Roof replacement cost in Scranton, PA

Planning more than one job in Scranton?

Because every project leans on different trades, Scranton's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, attic insulation runs +1% and metal roof −3%.

Is Scranton cheap or dear? The local comparison

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 $8,800 to $9,700 across Scranton and its five closest metros.

Across 300 US metros, Scranton comes in at #135 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, Scranton is 6% below the Pennsylvania figure.

Other Pennsylvania metros

Cities with a workforce like Scranton's

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

Specs and site conditions that change a Scranton bid

• 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.

Scranton: what basic, standard and premium work costs

Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Scranton 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.

Scranton 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 Scranton is 0.91 times the national level.

For roofers (47-2181, weighted 85%) the local median is $23.86 an hour, which is 10% below the national $26.65. The middle half of them earn between $22.15 and $34.25 an hour. BLS counts 150 of them working in the area, 5.9 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 8.7), so the local bench is thinner than average.

Construction laborers (47-2061), 15% of the weighting: a median of $23.22 an hour, in line with the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $19.53 and $28.89 an hour. About 1,450 work in the metro. That is 56.7 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so expect fewer local crews to bid.

Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the roofers on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($34.25 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $1,900. At the 25th percentile ($22.15) it shrinks by about $310. The total moves by 21.4% or 3.5%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 255,620 jobs in the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre area. That makes it the 102nd largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.16% of US employment.

Climate in Scranton: timing your roof job

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

March through November is the stretch where exterior installation runs into the fewest weather problems in Scranton (9 of 12 months). January, February and December have an average daytime high under 45°F.

In January, February and December the average high stays below 45°F. Sealants, adhesives and some materials, such as vinyl, are harder to install well in the cold, and short daylight cuts the working day.

Scranton gets about 39 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 45 inches of snow. The wettest months are June, August and September (4.2 inches in September). Inside the workable window, March and November are the driest, at 2.8 and 2.9 inches. The station averages about 12 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.