Roof replacement cost in San Francisco: what owners paid (2023 survey)
San Francisco owners paid a median $14,550 for roofing work: $4,550 above the U.S. median, third-highest of 15 big metros (Census Bureau, 2023). When owners hired it out, the middle half paid $10,000 to $26,000.
What San Francisco owners paid
$14,550
This is historical spending: work done in about 2021 to 2023 on owner-occupied homes, reported in the 2023 survey.
Margin of error ±$1,071: at 90% confidence the San Francisco median lies between $13,479 and $15,621.
Hired out: $15,000 typical, from 60 hired-out jobs in the survey sample.
How San Francisco compares
- U.S. median, same work
- $10,000
- Rank, highest first
- 3 of 15
San Francisco: $14,550. The big-metro medians run from $8,000 to $15,000.
A new roof in San Francisco at today’s prices
The figures above are what owners paid for work done in 2021 to 2023. Here is our estimate of a re-roof today, for the roof you enter in San Francisco: shingles and underlayment at one store’s posted price, the dumpster for the old roof and the permit, the crew’s time at what a roofer costs an employer, and the share of the price roofing contractors spend on overhead and keep as profit. Each figure says where it comes from, and the crew time and the overhead share are yours to change.
Filled in as an example: a 2,000 sq ft roof with one layer to tear off. Type over any of it with your own roof and your roofer’s figures.
Our estimate for this roof: $12,708, itemized below.
| Part | Cost | Where the figure comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Shingles: 66 bundles | $3,431 | GAF Timberline HDZ, Charcoal at $51.99 a bundle, Ward Lumber in Jay, NY, ; 10% extra for cuts |
| Underlayment: 3 rolls | $270 | GAF FeltBuster synthetic roofing felt at $90 a roll, A+ Roofing Supply in Sugar Hill, GA, |
| Tear-off: about 2 tons | $965 to $1,075 | A 20-yard dumpster with 2 tons and 10 days included, ZTERS’s posted price for the San Francisco area, . Standard bin: ask for a heavy-debris bin for shingles. Sized for 200 lb a square a layer, the weight of new shingles; an old roof with its felt and nails often weighs more. |
| Permit | Not added | San Francisco prices a building permit from the value of the work: from $2,000 to $50,000, a $310 plan review fee plus $28.35 for each further $1,000, and a $266 issuance fee plus $8.56 for each further $1,000 (schedule checked ). Your building department decides which fee a re-roof takes, so none is added here. |
| Labor: 60 worker-hours | $3,085 | 3 a square for 20 squares, at about $51 an hour, the employer’s cost of a roofer earning the median wage in the San Francisco area |
| Overhead and profit | $4,957 | 39% of the price, roofing contractors’ average in 2022, homes and commercial work together: what was left of their receipts after materials, work they subcontracted and their crews’ pay and benefits, for office staff, rent, insurance, vehicles, fuel, taxes and profit (Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census) |
| Our estimate from these inputs | $12,708 | Not a roofer’s price: what these parts, this crew time and this overhead share add up to. A fair quote can be higher, since it also pays for what is not counted here. Before sales tax and delivery. Not counted: starter strip, ridge cap, drip edge, nails, flashing and vents (the roofing calculator counts them from your roof’s edges), an ice barrier along the eaves where your code asks for one, new sheathing. |
What an hour costs: no public source prices a roofing crew by the job, so the estimate counts its time. Roofers in the San Francisco area earn a median $35.74 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Benefits make up 30.5% of what construction employers spend an hour on pay and benefits (all trades, BLS, June 2026), so an hour of a roofer at that wage costs an employer about $51.
Type a quote’s total above to set it against this estimate.
What San Francisco roof permits declared
San Francisco’s building permits for re-roofs of one- and two-family houses issued from October 2025 to September 2026 declared a median of $15,000; the middle half declared $11,000 to $20,500 (2,010 permits).
This is the cost of the work as the applicant estimated it on the permit, not an invoice or a final price. It counts every re-roof of a one- or two-family house, whatever the covering, flat roofs included, so some cover only part of the roof. Set it beside the estimate above and your written quotes.
Source: City and County of San Francisco, Building Permits (DataSF), read .
- Miami$16,000$12,000–$30,000
- Seattle$15,100$10,000–$25,000
- San Francisco$15,000$10,000–$26,000
- Los Angeles$14,300$7,500–$17,000
- Chicago$13,000$10,000–$20,000
- Dallas$12,000$7,000–$22,000
- New York City$12,000$8,000–$15,000
- Boston$11,000$6,300–$15,000
- Houston$10,800$7,100–$15,000
- Atlanta$10,000$6,000–$16,000
- Phoenix$10,000$4,000–$15,000
- Riverside$10,000$6,000–$14,300
- Washington DC$10,000$5,000–$15,000
- Detroit$9,000$6,000–$15,000
- Philadelphia$8,600$4,300–$12,000
A metro is shown when at least 30 hired-out jobs in the survey sample stand behind it.
What it covers
Every roofing job owners reported, all roof sizes and materials together: a small roof costs less, a large or steep one more.
The Census category is “Roofing” within “Exterior Additions and Replacements”: what San Francisco-area homeowners told the Census Bureau they paid, every size of job together.
Before you compare quotes
Ask every contractor to price the same scope, in writing. A quote outside the hired-out range above is a reason to ask what it covers, not proof that it is wrong. Are tear-off, decking repairs, flashing and disposal included?
Check the roofer’s license
California licenses roofers under the C-39 roofing classification. Check that the license is active before you sign. California Contractors State License Board: check a license (checked October 7, 2026).
Measure your job with the material calculator. Then put the quotes in the matching quote worksheet to see each one's scope beside its price.