How Much Does a Roof Replacement Cost?

A full asphalt shingle replacement on a typical US single-family home often lands in a national planning range of $5,500–$22,000 installed, with many straightforward jobs clustering around $8,500–$15,000. That spread is a budgeting tool. It is not a bid, and it is not a prediction of the number a roofer will write for your address.

The typical band assumes architectural asphalt shingles, tear-off of a single layer, new underlayment, and ordinary flashing on a house a crew can stage without heroic access. Designer shingles, metal, and tile are different products with different bands. This guide does not price them.

What the range includes

Count on labor, shingles, underlayment, drip edge, pipe boots, ridge vent or an equivalent ventilation plan, nails, dump fees for one layer, and a permit where the city requires one. Ice-and-water shield in cold-climate eaves is common and usually sits inside a normal bid, not as a surprise line — ask anyway.

The range does not include a new deck across the whole roof, structural repairs, skylight replacement, chimney rebuilds, or interior drywall from a leak you already have. Those show up after tear-off more often than homeowners expect. A useful bid states a per-sheet price for plywood so the allowance is not a blank check.

What moves the price

Driver	How it changes the bid
Roof size	Price tracks squares. A rambling one-story house can cost more than a compact two-story with the same living area.
Pitch and height	Steeper slopes and a second story slow the crew and add fall protection.
Layers and decking	A second layer means more tear-off. Soft plywood is billed once it is visible.
Material	Three-tab is cheaper and less common on new work. Architectural asphalt is the usual mid tier. Metal and tile leave this band.
Penetrations	Chimneys, skylights, and dead valleys add flashing time.
Region	Labor and disposal fees vary widely. A high-cost metro can clear the top of the national spread on an otherwise simple roof.

A “price per square” you saw online is not a bid. Installed architectural asphalt often discussed in the mid hundreds of dollars per square is only a cross-check after you know how many squares you have, and it still ignores tear-off and decking.

DIY or hire

Hire for a replacement. A roof is a fall hazard, the disposal is a real line item, and many shingle warranties expect a manufacturer-credentialed installer. Ventilation that is skipped to save a day shows up later as curled shingles and hot attics.

DIY fits small, specific repairs: replacing a handful of damaged shingles, reseating a pipe boot, or clearing a valley of debris if you can do it safely. If you are pricing a ladder, a harness, and a dumpster for a whole house, you are pricing a contractor’s job without the crew.

Repair or replace

Repair when the leak is local, the shingles are not brittle across the field, the roof is well under a typical 20–30 year asphalt life, and the deck feels solid from the attic. Flashing and boots fail before the field does. Replacing a boot is not a reason to reshingle the house.

Replace when granules are filling the gutters, shingles are curled or cracked on more than one slope, you already have two layers, the deck is sagging or soft, or a storm damaged a large area. If a repair quote is a large fraction of a replacement quote, price both in writing. A patch on a roof that is near the end of its life buys a season, not a decade.

Get someone on the roof, or at least in the attic, before you decide. A ceiling stain does not tell you whether the deck is sound.

How to use this number

Ask two or three roofers for written bids that state the manufacturer and line, the number of layers to be removed, underlayment type, ventilation, flashing scope, and the decking allowance. Compare those bids with the national spread, then ask which driver explains a number outside it.

A very low bid often omits tear-off, uses a builder-grade shingle you did not ask about, or assumes the deck is perfect. A high bid may be a steep, cut-up roof in an expensive labor market — or a premium product. The only price that applies to your house is the written local quote. See how these ranges are built.