Last updated October 31, 2026

How much to charge for roofing work in 2026

The hourly rate a one-truck roofer needs to charge, built from what roofers actually earn, a price list for 12 common jobs with the arithmetic shown, what moves the number, and the mistakes that cost the most.

Short answer: a one-truck roofing business that pays its owner what the median roofer earns, carries normal overhead, and keeps a 20 percent margin needs about $85 an hour. To pay yourself like the top quarter of roofers, charge about $90. Top ten percent, $105. Below $75 you are subsidizing the customer with your own wages. Every number on this page is built from published wage data and a model you can see, and the price list further down uses the $90 rate.

Roofing is priced by the square, 100 square feet of roof surface, and almost every number in the trade comes back to it: material per square, labor per square, tear-off per square per layer. A one-truck roofer rarely works alone, so the rate here is the per-person rate and a crew multiplies it. A three-person crew at the top-quarter rate is a labor line most homeowners have never seen written down, which is exactly why writing it down wins the job.

The wage for roofers is lower than plumbers or electricians, and the overhead is higher: the dump trailer, the fall protection, the workers comp rate that is among the highest of any trade, and the weather that erases billable days. The model's billable hours are generous for a roofer in a rainy market. The rate has to be built from your real days on a roof, not from a calendar.

What roofers earn, and what that means for your rate

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 135,490 people working as roofers in its May 2025 survey and published what they are paid. That is the wage an employer pays an employee, which is the floor for what an owner-operator should pay themselves. A rate is built on top of it: the hidden cost of an hour of labor, the overhead of running a truck, the hours you cannot bill, and a margin. The model here uses a 22% labor load for payroll taxes, workers comp and the liability share, $38,000 a year of overhead for the truck, insurance, phone, software, tools and licenses, 1,100 billable hours a year, and a 20% margin. Change any input and the rate moves; the hourly rate calculator runs it with your numbers.

If you pay yourself like the	BLS wage	Loaded	Overhead per hour	Rate to charge
Bottom quarter	$22	$27	$35	$75
Median	$27	$33	$35	$85
Top quarter	$31	$38	$35	$90
Top ten percent	$39	$48	$35	$105

Rate = (wage × 1.22 + $38,000 ÷ 1,100) ÷ (1 − 0.2), rounded to $5. Wages: BLS OEWS May 2025, roofers, national.

The $38,000 overhead reflects a truck and dump trailer, fall protection and ladders, a nail gun and compressor setup, and a workers comp premium that for roofing can run 20 to 40 percent of payroll in many states, which is why the labor load for a roofing crew is often higher than the 1.22 used here. If your comp rate is high, raise the load in the calculator and watch the rate move.

A roofing price list, with the math

Flat prices for the jobs roofers quote most, built the same way every time: hours at the $90 rate, plus materials at cost with a 30 percent markup, rounded to $5. The hours and material costs are example inputs for a typical job in a typical market, stated so you can swap in your own. A job with a crew of two doubles the labor line. Per-square prices are per 100 square feet of roof surface, measured on the slope, for a walkable pitch up to 6/12. Steeper pitch, two stories and multiple layers add hours. Crew labor is shown as total person-hours.

Job	Labor	Materials at cost	Price	What it assumes
Tear off one layer of shingles, per square	1 h	none	$90	Walkable pitch; disposal extra
Install architectural shingles, per square	2 h	$130	$350	Shingles, synthetic underlayment, nails; ice-and-water at eaves extra
Ice-and-water shield at eaves and valleys, per square	0.5 h	$65	$130	Required in cold climates
Ridge vent, per linear foot	0.1 h	$4	$15	Cut-in ridge, ridge cap included
Drip edge, per linear foot	0.05 h	$2	$5	Aluminum
Pipe boot replacement, each	0.75 h	$25	$100	Standard 3-in-1 boot
Chimney flashing, step and counter	6 h	$180	$775	Standard chimney, mortar cut, sealed
Skylight flashing kit install, each	3 h	$120	$425	Existing curb, kit supplied
Repair a leak, small area	3 h	$60	$350	Up to 20 sq ft, matching shingles
Replace decking, per 4x8 sheet	0.75 h	$45	$125	7/16 OSB; found during tear-off, priced per sheet on the bid
Install a standing-seam metal roof, per square	5 h	$550	$1,165	24-gauge panels, clips, underlayment; trim extra
Dumpster and disposal, per roof	0 h	$550	$715	20-yard dumpster, one layer; add $150 per extra layer

Price = hours × $90 + materials × 1.3. Trip or diagnostic fees, permits and disposal are extra lines.

This is a sample. The free price book builder prices the full roofing book, 35 jobs, with your own wage, overhead and margin, and gives you the PDF for the truck and the spreadsheet that keeps the formulas.

What moves the price

Pitch and stories. A 10/12 roof is not walkable and everything takes longer with more protection. A second story adds the lift. Many roofers add 15 to 30 percent per step of pitch above 6/12.
Layers. Each extra layer is another tear-off and another dumpster. Count the layers at the eave before quoting.
Decking. You cannot see rot until the shingles are off. Put a per-sheet price on the bid and say the count is set during tear-off. This single line prevents most roofing disputes.
Insurance jobs. Storm work is priced to the adjuster's scope, with supplements for what they missed. It is a different sales process with its own paperwork and timing.
Material prices. Shingle prices moved several times in 2024 and 2025. Quote from this week's supplier price and set the bid to expire in 14 days on big jobs.

Hourly, flat rate, or by the unit

By the square, always, with the components as separate per-square or per-foot lines: tear-off, underlayment, shingles, ice-and-water, ridge vent, drip edge, flashing. The customer sees a complete scope and can compare it to the other bids, which usually leave half of it out. The decking line is per sheet.

Flat price for repairs and flashing work, built from hours, because a leak repair is a half day whatever the roof size. A minimum charge for any roof visit, commonly $250 to $400, covers the ladder, the walk and the risk.

A worked roofing bid

A 24-square roof, two layers off, 6/12 pitch, one story, architectural shingles. Tear-off: 24 squares times two layers at one hour per square, 48 person-hours. Install: 24 squares at two hours, 48 person-hours. Ridge vent, drip edge, pipe boots, ice-and-water at eaves as their lines. Materials at cost from the supplier, marked up 20 to 30 percent. Dumpster $700 for two layers. Decking: $95 per sheet, count set at tear-off. Permit on its own line. Labor total of roughly 100 person-hours at the top-quarter rate from the table is a crew of four for about three days.

Most markets see $12,000 to $18,000 for this roof with architectural shingles, which is where the arithmetic lands. The sample roof replacement estimate shows the finished bid, and the roofing calculator gets the squares from the footprint and pitch.

The pricing mistakes that cost the most

Measuring the footprint and forgetting the pitch factor. A 2,000 square foot footprint at 6/12 is 22 squares of roof, not 20.
No decking line, so the four rotten sheets you found on day one become a fight on day three.
A bid with no expiration date in a year when shingles went up twice.
Pricing workers comp as if roofing were painting. The comp rate on a roofing crew can be the biggest line in your overhead.

Writing the price into a bid that gets signed

The number is half the job. The other half is a bid the customer can say yes to from their phone: the scope in lines, one price, the deposit and payment terms, the warranty, a date it expires, and a signature. The free roofing estimate template is laid out that way in PDF, Word and Excel, and How to bid roofing jobs covers the scope lines that keep you out of arguments. If you want the typing done for you, BidWriter Pro turns your notes into a clean bid your customer signs on their phone, with the deposit paid by card. $29 a month, 30 days free.

Sources and method

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Roofers, national percentile hourly wages and employment.
Rate model: labor load 1.22, overhead $38,000 a year, 1,100 billable hours, 20% margin. Hours and material costs in the price list are example inputs, not survey data. Prices are examples, not advice for your market.

Questions contractors ask

How much do roofers charge per square in 2026?

Built from BLS wages and this model, labor for tear-off and install runs about three person-hours per square, which at the top-quarter rate is roughly $$90 times three per square before materials. With architectural shingles and underlayment, installed prices of $450 to $750 per square are common across markets, higher for steep or multi-story roofs.

How do I price a roof replacement?

Measure the squares on the slope, count the layers, then price each component per square or per foot: tear-off, underlayment, shingles, ice-and-water, ridge vent, drip edge, flashing, plus the dumpster, the permit and a per-sheet decking line.

What is a fair minimum charge for a roof repair?

$250 to $400 is common. It covers the trip, the ladder, the walk and the risk of being on a roof for a small fix.

How much should I add for a steep roof?

Many roofers add 15 to 30 percent per step of pitch above 6/12, because nothing is walkable and every task needs tie-off. Two stories add the lift on top.

Should I include decking replacement in the price?

As a per-sheet line with the count set at tear-off. Including a guess invites a dispute either way; the per-sheet line is fair to both sides.

Write a roofing bid from your notes

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