Dataset · 2026 Q3 · published 2026-09-25
The Roof Cost Index
Installed roofing cost per square (100 sq ft) for every state and 263 metro areas, rebuilt each quarter from cited national cost tables and the Bureau of Labor Statistics roofer wage survey. Sort the table, switch material, cite it, download it.
Metros: Worcester, MA is the most expensive at $652; El Paso, TX the least at $389. Metro pages are linked from each state page.
Cost per square by state, 2026 Q3
| Rank | State | Low | Typical / square | High | Roofer wage (BLS) | Labor index | Metros |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois | $501 | $609 | $717 | $37.33/hr | 1.336 | 6 |
| 2 | New Jersey | $484 | $591 | $698 | $35.76/hr | 1.279 | 2 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $477 | $583 | $689 | $35.09/hr | 1.256 | 4 |
| 4 | Minnesota | $476 | $583 | $689 | $35.06/hr | 1.254 | 5 |
| 5 | New York | $458 | $563 | $667 | $33.34/hr | 1.193 | 10 |
| 6 | Washington | $455 | $560 | $665 | $33.11/hr | 1.185 | 11 |
| 7 | District of Columbia | $455 | $559 | $664 | $33.05/hr | 1.183 | 1 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $453 | $558 | $662 | $32.93/hr | 1.178 | 3 |
| 9 | Alaska | $453 | $558 | $662 | $32.91/hr | 1.177 | 1 |
| 10 | California | $448 | $552 | $656 | $32.41/hr | 1.160 | 22 |
| 11 | New Hampshire | $429 | $532 | $634 | $30.69/hr | 1.098 | 1 |
| 12 | Rhode Island | $428 | $530 | $633 | $30.57/hr | 1.094 | 1 |
| 13 | Maryland | $418 | $520 | $621 | $29.63/hr | 1.060 | 2 |
| 14 | Oregon | $417 | $519 | $620 | $29.57/hr | 1.058 | 7 |
| 15 | Michigan | $417 | $518 | $620 | $29.54/hr | 1.057 | 10 |
| 16 | Hawaii | $417 | $518 | $620 | $29.53/hr | 1.056 | 2 |
| 17 | North Dakota | $412 | $513 | $615 | $29.11/hr | 1.042 | 4 |
| 18 | Indiana | $409 | $509 | $610 | $28.75/hr | 1.029 | 9 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | $400 | $500 | $600 | $27.91/hr | 0.999 | 9 |
| 20 | Nevada | $396 | $496 | $596 | $27.62/hr | 0.988 | 2 |
| 21 | Montana | $394 | $494 | $593 | $27.41/hr | 0.981 | 4 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $391 | $491 | $590 | $27.15/hr | 0.971 | 11 |
| 23 | Missouri | $391 | $490 | $589 | $27.08/hr | 0.969 | 7 |
| 24 | Vermont | $391 | $490 | $589 | $27.08/hr | 0.969 | 0 |
| 25 | Colorado | $390 | $489 | $588 | $27.01/hr | 0.966 | 7 |
| 26 | Ohio | $387 | $486 | $585 | $26.76/hr | 0.957 | 10 |
| 27 | Delaware | $385 | $484 | $583 | $26.58/hr | 0.951 | 1 |
| 28 | Idaho | $380 | $479 | $577 | $26.11/hr | 0.934 | 4 |
| 29 | Maine | $377 | $475 | $573 | $25.82/hr | 0.924 | 3 |
| 30 | Kansas | $375 | $473 | $571 | $25.66/hr | 0.918 | 2 |
| 31 | Louisiana | $372 | $470 | $568 | $25.38/hr | 0.908 | 4 |
| 32 | Iowa | $369 | $466 | $564 | $25.04/hr | 0.896 | 4 |
| 33 | Utah | $366 | $463 | $561 | $24.80/hr | 0.887 | 5 |
| 34 | Virginia | $366 | $463 | $560 | $24.77/hr | 0.886 | 6 |
| 35 | West Virginia | $364 | $461 | $558 | $24.56/hr | 0.879 | 2 |
| 36 | Kentucky | $362 | $458 | $555 | $24.37/hr | 0.872 | 3 |
| 37 | Arizona | $361 | $458 | $555 | $24.33/hr | 0.871 | 3 |
| 38 | South Carolina | $359 | $456 | $552 | $24.13/hr | 0.863 | 6 |
| 39 | North Carolina | $358 | $455 | $551 | $24.06/hr | 0.861 | 10 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $356 | $453 | $549 | $23.89/hr | 0.855 | 2 |
| 41 | Oklahoma | $353 | $450 | $546 | $23.61/hr | 0.845 | 2 |
| 42 | Florida | $352 | $448 | $544 | $23.49/hr | 0.840 | 18 |
| 43 | Georgia | $350 | $446 | $542 | $23.29/hr | 0.833 | 5 |
| 44 | New Mexico | $348 | $443 | $539 | $23.07/hr | 0.825 | 4 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $347 | $443 | $539 | $23.04/hr | 0.824 | 3 |
| 46 | Alabama | $347 | $443 | $538 | $23.01/hr | 0.823 | 3 |
| 47 | Texas | $344 | $439 | $534 | $22.69/hr | 0.812 | 10 |
| 48 | South Dakota | $342 | $438 | $533 | $22.59/hr | 0.808 | 2 |
| 49 | Tennessee | $341 | $436 | $531 | $22.47/hr | 0.804 | 6 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $336 | $431 | $526 | $22.01/hr | 0.787 | 2 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $334 | $428 | $523 | $21.77/hr | 0.779 | 2 |
How the Index is built
For each area: cost_per_square = material + labor x labor_index, where labor_index = area BLS mean hourly wage for Roofers (SOC 47-2181, May 2025) / national mean hourly wage (27.95). material and labor are the national per-square material-only and labor-only ranges in cost-tables.json (HomeGuide splits); typical = midpoint of low and high. low uses the low ends, high the high ends. Headline material is architectural asphalt (material $100-$250, labor $300-$350 per square; national typical = 175 + 325 = $500). Ranks are by typical cost, 1 = most expensive. Nothing else is adjusted: no regional material pricing, no tear-off, permit or extras, no rounding beyond cents. Nonmetropolitan BLS areas are in the BLS file but not ranked here. Puerto Rico is excluded from both the state and metro rankings (its rows remain in bls-oes-47-2181.json).
Full sources, the pitch and waste assumptions, and every unit cost with its quote are on the methodology page. The Index is published by the Thomas Town Digital editorial team. We match homeowners with roofers; we do not roof.
Changelog
- 2026-09-25: First edition. BLS OES May 2025; cost tables retrieved 2026-09-25.
Past editions stay in the repository as index-<quarter>.json so every changelog entry can be reproduced.
Cite or embed
Attribution is the only condition (CC BY 4.0). Plain text:
According to the Roof Cost Index (2026 Q3), the typical installed cost of an architectural asphalt shingle roof in the United States is $500 per square, ranging from $609 in Illinois to $428 in Mississippi. Source: https://roofcostindex.com/index/
HTML:
<p>According to the <a href="https://roofcostindex.com/index/">Roof Cost Index (2026 Q3)</a>, the typical installed cost of an architectural shingle roof is $500 per square nationally, $609 in Illinois and $428 in Mississippi.</p>
Download the 2026 Q3 Index (JSON)
The JSON holds every state and metro row for all seven materials, the BLS wage per area, the labor index, ranks, inputs and the changelog.