Roof replacement cost by city
| City | Roofing permits | Usual filed value | Middle half of firms' usual job | Usual days, issue to final | Reached final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland, OH | 4,923 | $10,500 | $8,000–$12,850 | 91 | 78.3% |
| Boulder, CO | 2,516 | $11,500 | $9,398–$16,000 | 41 | 86.3% |
| Saint Paul, MN | 16,928 | $12,600 | $9,550–$15,552 | 128 | 76.2% |
| Minneapolis, MN | 18,620 | $13,000 | $9,660–$16,057 | 85 | 93.0% |
| Anaheim, CA | 1,970 | $13,900 | $11,500–$16,000 | 16 | 96.4% |
| San Diego County, CA (unincorporated) | 1,584 | $14,825 | $11,860–$17,790 | 41 | 80.4% |
| San Francisco, CA | 9,537 | $15,275 | $11,000–$19,600 | 36 | 87.3% |
| Miami, FL | 6,585 | $16,250 | $12,996–$20,400 | 38 | 97.5% |
| Sacramento County, CA | 5,397 | $16,575 | $13,900–$20,000 | 19 | 88.1% |
| Citrus Heights, CA | 1,850 | $16,560 | $13,286–$19,590 | 21 | 85.4% |
| Cape Coral, FL | 2,018 | $17,200 | $14,875–$24,000 | 39 | 98.4% |
| Denton, TX | 595 | $17,353 | $13,634–$20,000 | 39 | 90.0% |
| Cambridge, MA | 766 | $18,000 | $14,800–$24,129 | 17 | 92.4% |
| Elk Grove, CA | 572 | $18,350 | $14,849–$24,500 | 15 | 97.5% |
| Chicago, IL | 1,586 | $18,693 | $11,475–$23,000 | 207 | 64.7% |
| Marin County, CA (unincorporated) | 1,943 | $20,421 | $16,500–$25,000 | 58 | 85.9% |
Each city's own page lists every roofer with its usual job and finished share: Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Miami, Sacramento County, San Francisco, Cleveland, Cape Coral, Marin County.
Read the range, not just the middle
The "middle half of firms" column is the number to hold a quote against. It takes every roofer with three or more permits, finds each firm's usual job, and shows the band the middle 50% of firms sit in. Roofing bands are narrow compared with remodels: in Minneapolis, 721 roofers' usual jobs sit mostly between $9,660 and $16,057; in Miami, 498 roofers sit mostly between $12,996 and $20,400. A quote well above the top of your city's band is not wrong, but it should come with a reason you can see: a steep or cut-up roof, tile or metal, new sheathing, or a second layer to tear off.
Three rules move the price, and each is written down:
- Overlay or tear-off. The International Residential Code bars a new covering where the roof "has two or more applications of any type of roof covering", where the old roof is water-soaked or deteriorated, or over slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile (IRC R908.3.1.1, quoted by the City of East Point, Georgia). Second re-roofs are always tear-offs.
- Sheathing. Bellevue, Washington requires a permit for "roofing projects that include modifying or replacing the sheathing" (City of Bellevue, read 21 October 2026). Rotten decking found mid-job is the usual reason a final bill beats the quote, so ask for the per-sheet price in writing.
- Florida's partial-roof rule. For roofs built or replaced under the 2007 Florida Building Code or later, when 25% or more of a roof section is repaired or replaced, "only the repaired, replaced, or recovered portion" must meet the current code (Florida Statutes § 553.844(5), 2026). That keeps some Florida jobs a repair rather than a full replacement; our roof repair vs replacement guide covers the decision.
How long the permit stays open
The days column runs from permit issue to final inspection. Sacramento County (19 days), Elk Grove (15) and Anaheim (16) close roofing permits within a few weeks. Chicago (207) and Saint Paul (128) take months, and only 64.7% of Chicago roofing permits a year or more old reached a final. The roof itself went on in days in all of them; the gap is mostly how fast the final gets booked. An unfinaled roofing permit stays on the address and turns up at sale time, so put "permit closed with a final inspection" in the contract.
Who files roofing permits
A few firms do much of the work in most cities. In Cleveland the five busiest roofers held 15.6% of roofing permits; in Minneapolis, 1,483 firms filed 18,620 permits, and 171 of those firms now show an expired, suspended, revoked or terminated Minnesota licence. Storm years bring out-of-town crews, which is when that check matters most. Our roofer hiring guide lists the licence to ask for in each state.
Check a roof quote in five minutes
- Open your city's roofing cost page from the links above and find the middle-half range.
- Put your quote next to it. Inside the band: normal. Above it: ask which of the three rules above applies.
- On the Minneapolis roofing compare page (or your city's), find the roofer and read its permits and finished share.
- Ask whether the quote includes the permit and tear-off of every existing layer.
See every Minneapolis roofer by finished share →
What these numbers cannot tell you
The filed value is the contractor's own figure, filed before the work; some file labour only, and nobody audits it. Cities record no roof area, pitch or material, so there is no honest per-square-foot figure here. Seattle is left out of the table because it does not require re-roof permits for one- and two-family homes, so its roofing permits lean toward apartments and commercial roofs (Seattle SDCI, read 21 October 2026); Bellevue and Sugar Land record no values. Repairs below a city's permit threshold, and any re-roof done without a permit, are not in the record at all.
How we know this
Roofing permits are those each city files under a roofing or re-roof work type over its three-year window ending September 2026 (a few cities end earlier; each city page names its window). The usual filed value is the median of permits that carry one; the middle-half range uses firms with three or more roofing permits; "reached final" is the share of permits a year or more old that the city closed with a final; days is the median from issue to final. Code and permit rules are quoted from the pages under Sources, read 21 October 2026.
Numbers come from City of Miami building permits (since 2014); City of Minneapolis construction permits (CCS); City of Saint Paul approved building permits; Sacramento County building permits on single-family, duplex and townhouse homes in the unincorporated county (the County's Accela permit layer); San Francisco DBI building permits on one- and two-family homes, with the contractor from the city's permit contacts file; City of Cleveland building permits; City of Cape Coral building permits (the city's open permit table starts January 2025); Marin County Community Development Agency building permits on homes in unincorporated Marin (the County's open-data permit and inspection files), data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How much does a roof replacement cost?
Going by permits, the usual roofing job was filed at $10,500 in Cleveland, $13,000 in Minneapolis, $16,250 in Miami, $16,575 in Sacramento County and $20,421 in Marin County. Those are the roofers' own filed values for whole jobs, so a big or steep roof sits above them.
- How much does a roof cost per square foot?
The permit record does not say: cities record a job value, not the roof area, so we cannot divide one by the other honestly. Ask each roofer to quote per square (100 square feet) and in total, then compare the total to the middle-half range for your city in the table above.
- How long does a roof replacement take?
The work is usually days; the permit takes longer to close. The usual roofing permit went from issue to final in 19 days in Sacramento County, 38 in Miami, 85 in Minneapolis and 128 in Saint Paul.
- Can a new roof go over the old one?
Only once. The International Residential Code (R908.3.1.1) bars a new covering over two or more existing layers, over a water-soaked or deteriorated roof, or over slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. A tear-off costs more, so ask every roofer whether the quote is an overlay or a tear-off.
- Does a roof replacement need a permit?
In most of the cities here, yes. Seattle is an exception for houses: it does not require a re-roof permit for one- and two-family homes unless the building envelope changes beyond insulation. Bellevue requires one when the sheathing is modified or replaced. Check your own city's page before you assume either way.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- How long does a roof last? Lifespans by material, and how many roofs get replaced
- Hiring a roofer: 5 red flags and 10 questions, checked against roofing permits in 28 cities
- How to finance a roof, heat pump or solar: FHA, USDA, PACE and state loans compared
- Window replacement cost in 2026: what window permits were filed at in 16 cities
For one city
- Re-Roof Permit — Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (accessed 2026-10-21)
- 2018 IRC Building Guide: Residential Re-Roof — City of East Point, GA (quoting IRC R908.3.1.1) (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Florida Statutes § 553.844 Windstorm loss mitigation; requirements for roofs (2026) (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Work requiring permits — City of Bellevue, WA (accessed 2026-10-21)