Pricing by neighborhood — Roofer · Memphis, TN
| Neighborhood | Low | High | Why the price moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Gardens / Chickasaw Gardens | $55 | $90 | Historic 1920s mansions; slate, clay tile, and premium architectural asphalt; landmark review on tear-offs |
| East Memphis / Audubon Park | $45 | $72 | Mid-century ranches and split-levels; architectural asphalt is the default with occasional cedar shake |
| Midtown / Cooper-Young | $42 | $68 | 1920s craftsman bungalows; steeper pitches, dormers, sometimes layered tear-offs |
| Germantown / Collierville | $45 | $70 | Suburban luxury two-story; HOA color review, premium architectural asphalt and limited tile work |
| Downtown / South Main | $50 | $80 | Lofts and condos with TPO/EPDM membrane on flat sections; parapet flashing and roof-access logistics |
| Bartlett / Cordova | $38 | $60 | 1990s-2010s tract construction; high-volume reroof market, predictable square footage, competitive pricing |
| Hickory Hill / Whitehaven | $36 | $56 | Older single-family with deferred maintenance; partial-deck replacement common during tear-off |
| Frayser / Raleigh / Olive Branch MS | $34 | $55 | Budget tier; 3-tab and entry-grade architectural on rental and starter homes; lowest crew rates in the metro |
Roofer hourly rate by neighborhood in Memphis, TN. Ranges reflect typical contractor pricing including travel time, building-type access, and local labor density.
How much does a roofer cost in Memphis?
Memphis roofers charge $34-$57 per hour for scheduled work, with an average of $45/hr. On a per-square basis (the unit roofers actually price in), architectural asphalt runs $325-$525 per square installed, while slate and clay tile on Central Gardens and Chickasaw Gardens historic mansions run $1,300-$2,600. Geography matters: Central Gardens, East Memphis, and Germantown sit at the top of the range because of premium materials, steeper pitches on 1920s homes, and HOA review. Hickory Hill, Frayser, and Olive Branch sit at the bottom.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median hourly wage for roofers in the Memphis metro at $22.72. The gap between that and the $45/hr you actually pay is real and explainable, and the rest of this article walks through where every dollar goes, what the City of Memphis permit process requires, and what to ask after a Mid-South hail or tornado event drops storm chasers on your block.
Memphis Roofer Rates by Neighborhood
The metro is not one market. A Central Gardens slate reroof with landmark review is a different job than a Bartlett architectural-shingle tear-off on a 1995 tract home. The full per-neighborhood breakdown sits at the top of this page; this section explains the why.
The premium for Central Gardens, Chickasaw Gardens, and parts of East Memphis is not arbitrary. Historic slate and clay tile installation requires crews trained on legacy materials, and matching existing tiles often means sourcing salvage from regional yards in Mississippi, Arkansas, and middle Tennessee. Steeper pitches on Cooper-Young craftsman bungalows and pre-war Central Gardens, Evergreen, and Annesdale homes add fall-protection setup time, and the historic-overlay districts sit under Memphis Landmarks Commission and neighborhood association review that typically requires shingle color, profile, and material submittals before any tear-off visible from the street. Suburban Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett, and Cordova use standardized architectural asphalt (often with metal accent on entry gables in newer Shelby East subdivisions) with predictable labor and direct street access for the dump trailer, which keeps pricing tight. Mid-South humidity drives a separate cost line: algae and black streaking on north-facing slopes is endemic, and most reroofs in Memphis now include a zinc or copper strip at the ridge or a soft-wash chemical clean as a small add-on. Hail and tornado events drive the volume dynamic: after a major Mid-South storm (2017, 2020, and 2023 are the recent benchmarks), demand spikes for 6-10 weeks and the entire metro tightens.
Comparable cities for cross-reference:
- Atlanta roofer costs — $35-$58/hr
- Dallas roofer costs — $32-$54/hr
- Louisville roofer costs — $33-$55/hr
- Indianapolis roofer costs — $34-$56/hr
Memphis sits at the lower end of the Southeast metro range, with hail and tornado work driving volume but a lower cost of living holding hourly rates down.
Memphis Roofer Pricing by Building Type
Neighborhood is one axis. Building stock is the other, and on a roof job it often matters more than the zip code. A 1925 Central Gardens slate-roof colonial is a different scope than a 2005 Collierville two-story with a simple gable on a slab.
| Building type | Per-square installed | Why the price moves |
|---|---|---|
| Central Gardens / Chickasaw Gardens slate or clay tile (1920s-1930s) | $1,300-$2,600 | Material cost, deck reinforcement for weight, specialized crews, landmark review |
| Cooper-Young / Midtown 1920s craftsman bungalow | $425-$650 | Steeper pitch, dormers, small flat-roof porches, occasional layered tear-offs |
| East Memphis mid-century ranch (1950s-1970s) | $375-$575 | Shallow pitch, simple gable, occasional cedar shake removal |
| 1990s-2010s suburban two-story (Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett) | $325-$500 | Standardized pitch, single-layer tear-off, predictable square footage |
| Downtown / South Main loft with TPO or EPDM membrane | $475-$800 | Membrane material, parapet flashing, roof-access logistics, downtown parking |
Slate and tile work deserves a callout. A full slate reroof on a 25-square Central Gardens home can run $32,000-$65,000, before structural reinforcement if the existing deck is undersized. Most Memphis roofers will not bid this work; the shortlist of qualified slate specialists is small. Ask for three local addresses you can drive past in the historic districts.
What Your Billed Hour Actually Covers
The $22.72 BLS wage is take-home pay for the roofer, not what the customer pays. The customer rate of $34-$57/hr covers everything the business needs to legally and sustainably operate in Memphis.
Roughly: 50% labor, 13% commercial liability and workers’ comp insurance ($22,000-$40,000/yr per crew because roofing carries the highest workers’ comp premium of any building trade), 10% vehicle and specialty tools (dump trailer, magnetic nail sweeper, harnesses for Midtown steep-slope work), 10% Memphis licensing and overhead (TN Board for Licensing Contractors and City of Memphis Code Enforcement registration, dump runs to South Memphis transfer stations, dispatch), and 17% contractor profit margin. Strip any of those out and one fall claim ends the business.
This is why the cheapest quote is rarely the right one. A roofer bidding $20/hr or $225 a square is almost always uninsured, unregistered, or a storm chaser who subcontracts to the lowest local crew and disappears after the insurance check clears. Your homeowner’s policy will not cover damage caused by an uninsured contractor, and the City of Memphis will not sign off on the work at sale.
Memphis Roofer Permits and What They Cost
City of Memphis Code Enforcement sits on top of any meaningful roof job inside city limits, with Shelby County handling unincorporated areas. Suburban jurisdictions (Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett, Cordova) have their own permit offices, and DeSoto County (Olive Branch, Southaven, Horn Lake) runs separately on the Mississippi side. Tennessee state licensing through the TN Board for Licensing Contractors layers on top for any project over $25,000.
| Work | Permit / requirement | Typical cost | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full reroof (City of Memphis) | Code Enforcement roofing permit | $75-$400 | 3-7 business days |
| Partial reroof (>25%) | Same permit threshold | $75-$300 | 3-7 business days |
| Slate or tile structural reinforcement | Building permit + structural review | $250-$700 | 2-4 weeks |
| Suburban reroof (Germantown / Collierville / Bartlett) | Local building department permit | $100-$400 | 3-10 business days |
| Job over $25,000 | TN Roofing Contractor license required | License-tied (no per-job fee) | Verify at tn.gov before signing |
Your roofer files the City of Memphis permit on your behalf and the fee gets added to the invoice. Watch for contractors who claim “no permit needed” on a full tear-off; that is almost always wrong above the 25% threshold and the cost gets passed back to you when the inspector flags it at sale or claim time. For larger envelope projects involving deck work or dormer additions, expect to coordinate with a general contractor who pulls combined permits.
Common Roofer Job Pricing in Memphis
These are typical all-in prices, including labor, materials, permit fees where applicable, tear-off and disposal, and a 1-year workmanship warranty (manufacturer warranties on materials run separately). Central Gardens, East Memphis, and Germantown sit at the high end of each range; suburban Bartlett and outer Shelby at the low end.
| Job | Total cost | Labor hours / days | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architectural asphalt reroof (25 sq ranch) | $9,000-$13,000 | 1-2 days, 3-4 crew | East Memphis, Bartlett, Cordova standard |
| Architectural asphalt reroof (32 sq two-story) | $11,500-$17,500 | 2-3 days, 4-5 crew | Germantown, Collierville, Midtown |
| Impact-resistant Class-4 upgrade | + $1,200-$3,000 | same | Qualifies for 10-25% insurance discount in TN |
| Slate reroof (25 sq) | $32,000-$65,000 | 8-15 days | Central Gardens, Chickasaw Gardens specialty |
| Clay tile reroof (25 sq) | $28,000-$55,000 | 7-12 days | Rare; Central Gardens and parts of East Memphis |
| Single-section repair (10-20 shingles, valley) | $375-$1,100 | 3-6 hours | Color matching difficult after 5+ years |
| Storm-damage tarp + emergency dry-in | $500-$1,200 | 2-4 hours | Trip charge + tarp materials; surges post-event |
| Gutter replacement (typical home) | $1,500-$3,800 | 1 day | See Memphis gutters costs |
| Skylight install or replace | $1,100-$3,200 each | 4-8 hours | Curb-mounted vs deck-mounted differ |
Class-4 impact-resistant shingles deserve a callout for Memphis specifically. The 10-20% upcharge usually pays back inside 4-6 years through Tennessee homeowner’s insurance discounts (10-25% on premium impact roofs) and through reduced hail-claim frequency. The Mid-South sits in one of the country’s most active hail and tornado corridors, averaging 4-7 hail days per year with an outlier event every 3-4 years that triggers metro-wide claim surges. If you are reroofing anyway and plan to own past 2030, Class-4 is the correct default rather than the upsell.
How to Get and Compare Memphis Roofer Quotes
Three things separate a useful quote from a useless one in Memphis, and they all come down to specificity and verification, especially in the weeks after a storm.
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Tell the roofer the building age, neighborhood, and existing material. “1928 Cooper-Young craftsman, 20 squares, two layers existing, two small dormers” gets a different number than “2008 Collierville two-story, 32 squares, single layer architectural, simple gable.” Roofers price partly off tear-off complexity, so generic “I need a new roof” estimates are worth less than a detailed brief with photos. After a hail event, attach the insurance scope of loss.
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Require itemized written estimates that break out labor, materials with brand and shingle line (GAF Timberline HDZ vs CertainTeed Landmark vs Owens Corning Duration), underlayment, ice/water shield in valleys, drip edge, ridge vent, permit fee, and dump fee. A driveway estimate from a door-knocker is not enforceable and tends to grow on the day. Reputable Memphis roofers email itemized PDFs within 48 hours of the site visit.
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Verify state license and insurance before you sign. Look up the TN Roofing Contractor license on the TN Board for Licensing Contractors search at tn.gov for any job over $25,000, confirm City of Memphis Code Enforcement registration for smaller work, and request a current Certificate of Insurance ($1M general liability, TN workers’ comp). Call the listed carrier directly to confirm the policy is active. Storm chasers cycle through Memphis after every major event, so this step matters more here than in most metros.
How We Calculated These Prices
The Memphis roofer rate of $34-$57 starts with the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median hourly wage for roofers in the Memphis-TN-MS-AR metropolitan statistical area: $22.72 as of May 2024. We apply a 1.5x-2.5x consumer multiplier covering business overhead, commercial liability and workers’ comp insurance (highest of any building trade), dump-trailer costs, TN Board for Licensing Contractors and City of Memphis registration, employer-paid taxes, and contractor profit margin, calibrated against current quotes from Shelby and DeSoto County roofing contractors.
Neighborhood adjustments reflect building stock (slate and tile in Central Gardens and Chickasaw Gardens vs. architectural asphalt in suburban tract homes), historic-overlay review, post-storm demand surges, and access logistics (steeper pitch on Midtown bungalows, parapet flashing on Downtown lofts). The full formula lives on our methodology page.
Other Memphis Service Costs You Might Need
Roofing rarely happens in isolation. A full tear-off typically pulls in 2-3 adjacent trades, and getting quotes at the same time saves both money and scheduling friction.
- Memphis gutters costs — almost always replaced or rehung during a reroof
- Memphis painter costs — soffit and fascia touch-up after tear-off
- Memphis insulation costs — attic upgrades while the deck is open
- Memphis handyman costs — for sub-roofer tasks like attic-vent screen and chimney-cap install
- Memphis plumber costs — for vent-stack boot replacement and any pipe penetration work