5 Things You Need to Know About the Average Price to Replace a Roof 

In this post, the founder of Directorii.com, - Dmitry Lapinskiy, will review different roof sizes and prices across the U.S. Dmitry has been a roofing contractor for nine years. He sold his roofing business three years ago, and today, he's making videos like this to help educate homeowners and roofing contractors on anything related to roofing. This post is perfect for you if you're a homeowner and need a roof replacement. You'll learn about the average price to replace a roof and what to expect during the process.

How Is the Cost of Roofing Changing and When Will Roofing Prices Go Down? 

Roofs are more like car sales. You will never see roofing prices go down. In the last 30 years, roofing only has been increasing. While it's a commodity business, it's not like buying gas, where prices might fluctuate based on economy or materials. Gas or oil might go up or down.
 

Roofing prices usually stay up for two reasons.

Number one is materials never go down. 

Asphalt shingle manufacturers never lower their prices. And last year alone, we've seen about seven price increases, costing roofers about 30% more than the previous year. In the last twelve years, prices for asphalt shingles almost doubled. And it's the most popular material in the US. An estimated 80% of asphalt shingle roofs in the United States. As for the second reason that roofing prices will not go down, inflation and labor costs also never go down. Simply put, roofers would like to get paid more, not less. 

The Difference Between Lower Bidders and Higher Bidders 

You should be more worried and careful with lower bidders than with higher ones. You're more likely to get a bad deal when going with the cheapest bid. And if you look at the complaints reports, most problems happen with the cheapest bids and contractors who don't charge enough.
 

Average Cost for a New Roof in the U.S. in 2024 

Good to Know: Roofing Squares

So first, let's establish the average size and price and then build from there. This is a typical smaller house in the United States.
 

This one is actually in New Jersey, 2000 square feet, or 20 “roofing squares.” The roofing square is 10ft by 10ft or 100 sqft = 1 roofing square. 2000 sqft is 20 roofing squares. You'll hear it often from roofers, and we'll often refer to it here.
 

A typical roof is anywhere between 2000 to 2500 sqft. Everything is bigger in Texas. In Texas, the average roof will be more on a 3000 sqft level. In downtown metropolitan areas, Minneapolis, Chicago, and New Jersey, you will see a lot of smaller houses, about 1500 sqft. But the typical size is about 2000 to 2500 squares.
 

Average Price to Replace a Roof  

And so, if your roof looks like this, the average price in the United States is anywhere from $8000 to $10,000. This is 2024. Next year and years later, it will cost more. If you get a cheaper bid than the lowest end of the average price range ($8000), we recommend you be on alert. Keep in mind that the minimum cost of a roofing square is $400 to $500. If you pay less than the expected minimum, someone is probably cutting corners or not doing what they are supposed to be doing.

That's why we thoroughly vet all contractors listed on Directorii, so you'll get a fair price and the best deal in your area.

5 Factors That Affect Roofing Cost 

We'll explain what it costs to replace a roof in different parts of the country, what affects the price, how you can save money, and how to converse with your contractor.
 

Understanding Roofing Cost  

• Roofing is a complicated business and very competitive. 
• Labor has to be compensated. 
• Workers’ compensation has to be purchased. 
• Overhead has to be met. 
• Materials have to be paid.  

Hence, it's hard to do it for less. 

It will cost more to get a roof replaced in LA or New York City. Everything is more expensive in LA. You have different labor rules, have to buy work comp, and cannot use subcontractors. Both LA and New York City pose expensive roofing markets. Now, Texas Midwest will be a little bit less. Alabama and Atlanta will be a little bit less. But overall, you're getting the picture.
 

Now let us show you a few details. What will increase the price of your roofing job?
 

1. How A Steep Roof Can Cost You More 

If your roof looks like a dome like this, you will definitely pay more. Why? It will take way more time to go through all the different areas. You will pay more if your roof is steep and you cannot walk on it. How much more? Well, sometimes double. Why? Because roofers charge per day, and how many days will it take? If you have a 4/12 roof pitch and it's walkable. Roofers must tie themselves with the ropes for safety, but they can still walk. On some roofs, you can't do that. If it's 12/12, you're going to move much slower.
 

And most jobs are walkable. 20-30 squares will take you one day, while roofs like in the picture above might take a week. So, if you spend four more days on a project, think about all the labor that goes into it and the waste for all the shingles. Something like this will have a 20-30% waste factor. So you will pay double or triple the price for a roof like in the picture above.
 

In contrast, a typical gable roof like we've seen in the first picture will be 5% waste.
 

- Justin Dean Huber sent this picture. 

Here's an example of a very steep roof. You can see the details. You can see all of the gables and sharp corners. These details will add quite a bit of time to the production, while also making it tough to walk on.   

2. How The Height Of A Building Affects Its Roofing Costs 

Another factor that dramatically increases the roof replacement price is how tall the building is. There's a massive difference between one, two, and four stories.
 

This house right here is three stories high. 

Safety measures are on another level. Plus, you will spend way more time preparing everything on the ground to get materials and crew to clean and work overall. Everything on the top of the roof is going to take way longer. So, this house in the picture above is an excellent example of an expensive roof.

We asked our fellow roofer, Justin Dean, about the cost of this roofing replacement. He is in Cincinnati, Ohio. This job was $37,000, and it's 7,200 sqft. Very complex, very tall building. Roofs usually don't get much more complicated than this.

For that reason, a homeowner will pay 20-30% to 200% more than if the house has one level and a 4/12 roof pitch. Now, if your house looks like this, you should expect to pay about $40,000. If this house were in New York or California, the roof replacement would probably cost from $50,000 to $70,000.
 

Here’s another example of a big roof, 30 squares. This one comes from DT Roofing in Texas. This is your typical Texas roof. It's not as complex, not as many details. It's a one-story, 30-square roof. And this one, $7,000. It's way cheaper, but the price per square is similar to the previous one in Ohio.
 

Another cool roof with a pretty cool design. This roof is 58 squares, so you can now imagine how much this is going to be. I would probably estimate about $500 - $600 a square.
 

3. Waste Management 

Another reason the roofing cost may go up is waste management. This cedar roof is 146 squares—very complex. Make sure your roofer understands how much it takes to remove cedar shakes on a job like this.

After analyzing the picture, we have estimated that you will require approximately six to eight dumpsters. It is possible for a roofer with little experience working with cedar roofs to misjudge the number of dumpsters needed. Currently, the average cost of a dumpster is between $4,000 to $5,000. Therefore, it is essential to avoid any miscalculations as it could result in a costly mistake for the roofing contractor. In some cases, it could even lead to a loss of profit, and the contractor may request additional funds from you.

What we see with the complaints from homeowners, frequently when disputes happen, it is because of things like this. When a contractor makes a math error, he does not calculate all the expenses.

Avoid disputes with the contractor by ensuring they have good waste management practices.

4. How Many Layers Your Roof Has 

Another problem with cedar and asphalt roofs is how many layers your roof has. So if your roofing sales rep comes out and he's not thorough, he's not pulling up your shingles to see how many layers your roof has, he will lose money on the job. Because if you have two or three layers, it will double or triple the waste factor.
 

5. How Complex the Roof Is Influences the Cost of a New Roof  

Brian Espinosa sent us this picture. You can see the complexity of the job here. 

You see scaffolding. You see planks. Jobs like this will take ten times longer than a typical walkable roof not only because of how steep it is but also because of how complex and tall it is. This is a tricky one. So, if your house looks like this, please don't think about how many square feet the roof is. Think about complexity and how labor-intensive the project is going to be.
 

Example of an Easy Roofing Job 

Jarrett, one of our preferred contractors in Directorii, sent us this picture. You can see when a job is simple. When everything is open, you can offload it and move faster. Beautifully done job. Here's the final project.
 

How Directorii Can Help You Save Time And Money 

At Directorii.com, we provide a convenient service that allows you to send us a picture of your house, along with its address and location, and we will estimate the price for your roofing project. Our platform connects you with reliable roofing contractors who offer excellent deals on roofs. 

One reason contractors on our platform can offer total roof replacements at an affordable price is that they save big on marketing expenses. Advertising a roofing business can be expensive because of high Google rates, television advertising, and other costs. Roofing is a very competitive business, and we strive to make it more accessible for homeowners like you.
 

You Save Because Roofers Save With Us 

So when contractors list their businesses on Directorii and get endorsed by our platform, they can afford to pass the savings to you. Check out Directorii.com for all deals from our roofers.
 

Our $20,000 Guarantee 

We recommend and endorse every contractor. Every offer and every deal comes with our $20,000 Guarantee. If you find contractors on Directorii.com, you can call or contact us to claim your Guarantee.
We'll step in if the contractor doesn't do the job, doesn't have the capacity or knowledge to do it right, or is incapable of fixing their mistakes. We'll help you find a better contractor and fix the mistakes so you don't have to have those headaches.
 

We are here to help you find a good contractor. The roof is essential, and no one should have to endure headaches or end up hiring a bad contractor. We are here to help you in the best way we can. Start using Directorii today!