How Much Does a New Roof Cost in Los Angeles?
Published figures for Los Angeles exist for one defined roof. The 2025 Cost vs. Value report put tearing off an old roof and installing 30 squares (3,000 square feet of roof) of asphalt shingles on a simple hip roof with two skylights at $36,417 in Los Angeles, and the same roof in standing-seam metal at $62,069. By our arithmetic, that's about $1,214 and $2,069 per square. Those are 2025 estimates built from price indexes and local cost data, not contract prices. The median re-roof permit in the City of Los Angeles is for 22 squares; at the report's shingle rate, that's about $26,700 as a first rough figure. A real roof's price moves with its size, the material, the layers coming off, the deck, the pitch and the details, and with the code items a Los Angeles re-roof has to meet, so the number that counts is a measured, line-item quote. This page sets out the published figures and what moves them as of October 2026.
How a price per square converts to a price per square foot is in price per square vs price per square foot, and why two quotes for the same house differ is in why roofing quotes differ.
The published Los Angeles figures
Cost vs. Value is Zonda's yearly report, published on the Journal of Light Construction's site; its 2025 edition is the latest there as of October 2026. It prices the same defined projects in each market.
| Project | Los Angeles | Pacific region | National | Los Angeles, per square |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asphalt shingle roof, 30 squares | $36,417 | $36,391 | $31,871 | about $1,214 |
| Standing-seam metal roof, 30 squares | $62,069 | $62,152 | $51,865 | about $2,069 |
The per-square figures are our arithmetic: the job cost divided by 30 squares. The report doesn't publish a per-square rate.
What the estimates cover. The asphalt project removes and disposes of the old roofing down to bare wood sheathing and installs 30 squares of fiberglass asphalt shingles weighing at least 235 pounds per square, with at least a 25-year warranty, over new 30-pound felt or an equivalent synthetic underlayment, with galvanized drip edge and mill-finish aluminum flashing. It assumes a rectangular hip roof, custom flashing at two average-size skylights and a custom cap at a vented ridge. The metal project is the same tear-off and roof shape, with an ice-barrier membrane at the perimeter, premium synthetic underlayment, and 3,000 square feet of prefinished standing-seam panels with matching drip edge, gable trim and vented ridge flashing.
How they're made. The report sets a national baseline from price indexes, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer and producer price indexes, the Bureau of Economic Analysis's personal consumption index and installer wages, and gets local variation from Verisk's XactRemodel cost data for each project. In Los Angeles, that puts the shingle roof about 14% above the national figure and the metal roof about 20% above it. What the same 2025 report says a new roof adds at resale is in does a new roof add home value?
From the report's roof to yours
The report's roof is simple: one layer off, a sound deck, a rectangular hip, two skylights. A real Los Angeles roof differs from it in ways that move the price.
| Factor | What changes | More |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Squares measured on the roof, with the pitch; the median City of Los Angeles re-roof permit is 22 squares, and half are between 16 and 28 | How roofers measure a roof |
| Material | Shingle line, tile, metal or a flat-roof system | Shingle roof cost; tile roof cost; flat roof cost; metal roof cost; roofing materials |
| What comes off | How many layers, and whether a new layer can go over the old one | Overlay vs tear-off |
| Deck | Rotted or spaced boards replaced; about one in five City of Los Angeles re-roof permits since 2023 was written over new sheathing | Rotted roof decking and your estimate |
| Shape and height | Steeper, taller or cut-up roofs differ from the report's simple hip | Roof pitch explained |
| Details | Skylights, chimneys, valleys, walls and vents to flash | Skylights during a re-roof |
| Code items | Underlayment, drip edge, flashing and attic ventilation to the current code | California re-roof code requirements |
| Cool roof | Replacing more than half the roof calls for a rated cool roof product in much of Los Angeles and anywhere in the City of Los Angeles | The cool-roof rule on a re-roof |
| Fire zone | A Class A roof in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone | The Class A roof rating |
| Permit | The re-roof permit and its inspections; in Los Angeles the fee is set by the stated value of the work | Roof permits in Los Angeles |
| Asbestos | A survey before the tear-off in the South Coast air district, and abatement if it finds asbestos | Asbestos testing before a tear-off |
| Solar | An existing array removed and reinstalled around the work | Solar removal and reinstall |
| Approvals | A historic district or an HOA can limit materials and add a review | Re-roofing in an HPOZ |
The permit figures are from our analysis of LADBS re-roof permits. Lines that quotes often leave out are listed in hidden costs in a roofing quote.
A rough starting budget
Before any quote, a per-square rate times your squares gives a first idea of the range. Applied to the sizes of most City of Los Angeles re-roofs, the report's 2025 shingle rate gives these figures.
| Roof | Squares | At about $1,214 per square |
|---|---|---|
| Smaller re-roofs (a quarter of permits are this size or less) | 16 | about $19,400 |
| The median re-roof permit | 22 | about $26,700 |
| The median in the San Fernando Valley | 25 | about $30,300 |
| Larger re-roofs (a quarter of permits are this size or more) | 28 | about $34,000 |
These are a starting point, not a quote. They assume the report's simple roof and its shingles, one layer off and a sound deck, at 2025 costs; tile, metal, a flat section, new sheathing or a steep second story change them. A measured quote is the only number that fits your roof.
Getting a real number
1. Have the roof measured in squares, with the pitch, rather than estimated from a photo.
- Get more than one quote. The state contractors board tells homeowners to get three bids.
- Compare them line by line, on the same scope, as set out in how to compare roofing quotes.
- Check the contract against California's home improvement rules, including a down payment of no more than $1,000 or 10%; see California roofing contract law.
Paying for it
- Financing: the options and what to check are in roof financing in California.
- Insurance: a policy pays when a covered event damages the roof, not for age and wear; see does insurance cover roof replacement?
- Taxes: whether a new roof is deductible is in is a new roof tax deductible?, and why it doesn't raise the property tax assessment in a new roof and property tax.
Frequently asked
How much does a new roof cost in Los Angeles?
What does a roof cost per square in Los Angeles?
Why does a roof cost more in Los Angeles than the national average?
How big is a typical Los Angeles roof replacement?
How do I get an accurate price for my roof?
Related reading
Sources & methodology
Code sections, rules and figures on this page come from the primary sources below. Codes, local requirements and product terms change; each was verified October 14, 2026.
- Journal of Light Construction, 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, Los Angeles, California
- Journal of Light Construction, Cost vs. Value 2025: Roofing Replacement, Asphalt Shingles (project description, June 20, 2025)
- Journal of Light Construction, Cost vs. Value 2025: Roofing Replacement, Metal (project description, June 21, 2025)
- Journal of Light Construction, Cost vs. Value 2025 Methodology (September 18, 2025)
- Los Angeles Municipal Code, Section 99.04.106.5, Cool Roof for Reduction of Heat Island Effect (as amended by Ordinance 187,208)
We measure the roof and price it line by line
Call (323) 844-7777. We measure your roof in squares, check the layers and the deck where we can, and write a line-item estimate that names the material, the code items and the permit. Have ready the address and a few photos of the roof.
Prepared by Cali Energy, October 14, 2026. This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, financial, engineering, or utility advice. Rates, incentives, codes, permit requirements, equipment specifications, prices, and program terms may change; figures and timelines are estimates, not guarantees. Confirm current requirements with the applicable utility, AHJ, program administrator, manufacturer, or a licensed professional. See our Content Disclaimer. Cali Energy · 19201 Parthenia St, Unit E, Northridge, CA 91324 · CSLB #1032379 (B, C-10, C-39)