Two houses with the same wall area can take very different hours. Count the openings, the corners, the gables and the stories, and price trim by the foot. Then the square foot number is a check, not a guess.
- Measure net wall area, then add waste. Price trim, soffit and fascia by the linear foot.
- Fixr puts vinyl siding at $6,000 to $24,000, about $12,000 on average.
- Siding replacement runs $3 to $15 a square foot installed in Fixr's guide, depending on material.
- Removal and disposal of old siding runs $1,000 to $2,500 in Fixr's guide.
- Take a deposit at signing. Siding is ordered by color and runs out.
Setting your labor rate
Start with the wage. The closest group the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes is carpenters, which is where siding installers are most often counted. In its May 2025 wage survey, that group's national mean wage was $31.55 an hour and the median was $29.12 (BLS OEWS 47-2031).
Add your labor burden on top: payroll taxes, workers' comp and any paid time off. If burden in your state comes to 20% of wages, a $32 an hour tech costs you $38.40 an hour. That loaded number is what goes into the job cost.
Fixr notes some siding contractors bill $40 to $90 an hour instead of by the square foot (Fixr).
Published siding prices
| Job | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Vinyl siding, whole house | $6,000 to $24,000 | Fixr |
| Vinyl siding, average | About $12,000 | Fixr |
| Premium vinyl | $6 to $10 a sq ft | Fixr |
| Insulated vinyl | $7 to $12 a sq ft | Fixr |
| Siding replacement, installed | $3 to $15 a sq ft | Fixr |
| Siding replacement, average | About $14,500 | Fixr |
| Removal and disposal | $1,000 to $2,500 | Fixr |
| Permit and inspection | $150 to $1,500 | Fixr |
A worked example: vinyl siding on a two-story house
Every input is an assumption for the example.
- Scope: 1,800 square feet of net wall area, tear off old siding, new house wrap, vinyl lap siding and trim.
- Material: $2.50 a square foot for siding, trim, wrap and accessories.
- Tear-off and dumpster: $1,200. Permit: $200.
- Crew: three people, four days of nine hours, at $38.40 an hour loaded.
- Driving at 76 cents a mile, the IRS business rate for the second half of 2026 (IRS standard mileage rates).
- Overhead 20% of the price and profit 15%.
- Vinyl siding, trim, wrap and accessories: 1,800 sq ft x $2.50 = $4,500
- Tear-off and dumpster: $1,200
- Labor: 3 people x 4 days x 9 hours x $38.40 = $4,147.20
- Permit: $200
- Drive: 6 trips x 25 miles x $0.76 = $114
- Direct cost: $4,500 + $1,200 + $4,147.20 + $200 + $114 = $10,161.20
- Overhead plus profit: 20% + 15% = 35% of the price
- Price: $10,161.20 / (1 - 0.35) = $10,161.20 / 0.65 = $15,633
Check it: 35% of $15,633 is about $5,472, and $15,633 minus $5,472 is about $10,161, the direct cost of $10,161.20. The profit and overhead are inside the price, not added on top of a cost you guessed.
That is about $8.69 a square foot, inside Fixr's $3 to $15 range and its $6,000 to $24,000 range for vinyl.
Good, better, best for siding
- Good: standard vinyl lap siding.
- Better: the $15,633 job above with a thicker vinyl and new trim.
- Best: insulated vinyl or fiber cement.
Send them with Koira's estimates. The customer picks one, signs and pays the deposit on the same page. Pay over time on the pay page helps with the bigger option.
One house sells the street
A whole street watches siding go up. Neighbor postcards go to the homes nearby most likely to hire you, the morning after the job.
Common siding pricing mistakes
- Gross area priced as net. Or the other way round. Pick one method and add waste consistently.
- Trim inside the square foot number. A house with many windows needs much more trim.
- Rot found after tear-off. Put a per sheet price for sheathing repair in the estimate.
- Stories ignored. Second-story walls need staging and take longer.
Sources
Every published figure on this page was read on the source page itself on the date shown. Worked example inputs are assumptions, labeled as such.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, Carpenters (47-2031), checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr: Vinyl siding installation cost, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr: Siding replacement cost, checked October 9, 2026
- IRS: Standard mileage rates, checked October 9, 2026
Questions contractors ask
How much should I charge per square foot for siding?
Build it from your takeoff and crew days. Fixr lists siding replacement at $3 to $15 a square foot installed.
What does vinyl siding cost for a whole house?
Fixr lists $6,000 to $24,000, about $12,000 on average.
How much is siding tear-off?
Fixr lists $1,000 to $2,500 for removal and disposal.
Do siding contractors charge by the hour?
Some do. Fixr lists $40 to $90 an hour for those that bill by time.
