Roof Replacement Cost in Seattle, Washington (2026)
Budget $7,350 to $16,275 for an asphalt roof on a 2,000 sq ft Seattle house. Against the $121,984 median income in Seattle, that is 3.1 to 6.9 weeks of work. Seattle gets 50.8 yearly precipitation, 58th highest of 213. Starting ranges, not quotes. Prices compiled June 2026.
Short answer: Seattle asphalt re-roofs land at $11,800 for the typical job (5.0 weeks of local pay at $121,984 a year). Expect $7,350 to $16,275 for asphalt and $17,850 to $42,000 for metal in Seattle.
Got a quote? See where it falls in Seattle
Compares your price per square foot with the Seattle installed range (tear-off and underlayment included). Not a judgment of any one roofer.
What would a Seattle roof cost per month?
Example rate only; your lender's offer will differ. For a Seattle home the principal is the local range for your size and material, and this is not a loan offer in Seattle or anywhere else.
How much life is left in my Seattle roof?
Typical lifespans are published ranges for each material; for a Seattle house, real life also depends on installation, attic ventilation and the weather Seattle gets.
Price your own roof in Seattle
Seattle prices sit 5% over the national base. A typical Seattle roof is 5.0 weeks of local pay, 208th heaviest of 213 cities.
- Same job at national base rates
- Difference in Seattle
- Extra tear-off included
How we calculated this
One sum produces the asphalt shingle range at the top of this page. You can redo it with a calculator.
| Step | What goes in | Value |
|---|---|---|
| National base, low end | 3-Tab Asphalt Shingles, $3.50 per sq ft × 2,000 sq ft | $7,000 |
| National base, high end | Architectural Asphalt Shingles, $7.75 per sq ft × 2,000 sq ft | $15,500 |
| Seattle cost index | Fixed for Seattle, not recalculated from wages | 1.05× |
| Seattle low | $7,000 × Seattle index 1.05 | $7,350, 3.1 weeks of Seattle pay |
| Seattle high | $15,500 × Seattle index 1.05 | $16,275, 6.9 weeks of Seattle pay |
| Seattle typical | Midpoint of the Seattle low and high, rounded to $50 | $11,800 |
- Where Seattle sits. The median index across the 213 cities we price is 0.89×. 189 of them are under 1.00× and 24 are over it.
- Roofer pay near Seattle. Shown above beside the price, from the BLS source. The index is not calculated from it.
Prices compiled June 2026, BLS pay OEWS May 2025. This is an estimate, not a quote. Why the range has a low and a high end and how the other materials are priced: full method, inputs and limits.
Cost by roofing material in Seattle
A typical asphalt roof in Seattle costs $11,800, which is 5.0 weeks of local pay and puts Seattle 208th of 213 for burden.
| Material | Weeks of pay | Typical | Share of home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Tab Asphalt Shingles in Seattle | 4.1 | $9,700 | 1.1% |
| Architectural Asphalt Shingles in Seattle | 5.5 | $12,850 | 1.4% |
| Metal (Steel/Aluminum) in Seattle | 10.5 | $24,700 | 2.7% |
| Standing Seam Metal in Seattle | 14.3 | $33,600 | 3.7% |
| Concrete Tile in Seattle | 9.4 | $22,050 | 2.4% |
| TPO / EPDM in Seattle* | 2.7 | $6,300 | 0.7% |
* Flat-roof prices are per 1,000 sq ft, not for a whole 2,000 sq ft house. Rated life: 3-Tab Asphalt Shingles 15–20 years; Architectural Asphalt Shingles 25–30 years; Metal (Steel/Aluminum) 40–70 years; Standing Seam Metal 50–70 years; Concrete Tile 40–50 years; TPO / EPDM (flat roofs) 15–25 years. How we calculated these prices · Sources
What weather does to a Seattle roof
- Freeze-thaw days. Water gets under shingles at night and expands as ice.
- Days at 90F or hotter. Heat bakes the oils out of asphalt and loosens sealant strips.
- Days with an inch of rain. Heavy rain tests flashing, valleys and gutters.
- Yearly precipitation. More water means more years of wet decking.
Rank 1 is the most days or inches among the cities we cover. Values are 2014–2023 averages of a 50 km grid cell around Seattle. Source: NASA POWER (MERRA-2/IMERG reanalysis, daily point data), 2014–2023
Repair or replace in Seattle
Seattle homes sit 52 years from the median build year of 1974. An original roof that old is past the 25–30 years architectural shingles are rated for, so in Seattle a repair mostly buys time. 54.2% of Seattle homes predate 1980, so some roofs on the street are second or third generation.
| Job | Cost | Weeks of pay |
|---|---|---|
| Small repair in Seattle | $700 | 0.30 |
| Larger repair in Seattle | $3,150 | 1.3 |
| Half of a new roof (50% rule) in Seattle | $5,900 | 2.5 |
| One year of roof life in Seattle | $429 | 0.18 |
The last row prices one year of roof life in Seattle: a typical architectural roof divided by its rated 25–30 years. A repair is worth paying for when it buys at least as many years as its cost divided by that figure. The 50% rule is a common rule of thumb, not a law.
Seattle against nearby Washington cities
1 neighbors share 1.05×, against Seattle's 1.05×. Closest is Spokane, about 228 mi out.
| City | Weeks of pay | Price vs here | Contractors (verified) | Hail events, since 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle (this page) | 5.0 | — | 15 (15) | — |
| Spokane roofers ≈228 mi from Seattle |
9.3 | same | 29 (16) | 5 |
On the cost index Seattle sits at 1.05×, and a Seattle roof takes 5.0 weeks of its pay, rank 208 of 213.
What a re-roof costs against home values in Seattle
Share of median home value
In Seattle a typical re-roof takes 1.3% of the $912,100 median home value. Only 1 cities carry a lighter ratio.
Source: Census ACS (Seattle city), 2019–2023How old the homes are
Share of homes built before 1980.
54.2% of Seattle homes predate 1980. A roof that Seattle homebuyers never replaced since the median build year of 1974 is 52 years old. Oldest-first, Seattle stands #67 of 213.
Source: Census ACS (Seattle city), 2019–2023If insurance covers the damage
Estimates against Seattle's $7,350–$16,275 range. General information, not legal advice. How claims work →
| Your deductible | Weeks of Seattle pay | Out-of-pocket |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | 0.21 weeks in Seattle | $500 |
| $1,000 | 0.43 weeks in Seattle | $1,000 |
| $2,500 | 1.1 weeks in Seattle | $2,500 |
The Seattle roofing market
Seattle had 737,015 residents in the 2020 Census. In the Census Bureau's 2019-2023 survey the city's median year built is 1974, 54.2% of its housing units were built before 1980, 44.2% of occupied units are owner-occupied, and the median owner-occupied home is worth $912,100. Under Seattle's Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) rules, re-roof work on a one- or two-family home or townhouse needs no permit if nothing changes in the building envelope other than adding or replacing insulation, and needs a construction permit if the work alters the envelope in any other way. Commercial and multifamily re-roofs need a re-roof permit, closed with an Affidavit-Roof Replacement and no on-site inspection. Where single-family and duplex roof permits were pulled, the 2025 median declared project cost was $16,820 across 254 permits (declared on the application, not the invoice). Washington has no separate roofing license; every construction contractor registers with the state's Labor and Industries (L&I) department with a surety bond ($30,000 for general contractors, $15,000 for specialty contractors) and liability insurance ($200,000 public liability and $50,000 property damage, or $250,000 combined single limit). Because a one- or two-family re-roof may need no permit, no permit inspection backs the work, so look the business up on L&I's contractor lookup (secure.lni.wa.gov/verify) before you sign.
Roofing companies in Seattle's county
- 206roofing establishments with paid employees
- 1,839paid roofing employees
- 62.6%have fewer than 5 employees
- 8.9employees per firm on average
62.6% of the county's roofing firms have under 5 staff, 1 points below the 194-city median of 64%. Firms average 8.9 paid staff.
Source: Census CBP, 2023On PickARoofer: 15 roofing contractors listed in Seattle, 15 verified against a public registry. See them
What roofers earn here
A roofer in the Seattle metro earns a median $64,090 a year, $3,450 above the $60,640 statewide median. 8 of 145 metros pay more than the Seattle area.
Source: BLS OEWS, roofers, May 2025License and permit in Washington
Seattle roofers: State contractor registration required.
Check a Seattle roofer in the Washington registry
15 contractors listed in Seattle carry a Verified badge on PickARoofer.
Permit: Seattle's building office. General information, not legal advice.
Source: verification methodSeattle roof bill in weeks of pay
Weeks of median household income
The median Seattle household earns $121,984 a year, or $2,346 a week. A Seattle asphalt re-roof, typically $11,800, takes 5.0 weeks of that.
Spokane ($11,800 typical, 228 miles away) takes 9.3 weeks of its own pay, 4.3 weeks more than Seattle.
207 of 212 other cities ask for more, 5 for less.
Sum for Seattle: $11,800 ÷ ($121,984 ÷ 52) = 5.0 weeks.
Source: Census ACS (Seattle city), 2019–2023Areas PickARoofer contractors serve in Seattle
- Ballard
- Capitol Hill
- Columbia City
- Wallingford
- Beacon Hill
ZIP codes: 98103, 98115, 98118, 98122, 98125.
Roof cost in Seattle: questions
In Seattle, what does a roof replacement cost?
In Seattle, how many weeks of pay is a new roof?
In Seattle, should I repair or replace my roof?
For a Seattle home, is a re-roof a big bill?
Does a Seattle roofer need a license?
For a Seattle roof, who pulls the permit?
How many roofing firms work near Seattle?
More for Seattle
Cite this page
Data version: Prices compiled June 2026. Free to quote with credit under CC BY 4.0.