Roof replacement cost in Portland, OR

Portland labor market for roof

Wages are the part of this estimate that changes most from town to town. 2 trades carry the job here, and each is compared with its US median. The weighted result for Portland is 1.11 times the national level.

For roofers (47-2181, weighted 85%) the local median is $29.43 an hour, which is 10% above the national $26.65. The middle half of them earn between $24.33 and $38.06 an hour. BLS counts 2,280 of them working in the area, 18.9 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 8.7), so the local bench is deeper than average.

Construction laborers (47-2061), 15% of the weighting: a median of $26.08 an hour, 15% above the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $21.45 and $31.65 an hour. About 7,950 work in the metro. That is 65.8 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.

Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the roofers on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($38.06 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $1,550. At the 25th percentile ($24.33) it shrinks by about $930. The total moves by 15.5% or 9.2%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 1,208,410 jobs in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro area. That makes it the 25th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.78% of US employment.

Climate in Portland: timing your roof job

We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Portland Intl Ap (5 miles from the city center). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.

Weather is not a serious constraint for exterior installation in Portland: no month in the averages is cold enough (an average daytime high under 45°F) or hot enough (an average daytime high of 90°F or more) to rule it out, so the workable window is all year.

Portland gets about 37 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 4 inches of snow. The wettest months are January, November and December (5.8 inches in December). The station averages about 15 days a year at 90°F or above.

Does the season change the price? Probably, but we do not have a sourced seasonal price curve, so the estimator shows a year-round figure and does not adjust by month. When you collect quotes, ask whether scheduling in a slower month gets a better rate.

Portland against nearby metros and the rest of Oregon

Of the five closest metros, all are cheaper than Portland. Eugene is the lowest at about $8,800 (midpoint, 2,000 sq ft of roof), 115 miles away.

Across 300 US metros, Portland comes in at #47 from the top. The priciest is Worcester, MA at $13,800; the cheapest is El Paso, TX at $7,200 (midpoints, 2,000 sq ft of roof). Statewide, Portland is 3% above the Oregon figure.

Other Oregon metros

Cities with a workforce like Portland's

Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Portland against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.

What nearby projects cost in Portland

Because every project leans on different trades, Portland's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, vinyl siding runs +13% and metal roof +10%.

Why two Portland quotes can differ

• Shingle type

  3-tab asphalt is $3-$5 per sq ft installed; architectural is $4-$6 (HomeGuide). Metal, tile and slate are separate projects with much higher ranges.

• Roof area, not floor area

  Pitch and complexity mean roof surface is larger than the house's footprint. A 1,500 sq ft ranch can have 1,800-2,200 sq ft of roof.

• Tear-off and layers

  Removing a second layer or rotted decking adds cost, and the contractor can only see decking damage after tear-off.

Portland: what basic, standard and premium work costs

Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Portland wages and prices. They overlap on purpose: a good standard job and a modest premium job can cost the same. The grid below prices the same bands at 4 common sizes.