Cost · Massachusetts
What a New Roof Costs in Massachusetts
Nobody can price a roof without measuring it, and no public source gives a Massachusetts price. What the code adds to a replacement here, what the permit costs, and the figures public records do give, are below.
New Roofing Costs connects homeowners with independent local roofing contractors. We do not perform roofing work.
This number connects homeowners who are planning a new roof or a full roof replacement with independent local roofing contractors. It is not for leak repairs or patch jobs. The call must come from the homeowner who decides on the roof. Calls may be recorded.
What public records say
In 2025 the City approved 963 roofing permits for one- and two-family homes. The median value declared on them was $14,000, and the middle half fell between $9,600 and $20,000. A declared value is the applicant’s own estimate on the permit, not a quote.
West Roxbury’s 02132 had the most, 120 permits with a median declared value of $12,560; then 02136 with 114, 02124 with 107 and 02131 with 101 (Analyze Boston, approved building permits, work type ROOF).
That is Boston only; no statewide figure is published. Roof replacement in Boston.
Price ranges on other sites for towns in Massachusetts are modeled from national averages. This site does not print a price it cannot source; the written estimate from a contractor who has measured the roof is the number that counts.
What moves the price in Massachusetts
01 · Tear-off or recover
A new roof may go over one existing layer only. Where the roof already has two or more layers, where the old covering is slate, clay or cement tile, or where it is water-soaked or deteriorated, everything comes off to the deck first. (IRC R908.3.1.1; the Massachusetts amendments to Chapter 9 leave R908 as written.)
02 · The deck under the shingles
Rotted or damaged sheathing found at tear-off is replaced by the sheet. Ask how the quote prices it: per sheet, or included up to a number of sheets.
03 · Underlayment
On asphalt shingles at a slope from 2:12 up to 4:12, the code requires a double layer of underlayment (IRC R905.2.2); low-pitched roofs cost more to cover for that reason.
04 · Ice barrier
Massachusetts marks “ice barrier underlayment required: yes” for the whole state (780 CMR 51.00, Table R301.2(1)). On a reroof that means a self-adhering membrane, or two cemented layers of underlayment, from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the wall line (IRC R905.1.2).
05 · Permit
Roof covering is not on the list of work the Massachusetts residential code exempts from a permit (780 CMR 51.00, R105.2), and a permit application for home improvement work carries the contractor’s HIC registration number (R105.3). Your town’s building department issues it. In Boston the short-form permit costs “$20, plus $10 per $1,000 of estimated cost.”
06 · Material
HUD’s useful-life table gives asphalt shingles 20 years, metal 50, slate 75, clay or concrete tile 60 and EPDM or TPO 15. The spread in price between materials is wider than any other line on a quote.
07 · Access and the house
Stories, pitch, dormers and skylights, and on rowhouses the party walls and the way up, all add labor. Ask the contractor to list them.
Floor area is not roof area
A 2,000-square-foot house does not have a 2,000-square-foot roof. Pitch, overhangs, a second story over part of the house, porches and dormers all change it, which is why a contractor measures before quoting.
Tax credit and payment
The federal energy-efficient home improvement credit (25C) does not list roofs, and it ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025 (IRS). If a contractor offers to arrange payment over time, get the APR and the total cost in writing before you sign.
The six states side by side, and the questions that come up in all of them: how much does a roof replacement cost. The Massachusetts rules: roof replacement in Massachusetts.
Before you call, have these at hand
- Your address or ZIP code
- The rough floor area and number of stories
- What is on the roof now and how many layers
- What you want on it next
- That you own the home and decide on the roof
The full list, with what to do about a rowhouse, solar panels or a manufactured home: before you call.
This number connects homeowners who are planning a new roof or a full roof replacement with independent local roofing contractors. It is not for leak repairs or patch jobs. The call must come from the homeowner who decides on the roof. Calls may be recorded.