Concrete Slab Removal and Replacement Cost: $6 to $17 per Square Foot
Tearing out a 20×20 concrete slab and pouring a new 4-inch one with wire mesh costs about $2,580 to $6,840, typically $4,160. Removal is $1.00 to $3.05 a sq ft in eight contractor bids to a Chicago-area village in December 2025; the new slab is priced like any fresh pour from published ready-mix and materials prices and BLS wages.
Removal and Replacement Calculator
20 x 20 ft = 400 sq ft at 4 inches: $6.45 to $17.11 per sq ft including removal.
| Line and source | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Ready-mix concrete 4.94 cu yd plus 5 to 10% overage, 3,000 PSI at Supreme Concrete $127.05, Minimix Concrete $136.00, Gehring Construction & Ready-Mix $148.00, Scenic City Ready Mix $165.00 a yard | $659 | $754 | $896 |
Delivery and small-load fees Per-truck and short-load charges on the same four price lists | $0 | $35 | $419 |
Crushed-stone base, 4 in Crusher run from D & L Supply, JMJ Companies, Golden Landscaping Supply, Yard Works Landscape Supply | $261 | $325 | $443 |
Wire mesh (6x6 10-gauge) Menards online price, read 13 Oct 2026 | $96 | $96 | $96 |
Form boards Menards lumber, shared across reuses | $30 | $45 | $61 |
Crew labour Crew hours (our estimate) x BLS OEWS national wages, May 2025 x BLS employer costs (June 2026): $29.60 to $43.77 a crew hour | $770 | $1,332 | $2,101 |
Overhead and margin Our estimate: 20% to 40% of direct cost | $363 | $776 | $1,606 |
Remove the old slab $1.00 to $3.05 a sq ft, eight bids to the Village of River Forest, IL (Dec 2025) for concrete removal on a city program; a single home job often prices higher | $400 | $800 | $1,220 |
Low uses the cheapest published price and our lowest assumption on every line, high the dearest. The region changes crew wages only: no state-level ready-mix price is published, so concrete and materials stay at the four price lists. Not included: excavation, permits, pumping, sealing. Totals are rounded to the nearest $10.
Removal and Replacement Cost by Slab Size
| Slab | Removal | New 4-inch pour | Both, typical | Both, low to high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10x10 (100 sq ft) | $100 to $305 | $830 to $2,880 | $1,610 | $930 to $3,185 |
| 10x20 (200 sq ft) | $200 to $610 | $1,300 to $3,760 | $2,500 | $1,500 to $4,370 |
| 20x20 (400 sq ft) | $400 to $1,220 | $2,180 to $5,620 | $4,160 | $2,580 to $6,840 |
| 20x25 (500 sq ft) | $500 to $1,525 | $2,650 to $6,630 | $5,050 | $3,150 to $8,155 |
| 25x40 (1,000 sq ft) | $1,000 to $3,050 | $4,990 to $12,220 | $9,490 | $5,990 to $15,270 |
Removal: the lowest, median and highest of eight sidewalk-removal bids per sq ft. New pour: our cost model for a 4-inch, 3,000 PSI slab with wire mesh on a 4-inch stone base. Excludes excavation below the old base, permits and finishes. City bids carry no small-job minimum, so the removal figure on a 10×10 is the one most likely to come in higher.
What Eight Contractors Bid to Remove Concrete
The Village of River Forest, Illinois opened bids for its 2026 Curb and Sidewalk Replacement program on 3 December 2025 and published the tabulation. It is one of the few places a removal price is written down: each bidder priced removing 20,000 sq ft of concrete sidewalk and 50 square yards of driveway pavement.
| Bidder | Sidewalk removal, per sq ft | Driveway removal, per sq yd | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schroeder & Schroeder, Inc. | $1.00 | $15.00 | $1.67 |
| Globe Construction, Inc. | $2.00 | $20.00 | $2.22 |
| Davis Concrete Construction | $3.05 | $25.00 | $2.78 |
| Strada Construction Co. | $1.00 | $9.00 | $1.00 |
| J Nardulli Concrete, Inc. | $2.25 | $20.00 | $2.22 |
| M&J Asphalt Paving Co. Inc. | $2.40 | $24.50 | $2.72 |
| Nardulli Construction Company | $2.00 | $20.00 | $2.22 |
| Alliance Contractors, Inc. | $2.00 | $20.00 | $2.22 |
Source: Village of River Forest, 2026 Curb and Sidewalk Replacement, bid tabulation dated 12/3/2025, items 1 and 6, read 14 October 2026. The tabulation lists unit prices only; it does not say what each includes beyond the item name.
When Replacing Is Worth It
- Lift it when the slab has sunk in one piece and the surface is sound. See mudjacking vs replacement for public lifting bids.
- Repair it when the cracks are fine shrinkage cracks and the slab is level.
- Replace it when cracks run the full depth, broken pieces have dropped against each other, the surface is badly scaled, or the slab was poured too thin for what now drives on it.
Saw-cutting the edges first controls where the slab breaks, which matters where it meets a garage floor, a step or a sidewalk you are keeping. Ask the contractor which method they will use and whether the old base will be re-compacted and topped up before the new pour.
Sources: BLS OEWS 47-2051 cement masons (May 2025), BLS OEWS 47-2061 construction laborers (May 2025), BLS ECEC, construction (June 2026), ready-mix price lists from Supreme Concrete, Minimix Concrete, Gehring Construction & Ready-Mix, Scenic City Ready Mix, crusher-run prices from D & L Supply, JMJ Companies, Golden Landscaping Supply, Yard Works Landscape Supply, Menards mesh, rebar, lumber and poly prices, Village of River Forest, IL bid tabulation (3 December 2025). Model inputs read 13 October 2026; River Forest bids read 14 October 2026. Crew hours, overage, overhead and margin are our estimates and are listed in the method above.