Metal roof cost in Burlington, NC
Local estimate from BLS wage data and BEA price levels. Reviewed Nov 4, 2026.
- Typical range (2,000 sq ft of roof)
- $8,950 – $29,700
- Per sq ft of roof
- $4.40 – $14.50
- before permit
- Versus US midpoint
- −9%
- US $21,300
- Rank of 300 metros
- #198
- 1 = most expensive
A metal roof in Burlington, NC usually costs $8,950 to $29,700 for 2,000 sq ft of roof. That works out to about $4.40 to $14.50 per sq ft of roof before permits. Compared with the national midpoint that is $2,000 less. Roofers earn a median of $23.56 an hour in the Burlington area, 12% below the US median of $26.65.
Estimate your metal roof cost
Pick a size, a quality level and where you live. Prices update as you type.
Estimated cost for 2,000 sq ft of roof in Burlington, NC, standard level
$15,200 to $23,500
About $7.45 to $11.50 per sq ft of roof before permits. Labor is about 53% of the bill.
| Part | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | $6,000 | $11,400 |
| Labor | $8,950 | $11,700 |
| Permits and fees | $240 | $370 |
| Total | $15,200 | $23,500 |
Cost breakdown for 2,000 sq ft of roof in Burlington, NC
| Part of the job | Low | Midpoint | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | $1,950 | $8,700 | $15,500 | 45% |
| Labor | $6,900 | $10,300 | $13,800 | 53% |
| Permits and fees | $140 | $300 | $470 | 2% |
| Total | $8,950 | $19,300 | $29,700 | 100% |
Why Burlington prices look the way they do
Labor is 53% of the midpoint bill here, against 56% nationally. The mix of trades behind this job is roofers (70%), sheet metal workers (20%), construction laborers (10%). We weight each trade's local median wage by that share and compare it with the national median. In Burlington the blended ratio comes out at 0.86. BLS does not publish this trade for the metro, so we used the North Carolina statewide median.
Materials are scaled with BEA's regional price parity for goods. Burlington is at 96.6 against 100 for the US, so a materials line of $9,000 nationally becomes $8,700 here (midpoint, 2,000 sq ft of roof). Permits follow the all-items index of 93.2: $140 to $470.
Data note: 70% of the labor weighting for this project uses a statewide median because BLS has no published metro figure for that trade in Burlington. The wage table below marks each row.
How Burlington compares
Contractors rarely work more than an hour or two from home, so the neighboring metros set a rough ceiling and floor for your quotes. Midpoints for 2,000 sq ft of roof range from $19,300 to $19,800 across Burlington and its five closest metros.
| Area | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington, NCthis page | $8,950 – $29,700 | $19,300 | |
| Durham, NC15 miles | $9,000 – $29,800 | $19,400 | level |
| Greensboro, NC20 miles | $9,150 – $30,100 | $19,600 | +2% |
| Winston, NC55 miles | $9,000 – $29,700 | $19,400 | level |
| Raleigh, NC55 miles | $9,300 – $30,400 | $19,800 | +3% |
| Fayetteville, NC75 miles | $8,950 – $29,700 | $19,300 | level |
| North Carolina (statewide) | $9,100 – $30,000 | $19,500 | +1% |
| United States | $10,200 – $32,500 | $21,300 | +10% |
Out of the 300 metros we cover, Burlington ranks #198 for the cost of this job (#1 is the most expensive). Statewide, Burlington is 1% below the North Carolina figure.
Elsewhere in North Carolina
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte, NC | 1,358,370 jobs | $9,050 – $29,900 | $19,500 | +1% |
| Raleigh, NC | 743,120 jobs | $9,300 – $30,400 | $19,800 | +3% |
| Greensboro, NC | 365,410 jobs | $9,150 – $30,100 | $19,600 | +2% |
| Durham, NC | 344,020 jobs | $9,000 – $29,800 | $19,400 | level |
| Winston, NC | 271,980 jobs | $9,000 – $29,700 | $19,400 | level |
| Wilmington, NC | 191,280 jobs | $9,000 – $29,800 | $19,400 | level |
Metros of a similar size
Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Burlington against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover, DE | 68,080 jobs | $10,300 – $32,400 | $21,400 | +11% |
| Winchester, VA | 67,740 jobs | $8,550 – $28,900 | $18,800 | −3% |
| Traverse City, MI | 68,440 jobs | $9,650 – $30,800 | $20,200 | +5% |
| Morgantown, WV | 67,370 jobs | $9,850 – $31,500 | $20,700 | +7% |
Planning more than one job in Burlington?
Jobs that often go together with metal roof are priced below at their usual sizes, using the same Burlington wage and price inputs. Compared with national midpoints, attic insulation comes out highest (−6%) and vinyl siding lowest (−10%); the gap comes from the trades each job uses.
| Project | Size | Range | vs. US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roof replacement | 2,000 sq ft of roof | $5,550 – $11,500 | −8% |
| Gutters | 160 linear ft | $1,150 – $3,850 | −8% |
| Attic insulation | 1,000 sq ft | $920 – $3,750 | −6% |
| Vinyl siding | 2,100 sq ft of wall | $7,550 – $22,700 | −10% |
Metal roof: what moves the price in Burlington
Labor
Metal roof labor is $4-$8 per sq ft, or $400-$800 per roofing square, and standing seam needs specialist crews.
Other metals
Tin runs $600-$1,800 per roofing square (100 sq ft) installed and aluminum $700-$1,700 per square (HomeGuide).
Panel type
Corrugated sheet metal is $5-$12 per sq ft installed; standing seam is $9-$16 (HomeGuide).
What local crews earn in Burlington
The labor line is built from BLS wage data, one trade at a time. This job draws on 3 trades. We compare each trade's local median with the US median, weight the ratios by how much of the job each trade does, and apply the blend to the national labor cost. For Burlington the blend is 0.86.
Roofers (47-2181) carry 70% of the labor weighting. BLS does not publish this trade for the Burlington metro, so we used the North Carolina statewide median: $23.56 an hour against $26.65 for the US. The middle half of them earn between $21.61 and $27.18 an hour.
Sheet metal workers (47-2211), 20% of the weighting: a median of $22.61 an hour, 24% below the US median of $29.71. The middle half of them earn between $17.80 and $27.71 an hour. About 50 work in the metro. That is 7.4 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 7.7 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.
For construction laborers (47-2061, weighted 10%) the local median is $20.35 an hour, which is 10% below the national $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $17.66 and $22.91 an hour. BLS counts 400 of them working in the area, 59.0 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 70.5), so the local bench is thinner than average.
A quick sensitivity check: moving the lead trade (roofers) from the median to the 75th percentile wage adds about $1,150 to the midpoint estimate; the 25th percentile takes off about $610. That is a swing of roughly 3.2% to 5.9% of the total, which is useful for judging whether a bid reflects wages or something else, such as scope or margin.
Burlington has 67,830 jobs in total (BLS, May 2025), ranking 266th by size among the 300 metros on this site.
| Trade | Weight | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | US median | Ratio | Level used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roofers (47-2181) | 70% | $21.61 | $23.56 | $27.18 | $26.65 | 0.88 | state |
| Sheet metal workers (47-2211) | 20% | $17.80 | $22.61 | $27.71 | $29.71 | 0.76 | metro |
| Construction laborers (47-2061) | 10% | $17.66 | $20.35 | $22.91 | $22.66 | 0.90 | metro |
| Blended | 100% | 0.86 | |||||
Cost by quality level and size in Burlington
The cited range is split into basic, standard and premium bands, then scaled to Burlington. Bands overlap, because plenty of standard jobs cost as much as a light premium one. Sizes run from small (1,200 sq ft of roof) to large (2,800 sq ft of roof).
Basic
$8,950 to $17,300
Corrugated or exposed-fastener steel panels
Standard
$15,200 to $23,500
Standing seam steel
Premium
$21,400 to $29,700
Aluminum or premium finish, complex roof
| Size | Basic | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| small (1,200 sq ft of roof) | $5,450 – $10,500 | $9,200 – $14,200 | $13,000 – $18,000 |
| average (2,000 sq ft of roof) | $8,950 – $17,300 | $15,200 – $23,500 | $21,400 – $29,700 |
| large (2,800 sq ft of roof) | $12,500 – $24,000 | $21,200 – $32,700 | $29,800 – $41,400 |
Burlington weather and the metal roof calendar
Climate numbers on this page come from NOAA's 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals at the nearest suitable station, Burlington Alamance Ap (5 miles from the city center). They are 30-year averages, so any one year can run hotter, colder or wetter.
For exterior installation, the comfortable months in Burlington are August through June: 11 of 12. Outside them, July has an average daytime high of 90°F or more.
Burlington gets about 43 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are June, July and September (4.7 inches in July). Inside the workable window, January and February are the driest, at 3.1 and 2.8 inches. The station averages about 48 days a year at 90°F or above.
We do not adjust the estimate by month, because we have no reliable published data on seasonal pricing. It is still worth asking contractors whether an off-peak start date changes their bid.
| Month | Avg high °F | Avg low °F | Precip (in) | For this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | 30 | 3.1 | Workable |
| Feb | 56 | 33 | 2.8 | Workable |
| Mar | 64 | 39 | 3.9 | Workable |
| Apr | 74 | 48 | 3.8 | Workable |
| May | 80 | 57 | 3.4 | Workable |
| Jun | 88 | 65 | 4.3 | Workable |
| Jul | 91 | 70 | 4.7 | Hot |
| Aug | 89 | 68 | 3.5 | Workable |
| Sep | 83 | 62 | 4.4 | Workable |
| Oct | 73 | 49 | 3.1 | Workable |
| Nov | 63 | 38 | 3.3 | Workable |
| Dec | 55 | 33 | 3.1 | Workable |
Get 3 local quotes
Tell us about the job and we will try to connect you with up to three local contractors for written quotes. It is free and you are under no obligation to hire. Your estimate of $15,200 to $23,500 for Burlington, NC is attached.
Take this estimate with you: PDF report, $9
The report lays out the metal roof numbers for Burlington, NC line by line, with the local wage and price inputs, permit and timing notes, a quote comparison sheet and the full method. Save your estimate above, preview page 1 free, and unlock the full report for $9 one-time, or get every report with CostLocal Pro.
Metal roof in Burlington: your questions
+How much does it cost to install a metal roof in Burlington?
For 2,000 sq ft of roof, expect $8,950 to $29,700 in the Burlington area. A standard-spec job lands at $15,200 to $23,500. Small jobs usually cost more per sq ft of roof and large ones less.
+What is the price per sq ft of roof for metal roof in Burlington?
About $4.40 to $14.50 per sq ft of roof for materials and labor, plus $140 to $470 for the permit if one is needed. The US range is $5 to $16.
+Is metal roof cheaper in Burlington or Durham?
Durham is 15 miles away. The midpoint for 2,000 sq ft of roof there is $19,400, which is 0% more than Burlington ($19,300). Wage and materials indexes both feed that gap.
+How much of the bill is labor in Burlington?
About 53% at the midpoint, or $10,300 out of $19,300. Materials are 45% and permits 2%. Nationally, labor is 56%.
+What would average (2,000 sq ft of roof) cost in Burlington?
$8,950 to $29,700. Pick a different size in the estimator above to get your own number.
+Does metal roof need a permit in Burlington?
Often, but rules are set by your city or county building office, so call before you hire. Budget $140 to $470 for fees in the Burlington area (our national range of $150 to $500 scaled by the local price level).
+Is Burlington expensive for metal roof compared with the rest of North Carolina?
Burlington is 1% below the North Carolina statewide estimate ($19,500 at the midpoint). We cover 11 metros in North Carolina; see the state page to compare them.
+What do roofers earn in Burlington?
BLS has no published metro figure here, so we use the statewide median of $23.56 an hour, compared with $26.65 nationally. The 25th to 75th percentile range is $21.61 to $27.18.
+What do basic and premium metal roof work cost in Burlington?
For 2,000 sq ft of roof, basic work runs $8,950 to $17,300 and premium work $21,400 to $29,700. Basic means: corrugated or exposed-fastener steel panels. Premium means: aluminum or premium finish, complex roof.
+When is the best time to install a metal roof in Burlington?
Based on NOAA 1991-2020 normals, the comfortable months for this kind of work are August through June. January and February are typically the driest of those months. Local contractors' schedules matter as much as the weather, so book early for the busy months.
Metal roof near Burlington
Where these numbers come from
Base prices are national ranges from the sources below. We scale labor by local BLS wages, materials by BEA goods prices and permits by the BEA all-items price level. Full method on the methodology page.
- HomeGuide: How Much Does a Metal Roof Cost? (2026) (accessed November 4, 2026)
- HomeGuide: 2026 Building Permit Costs | Fees & Cost Calculator (accessed November 4, 2026)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020
Note on derived figures: Materials = installed range minus HomeGuide's $4-$8/sq ft labor range for metal roofs.