KKV Labs

Free roofing calculator

Roofing labor cost per square calculator

Roofing labor cost per square is what your crew costs you for a day, fully loaded, divided by the squares they install that day, plus adders for steep pitch, tear off and height. A four person crew at the BLS median roofer wage of $26.65 an hour, with 30% burden and 8 hour days, installing 15 squares a day, costs about $74 a square before adders.

Your crew

people
$/ hr

Starts at the BLS median for roofers, May 2025.

%

Payroll taxes, workers comp, insurance, benefits.

hrs
sq

By the whole crew, on a normal tear off and reroof.

sq

1 square = 100 sq ft of roof.

Adders per square (example rates, use yours)

/ 12
/ 12
$/ sq
layers
$/ sq
stories
$/ sq
$/ sq

Cut up roof, long carry, anything else on your sheet.

Roofing labor cost per square

$98.91per square

$2,967 of labor for this 30 square roof, about 2.0 crew days.

Crew cost per day, loaded
$1,109
Install labor per square
$73.91
Steep adder (not applied)
$0.00
Tear off (1 layer)
$25.00
Height adder
$0.00
Other adder
$0.00
Labor cost per square
$98.91
Labor for the job
$2,967

This is your cost. To quote labor as a price, add your overhead and profit on top.

Chart

Labor cost per square by crew size and speed

At $26.65 an hour (BLS median for roofers, May 2025), 30% burden and 8 hour days. Install labor only, before any adders.

Roofing labor cost per square by crew size and squares per day
Crew output3 person crew4 person crew5 person crew6 person crew
8 squares a day$103.93$138.58$173.22$207.87
10 squares a day$83.15$110.86$138.58$166.30
12 squares a day$69.29$92.39$115.48$138.58
15 squares a day$55.43$73.91$92.39$110.86
18 squares a day$46.19$61.59$76.99$92.39
20 squares a day$41.57$55.43$69.29$83.15
25 squares a day$33.26$44.35$55.43$66.52

How it works

What the labor cost per square is made of

Install labor. Crew size times hourly pay, plus burden, times the hours in the day, divided by the squares the crew finishes. A crew that does 20 squares instead of 15 cuts the labor cost per square by a quarter, which is why crew speed matters as much as pay.

Adders. A flat amount per square for the things that slow a crew down: a steep pitch, each extra layer to tear off, and each story above the first. The calculator shows example rates; put in the ones on your own price sheet.

Cost, not price. The result is what the labor costs you. Your quote adds overhead (trucks, office, dumpsters, permits) and profit on top. If you pay a subcontract crew by the square, enter their rate as the install labor instead: set crew size to 1, hourly pay to their rate per square, burden to 0, and hours and squares per day to 1.

Questions

What roofers ask about this

What is a square in roofing?
100 square feet of roof surface, measured on the slope. A 2,400 square foot roof is 24 squares. Labor, shingles and underlayment are all priced by the square.
How do you calculate roofing labor cost per square?
Take what the crew costs you for a day, including taxes, workers comp and insurance on top of pay, and divide it by the squares the crew installs that day. Then add whatever the job carries on top: steep pitch, extra layers to tear off, extra stories.
What goes into labor burden?
Everything you pay on top of the wage: the employer share of Social Security and Medicare (7.65%), federal and state unemployment tax, workers compensation, liability insurance and any benefits. Workers comp is usually the biggest piece for a roofing company, so ask your insurer for your actual rate.
Why does a steep roof cost more per square?
The crew works slower. Past a certain pitch nobody walks the roof without roof jacks, staging or harnesses, and OSHA treats anything over 4 in 12 as a steep roof for fall protection. Set where your steep adder starts and how much it is in the calculator.
Should labor be priced on measured squares or squares with waste?
Either works if you are consistent. Many contractors price labor on the measured roof and add waste only to materials. Enter whichever number you quote from as the roof size.

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