Concrete is priced primarily by the cubic yard for the material itself, with labor, delivery fees, finishing options, and site preparation adding layers to the final cost. A single cubic yard of ready-mix concrete typically costs between $125 and $175 depending on the mix strength and your location, but that number only tells part of the story. The total installed cost for a standard residential slab runs roughly $4 to $8 per square foot for basic work, and significantly more for decorative finishes.
How the Material Itself Is Priced
Ready-mix concrete plants sell by the cubic yard. One cubic yard covers about 80 square feet at a standard 4-inch thickness. The price per yard depends on the mix design you order. A basic 3,000-PSI mix (suitable for sidewalks and patios) costs less than a 4,000-PSI or 5,000-PSI mix used for driveways or structural footings. Additives like fiber reinforcement, accelerators that speed up curing in cold weather, or air-entrainment for freeze-thaw resistance each add a few dollars per yard.
For smaller projects, you can buy bagged concrete at home improvement stores. An 80-pound bag yields about 0.6 cubic feet, so you’d need roughly 45 bags to make one cubic yard. At $5 to $7 per bag, that works out to $225 to $315 per cubic yard, making bagged concrete significantly more expensive than ready-mix for anything beyond a few fence posts or small repairs.
Delivery Fees and Short-Load Surcharges
A standard concrete truck holds about 10 cubic yards. Most suppliers include delivery within a set radius of the plant (often 10 to 20 miles), then charge $5 to $10 per mile beyond that. Fuel surcharges of $20 to $40 per load may apply for longer hauls.
The biggest surprise for homeowners ordering small amounts is the short-load fee. If you need less than a full truck, expect to pay $40 to $60 per cubic yard on top of the material price. Ordering 3 cubic yards for a small patio, for example, could add $120 to $180 in surcharges alone. This is why contractors often plan projects to use close to a full truckload, or combine pours for multiple areas at once.
Labor and Installation Costs
Pouring concrete is not just dumping it out of a truck. Labor covers building the forms that hold the wet concrete in shape, placing rebar or wire mesh for reinforcement, pouring and spreading the mix, screeding it level, and finishing the surface. Labor typically runs $2 to $3 per square foot and accounts for one-third to one-half of the total project cost.
For a 500-square-foot driveway, that translates to roughly $1,000 to $1,500 just for the crew’s work. Thicker slabs, sloped sites, or difficult access (like a backyard with no truck access) push labor higher because the work takes longer and may require pumping equipment to move concrete from the street to the pour site.
Finishing Options Change the Price Dramatically
The surface finish you choose has one of the biggest impacts on your per-square-foot cost. Basic finishes are often included in the base price or add very little:
- Broom finish: $1 to $3 per square foot. The standard textured surface you see on most sidewalks.
- Smooth trowel finish: $1 to $3 per square foot. A flat, clean look common for garage floors.
Decorative finishes cost several times more because they require specialized skills, tools, and materials:
- Polished concrete: $3 to $12 per square foot
- Exposed aggregate: $7 to $15 per square foot
- Stained concrete: $8 to $15 per square foot
- Stamped concrete: $10 to $18 per square foot
Stamped concrete, which mimics the look of stone, brick, or tile, can push a 500-square-foot patio from $2,500 with a basic finish to $9,000 or more. That’s a meaningful jump, so it’s worth getting separate quotes for different finish levels before committing.
Site Preparation Adds to the Bill
Before any concrete is poured, the ground needs to be ready. This typically involves excavating to the right depth, grading the soil so water drains away from structures, and laying a compacted gravel subbase. These steps prevent cracking and settling later on.
Excavation for residential concrete work generally costs $50 to $200 per cubic yard of soil removed, with total excavation running $1,500 to $6,200 depending on the size and complexity of the job. Grading a typical backyard or home lot costs $1,000 to $5,000, though small flat sites on the lower end of that range might only need a few hundred dollars of work. If trees, old concrete, or underground utilities complicate the dig, costs climb quickly.
On already-flat, cleared lots, site prep might be minimal. On sloped or rocky ground, it can rival the cost of the concrete itself.
How to Estimate Your Total Cost
Start by calculating how much concrete you need. Multiply the length, width, and thickness of your slab (all in feet), then divide by 27 to convert cubic feet to cubic yards. A 20-by-25-foot driveway that’s 4 inches thick needs about 6.2 cubic yards.
Then layer the costs:
- Material: 6.2 yards at roughly $125 to $175 per yard = $775 to $1,085
- Delivery and short-load fees: $100 to $400 depending on distance and order size
- Site preparation: $500 to $3,000 depending on existing conditions
- Labor: $2 to $3 per square foot for 500 square feet = $1,000 to $1,500
- Finishing: included for basic, or $3 to $18 per square foot for decorative
For that 500-square-foot driveway with a broom finish on a relatively flat site, you’re looking at roughly $2,500 to $5,000 all in. Upgrade to stamped concrete and the total could reach $10,000 to $14,000.
When getting quotes, ask contractors to break out material, labor, site prep, and finishing as separate line items. This makes it easier to compare bids and spot where one contractor’s price diverges from another’s. Most reputable contractors will provide this breakdown without hesitation.