Updated November 2026

Is My Concrete Quote Fair?

Q: What's a fair price per square foot for a concrete slab in 2026?

It depends on size and spec, which is why the check asks for both. In our cost model, at national prices, a 4-inch broom-finish 20x20 slab runs $4.98 to $13.11 per square foot installed without reinforcement and $5.45 to $14.06 with wire mesh. A 6-inch, rebar-reinforced 24x24 garage floor runs $7.67 to $18.34. Small slabs cost more per square foot. Our model carries a stamping premium of $4 to $10 per square foot, but we have not yet found a published source for it, so the check gives no verdict on a stamped quote. Choosing your state prices the crew at that state's BLS wages (May 2025); concrete and materials stay at national published prices.

Q: Why is my concrete quote higher than the expected range?

The usual reasons are work beyond the slab itself: breaking out and removing an old slab (eight contractors bid $1.00 to $3.05 per sq ft for sidewalk removal to the Village of River Forest, IL, in December 2025, and a single homeowner job often prices above municipal bids), digging out and hauling soil, a pump where the truck cannot reach, or a permit. Tell the check which of those your quote includes and it adds them. Tight access, poor soil or a busy season can also push a price up. Each should appear as its own line; a single lump sum with no breakdown is a reason to get another quote.

Q: Should I always take the lowest concrete quote?

No. A quote well below the range often does not cover the same job: it may leave out the stone base, the reinforcement, a proper 3,000+ PSI mix, control joints or curing. Before choosing on price, confirm every bid includes the same thickness, steel, base and finish so you are comparing like for like.

Q: What do other readers' quotes show, and can I trust them?

They are what readers in your state say they were quoted, or finally paid, for a slab of the same kind and size, each with the month and what it covered. They are volunteered and unverified, so read them beside our range. Prices that are impossible are refused, and once a slab has eight or more reports, a price far from the rest is held for a person to check; the rules and counts are on the method page.

Enter the price on your quote and the slab it is for. We place it against our 2026 range for the same size, thickness, steel and finish in your state, with the extras your quote includes, and against what other readers in your state were quoted for the same kind and size of slab.

Check a concrete quote

Start with your state and the price. The slab defaults to a 20 x 20 ft, 4-inch patio with wire mesh; change it to match the quote.

Your state

The quoted total ($)

Is this a quote or the final bill?

The slab on the quote

Width (ft)

Length (ft)

Thickness

Steel

Finish

Strength

400 sq ft, 4.94 cu yd of concrete before waste

Does the price include…

Breaking out and removing an old slab?

Digging out and hauling away soil?

A concrete pump (truck cannot reach)?

A building permit?

Choose your state and enter the price to place your quote against the range below and against other readers’ quotes.

Our range for this slab: $2,180 to $8,190

Slab: 4 inches, 3,000 PSI, wire mesh, plain broom, on a 4-inch crushed-stone base$2,180 to $5,620
Break out and remove an old slab (not sure: top of the range only)+$0 to $1,220
Dig out and load soil for haul-off (not sure: top of the range only)+$0 to $980
Concrete pump (not sure: top of the range only)+$0 to $370
Building permit (fees are set by your city or county)not priced

Crew priced at national BLS wages until you choose a state. Concrete, stone and steel at published national prices. Removal from eight contractors’ bids to the Village of River Forest, IL (Dec 2025), which are municipal unit prices without a small-job minimum, so one homeowner job often prices above them. Pump at Supreme Concrete’s published rate (Los Angeles). Dig-out excludes landfill fees and trucking. Every source and date.

Quotes from other readers

How this works

Choose your state above to see what other readers there were quoted for a slab like yours.

Reader figures are volunteered and unverified. People who think a quote is unusual may be more likely to share it, so read them beside our range, not instead of it.

Choose your state and enter the price to add your quote for other readers.

How the quote check works: what your price is compared with, when reader quotes show, what we refuse and hold, and how this site makes money.

How the Verdict Is Decided

Where your price lands	Verdict	What to do
More than 10% below our low figure	Well below	Check the quote covers the base, the steel, forms, finishing and control joints.
Up to 10% below our low figure	Just below	Confirm it is the same slab you described, then compare like for like.
Inside our low-to-high range	Inside	Inside our model’s range for this slab and these extras. Read it beside the reader quotes.
Up to 10% above our high figure	Just above	Ask what is priced above a standard pour: access, soil, timing.
More than 10% above our high figure	Well above	Ask for it itemised and get a second quote for the same slab.

Extras you say are in the quote (removal, dig-out, pump) are added to the range; extras you are not sure about widen only its top. Permits are not priced. A stamped, exposed-aggregate or stained quote gets no verdict until we have a published source for the finish premium. Once 30 or more readers in your state have shared quotes for the same slab, your price is placed against the middle 80% of theirs instead. Every source, date, limit and rule: how the quote check works.

Method / How We Price

How We Price a Slab

Every installed price on this site comes from one model: published ready-mix and materials prices, plus crew hours priced at Bureau of Labor Statistics wages, plus overhead and margin. The low figure uses the lowest published input and our lowest assumption at every step; the high figure uses the highest. The crew hours, overage and margin are our own estimates, not published figures, and are listed below so you can check them against your quote. Worked example: a 20 x 20 ft (400 sq ft) slab (4-inch, 3,000 PSI, wire mesh, broom finish, 4-inch stone base).

Line	Low	Typical	High	Basis
Ready-mix concrete	$659	$754	$896	4.94 cu yd plus 5 to 10% overage, at published per-yard prices
Delivery and small-load charges	$0	$35	$419	Per-truck charges from the same price lists (10 yd per truck)
Crushed-stone base	$261	$325	$443	4 in compacted crusher run
Reinforcement	$96	$96	$96	6x6 10-gauge mesh panels, lapped
Form lumber	$30	$45	$61	Perimeter boards, shared across reuses
Crew labour	$770	$1,332	$2,101	Crew hours x BLS wages x employer costs
Overhead and margin	$363	$776	$1,606	20% to 40% on direct cost
Installed total	$2,180	$3,360	$5,620	Rounded to the nearest $10

Not included: excavation and soil haul-off, removing an old slab, permits, pumping, decorative finishes and sealing. Totals are national; the calculators’ state option swaps in that state’s BLS wages and leaves concrete and materials at the published lists.

Published inputs (read 13 October 2026)

Ready-mix, per cubic yard: 3,000 PSI $127.05 to $165.00, 4,000 PSI $132.00 to $175.00, from Supreme Concrete (Los Angeles, CA), Minimix Concrete (Pequannock, NJ), Gehring Construction & Ready-Mix (Columbus, NE, list dated 2026-01-01), Scenic City Ready Mix (Tennessee, list dated 2024-08-03).
Small orders and trucks: short-load charge $50 under 4 yd (Gehring) or $100 at 5 yd or less, plus $100 more at 2 yd or less (Scenic City); per truck, no charge within 20 miles (Gehring), a $35 surcharge (Scenic City), or $363.88 Zone A delivery plus a $55 environmental fee (Supreme).
Crushed-stone base: $44.00 to $74.75 per cubic yard from D & L Supply (Central New York, $44.00/yd), JMJ Companies (Lynchburg, VA, $39.50/ton), Golden Landscaping Supply (Cumming, GA, $50.00/ton), Yard Works Landscape Supply (Fort Mill, SC, $74.75/yd); per-ton prices converted at 2,450 lb per yard.
Steel, forms, poly: #4 rebar 20 ft $8.99, 6x6 10-gauge mesh 4x8 panel $6.99, 2x6x12 $14.32, 2x4x16 $12.13, 6-mil poly 8 ft 4 in x 100 ft $59.99, rebar chair $0.33 (Menards online prices; Home Depot and Lowe’s pages could not be read that day). That works out to $0.24 per sq ft for mesh and $0.74 per sq ft for a rebar grid, materials only.
Wages: BLS OEWS 47-2051 cement masons (May 2025) 25th percentile $22.60, median $27.41, 75th $32.15 an hour; 47-2061 construction laborers $18.57, $22.66, $28.72. Employer costs from BLS ECEC June 2026, construction industry ($51.96 total compensation per $36.13 of wages, x1.44): a crew hour costs $29.60 to $43.77.

Our assumptions (estimates, not published figures)

Crew: half cement masons, half laborers.
Setup per job: 8 to 16 crew hours (layout, stripping, cleanup).
Per 100 sq ft: 4-inch 4 to 7 crew hours, 6-inch 5 to 8.5, 8-inch 6 to 10; add 0.5 to 1 for mesh or 1.5 to 2.5 for rebar.
Concrete overage 5% to 10%; base stone ordered at 1.2x its compacted volume; form boards charged at half to all of their price.
Overhead and margin 20% to 40% of direct cost.
6-inch and thicker slabs use 4,000 PSI mix; thinner slabs 3,000 PSI.

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. All read 13 October 2026. Crew hours, overage, overhead and margin are our estimates and are listed in the method above.

Quote Check FAQ

How do I know if a concrete contractor's quote is fair?

Compare it with a range for the same slab and the same scope: the size, thickness, steel and finish, and whether the price includes removing an old slab, digging out, a pump or a permit. The check above does that against our cost model, and once readers in your state have shared quotes for the same kind and size of slab it shows those too. The strongest check is still a second written quote for the same slab with the same line items.

What's a fair price per square foot for a concrete slab in 2026?

Why is my concrete quote higher than the expected range?

Should I always take the lowest concrete quote?

What do other readers' quotes show, and can I trust them?

How the Check Works Cost by State Removal Cost Cost Per Sq Ft