend 12–24 inches past the walls on every side.
- Multiply by the pitch factor. A sloped plane is larger than the ground it covers.
| Pitch | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 4/12 | 1.054 |
| 6/12 | 1.118 |
| 8/12 | 1.202 |
| 10/12 | 1.302 |
| 12/12 | 1.414 |
The multiplier is √(1 + (rise ÷ 12)²), so it can be worked out for any pitch. The roof pitch multiplier chart lists every common pitch, and how many squares is my roof covers hips, dormers and measuring from the ground.
Worked example. A single-story ranch measures 60 × 30 ft, with an 18-inch overhang and a 6/12 pitch. With the overhang, the roof covers 63 × 33 = 2,079 ft² of ground. Multiplied by 1.118, that is 2,324 ft² of roof, or 23.2 squares.
Step 2: Multiply by the price per square
| Per square | Example house, 23.2 squares | |
|---|---|---|
| Low end | $380 | $8,816 |
| Typical | $560 | $12,992 |
| High end | $900 | $20,880 |
The base price includes tear-off of one layer, synthetic underlayment, architectural shingles, starter strip, ridge cap, drip edge, nails, disposal and labor.
It does not include decking replacement, rebuilt flashing at chimneys or skylights, structural repair, or permits. Those lines are covered in Step 4, and they are usually what separates a low bid from a complete one.
By house size
For a single-story house at 6/12 pitch with an 18-inch overhang:
| House floor area | Roof squares | Range | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,200 ft² | ~17 | $6,460 – $15,300 | $9,520 |
| 1,500 ft² | ~21 | $7,980 – $18,900 | $11,760 |
| 2,000 ft² | ~27 | $10,260 – $24,300 | $15,120 |
| 2,500 ft² | ~33 | $12,540 – $29,700 | $18,480 |
| 3,000 ft² | ~40 | $15,200 – $36,000 | $22,400 |
For a two-story house, use the row for half the floor area. The conversion for other sizes and pitches is in roof replacement cost by house size.
Step 3: Adjust for location
About 60% of a re-roof price is labor. Labor is the part that changes with location; a bundle of shingles costs roughly the same in every state.
The adjustment uses one published figure: the Bureau of Labor Statistics mean annual wage for roofers (OEWS, May 2025, SOC 47-2181). The national mean is $58,140.
Price per square in a state = $560 × (0.4 + 0.6 × state roofer wage ÷ $58,140)
| Location | Roofer mean wage | Price per square | Example house, 23.2 squares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | $45,280 | $486 | $11,268 |
| United States | $58,140 | $560 | $12,992 |
| Illinois | $77,650 | $673 | $15,608 |
Roofer pay in Illinois is 71% higher than in Mississippi, but the roof costs 39% more, because only the labor share scales. Every state is worked out in roof replacement cost by state, and the calculator on the shingles page prices a specific city using metro-area wages.
Step 4: Add the lines the base price leaves out
| Line | Typical price | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Rotten decking | $75–$150 per 4 × 8 sheet, installed | Found only after tear-off; 0–3 sheets is common on a sound roof |
| Second-layer tear-off | $50–$150 per square | The roof was shingled over once before |
| Ice barrier at the eaves | Priced as a membrane line | Cold-climate jurisdictions, under IRC R905.1.2 |
| Chimney or skylight flashing rebuild | Quoted per penetration | Old flashing, or a leak at that penetration |
| Permit | Set by the city or county | Most jurisdictions require one for a full re-roof |
For the example house, three sheets of decking at $100 each bring the typical total to $13,292. If the house already has two layers, removing the second adds $1,160–$3,480 (23.2 squares × $50–$150).
Decking is the line most often missing from a low bid, because nobody can count bad sheets before the old shingles are off. Roof decking replacement cost covers the contract wording that keeps it fair. Whether to remove a second layer at all is settled in tear-off vs roofing over, and the eave membrane rules are in ice and water shield requirements.
What moves a bid inside the range
Two roofs with the same number of squares can be priced thousands of dollars apart. Almost all of the difference is labor:
- Pitch. A crew walks a roof up to about 6/12. From 8/12, roof jacks or harnesses are required and the work slows. Typical labor multipliers are 1.15–1.25 at 7/12–8/12 and 1.6–2.0 at 12/12 and steeper.
- Stories. A second story adds 10–20% to labor: longer carries, and a dumpster further from the eave.
- Roof shape. Valleys, dormers, chimneys and skylights all need flashing, which is the slowest part of the job and the place most leaks start.
- Access. No spot for a dumpster near the roof edge, or landscaping that has to be protected, adds hours.
Pitch and number of stories are fixed by the house, so they can be checked before any quote arrives. The full pitch table is in labor cost to install shingles.
Material changes the price per square
Every figure above is for architectural asphalt, the default on most US houses.
| Material | Installed per square | Expected life |
|---|---|---|
| Three-tab asphalt | $300–$450 | 15–20 years |
| Architectural asphalt | $380–$900 | 22–30 years |
| Standing-seam metal | $900–$1,600 | 40–60 years |
| Concrete tile | $1,000–$1,800 | 40–60 years |
| Slate | $1,500–$4,000 | 75–150 years |
Impact-rated (Class 4) asphalt costs more than standard architectural shingles; in hail regions many insurers discount premiums for it, so the insurer's actual discount belongs in the comparison. Tile and slate weigh several times as much as asphalt, and a house framed for asphalt needs a structural check before either goes on.
Cost per year of service changes the comparison more than the price per square does: see cost to replace a roof by material and metal roof vs shingles cost.
Reading a roofing quote
Divide each quote's total by its square count before comparing anything else. If two contractors measured different square counts, settle the measurement first.
A complete quote states:
- The number of squares measured, and the pitch
- The shingle manufacturer and product line
- The underlayment type, and an ice barrier where the code requires one
- Drip edge, starter strip, ridge cap and ventilation
- How many layers come off, and disposal
- A decking allowance (for example, up to 3 sheets) and a per-sheet rate beyond it
- Who pulls the permit
- The workmanship warranty, in years
Three warning signs:
- No square count. The quote cannot be compared with any other.
- "Decking replaced as required" with no unit rate. The final price has no ceiling.
- A total well under $380 per square. A line from the list above is usually missing, most often decking or tear-off.
Gutters, fascia and soffit are separate jobs. When they are quoted together with the roof, ask for them as separate lines so the roof's price per square stays comparable.
Repair instead of replace
A local roof repair usually costs $400–$1,500. Repair is the better spend when the roof is under about 75% of its expected life, the damage covers less than about 30% of one roof plane, and the deck underneath is sound. A sagging or soft deck, or leaks in several places, points to replacement. The four tests, and the one that overrides the others, are in repair or replace a roof.
The short version
- Squares = (footprint with overhang × pitch multiplier) ÷ 100.
- Base price = squares × $560, inside a range of $380–$900.
- Location = $560 × (0.4 + 0.6 × state roofer wage ÷ $58,140) per square.
- Add decking at $75–$150 per sheet, a second-layer tear-off at $50–$150 per square, flashing rebuilds and the permit.
- Compare quotes by price per square, and only after checking that each one lists the same lines.
Where these numbers come from
- Price per square: published 2026 installed pricing for asphalt shingle roofs, $3.50–$10.00 per ft² of roof. This site uses $380–$900 per square, with $560 as typical, for the scope listed in Step 2.
- Labor share and location: labor taken as 60% of the installed price. Roofer wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 47-2181.
- Pitch multipliers: geometry, √(1 + (rise ÷ 12)²).
- Tear-off: $50–$150 per square, Fixr, updated January 21, 2026.
- Decking: $75–$150 per sheet, SquareDash, updated April 9, 2026.
- Pitch labor multipliers and other materials: typical US contractor pricing. Confirm against local bids.
- Published average: NerdWallet, citing Angi, updated September 16, 2025.