What a New Roof Costs in the Twin Cities (2026)

Most cost guides hand you a number and stop. The number is the easy part. What you actually write a check for depends almost entirely on whether this is a retail replacement or a storm claim — and those two paths have completely different math. Both are below, with the real figures.

The short answer

For a typical Twin Cities single-family home, a full tear-off and replacement with architectural asphalt shingles runs $14,000 to $22,000 in 2026.

Independent pricing data puts the Minnesota statewide average at about $15,200 for an asphalt roof, or roughly $7.40 per square foot of roof area, on an average home of about 20.7 squares at a 4/12 pitch.

By home size

A square is 100 square feet of roof surface. Note that a 2,000 sq ft house does not have 20 squares of roof — pitch, overhangs and dormers mean the roof is almost always larger than the floor plan. That gap is the single most common reason a homeowner thinks a bid came in high.

Price per square by material

Three-tab is largely gone from new work in Minnesota. Most manufacturers have moved their warranty programs to architectural shingles, and most insurance replacements are written for architectural.

Where the money actually goes

An $18,000 asphalt roof, broken out:

Labor is the largest line on almost every roof. When one bid comes in thousands below the others, that gap is usually sitting in labor, in the flashing allowance, or in a warranty that covers the shingle but not the installation.

The part most cost guides skip: what a hail claim actually costs you

Everything above is the retail price. If your roof is being replaced because of hail or wind damage, that is not the number you pay.

On an approved storm claim, your out-of-pocket cost is your deductible. If your deductible is $2,500 and the roof is $18,000, you pay $2,500. The rest is the carrier's, paid out in a specific sequence that is worth understanding before you sign anything.

Actual cash value comes first. Most policies pay the initial check at actual cash value — the replacement cost minus depreciation for the age and remaining life of the old roof. On a fifteen-year-old roof, that first check can be less than half the total. This surprises people, and it is where a lot of homeowners conclude their claim was underpaid when it was not.

Recoverable depreciation comes after the work is done. On a replacement cost value policy, the withheld depreciation is released once the roof is completed and the final invoice is submitted. That second check is not a bonus — it is the rest of your claim. If you take the first check and skip the work, you forfeit it.

Supplements are normal, not a red flag. Adjusters write from measurements and photographs. Once the old roof is off, the decking condition, layer count, flashing and code items are visible. A contractor who documents those and submits a supplement is doing the job correctly. This is the core of storm restoration work.

Why nobody in Minnesota can "cover your deductible"

If a contractor offers to eat your deductible, waive it, or fold it into the price as a discount or a rebate, that is not a deal. Minnesota Statute 325E.66 makes it illegal, and a contractor advertising residential roofing work has to state plainly that the deductible is the homeowner's responsibility.

There is a second edge to it that homeowners rarely hear about: an insurer may disregard an estimate from a contractor who violated the statute. So the offer that sounded like free money can end up costing you the strength of your own claim.

The same logic applies to a bid that quietly inflates the scope to make the deductible disappear. That is not aggressive advocacy. It is the thing that gets claims denied.

What actually moves the number in Minnesota

• Pitch. Anything over 7/12 usually stops being walkable, which means staging, harnesses and a slower crew. Expect a meaningful step up in labor.
• Stories. A two-story with a steep pitch costs materially more than the same square footage on a rambler.
• Layers. A second layer doubles the tear-off and the disposal.
• Decking. Older Twin Cities housing stock — particularly pre-war homes in Minneapolis and St. Paul — often has plank decking with gaps, or deteriorated sheathing that is not visible until tear-off.
• Ice barrier at the eaves. Minnesota requires an ice-and-water membrane at the eaves, and the required coverage is measured past the inside of the exterior wall, not just to the edge of the overhang. On a low-pitch roof with deep soffits that can mean several courses. A bid showing a single course at the eave is probably short.
• Ventilation. Intake and exhaust have to balance. Ice dams in this climate are usually a ventilation and insulation problem wearing a roofing costume.
• Complexity. Valleys, dormers, skylights, chimneys and steep-to-flat transitions are where roofs leak and where labor concentrates.

Madison and Eau Claire

Wisconsin pricing sits in a similar band, with two differences worth naming. Labor in the Madison market runs close to Twin Cities rates; Eau Claire generally runs somewhat lower. And Wisconsin storm work is governed by its own rules — Wis. Stat. 100.65 gives homeowners a three-business-day right to cancel a contract signed after a catastrophe, and restricts how a contractor may handle your claim.

How to compare three bids

Put the estimates side by side and check that each one states:

1. Total roof area in squares, not just a lump-sum price. If two bids differ by six squares, one of them measured wrong.
2. Tear-off scope — how many layers, and what happens if a second layer is found.
3. The specific shingle line, not just the brand. GAF and CertainTeed each span a wide range of products.
4. Underlayment and ice barrier coverage, in feet or courses.
5. Flashing — replaced or reused. Reused step flashing is the most common hidden shortcut.
6. Decking allowance — the per-sheet price for replacement, agreed in advance.
7. Ventilation — what is being added or changed.
8. Warranty — separate the manufacturer's material warranty from the contractor's workmanship warranty, and check who honors each.
9. Permit — who pulls it.

A bid that cannot answer these is not cheaper. It is just less specific. If you are still building a shortlist, we compared ten metro contractors on verifiable credentials in Best Roofing Companies in the Twin Cities.

Common questions

Does insurance pay for the whole roof or only the damaged slope? It depends on the policy and the extent of the damage. Where a repair cannot reasonably match the undamaged shingles, that is worth raising directly with your adjuster, with photographs.

How long does the work take? Most Twin Cities residential roofs are a one-day tear-off and install, weather permitting. Larger or more complex roofs run two to three days. The claim timeline around it is usually longer than the roof itself.

Do I need a permit? Yes, in essentially every Twin Cities municipality. The contractor should pull it, and the permit should be in the contractor's name.

What is the difference between ACV and RCV? Actual cash value is replacement cost minus depreciation — what the old roof was worth the day before the storm. Replacement cost value is what it costs to put a new roof on today. Which one your policy pays is the single biggest variable in what a claim is worth.

Is a more expensive shingle worth it? Sometimes. In a hail market, impact-rated shingles can qualify for a premium discount with some carriers, which is worth asking your agent about before you choose.

Get a real number for your roof

Ranges are useful for planning and useless for deciding. A measured estimate takes about thirty minutes on site and costs nothing. See what we install on our roofing page.

Lenz Construction has been replacing roofs in Minnesota and Wisconsin since 2012, from offices in Golden Valley, Madison and Eau Claire. We are one of two CertainTeed ShingleMaster PREMIER certified contractors in the Twin Cities metro.

Twin Cities: (612) 280-2424 · Madison: (608) 591-5851 · Eau Claire: (715) 210-8088