Is My Concrete Quote Fair?
Paste in your contractor’s number and your slab spec. We compare it against the 2026 expected installed range for that exact size, thickness, reinforcement, and finish in your state, then show you what builds up the price.
Contractor Quote Validator
How the Verdict Is Decided
| Where your quote lands | Verdict | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| More than 10% below the low estimate | Below range | Often a missing-scope flag: confirm base prep, reinforcement, and mix strength are included. |
| Just below the low estimate | Low end | Competitive pricing or a high-volume contractor. Verify scope, then a reasonable deal. |
| Inside the low-to-high range | Fair | Market-rate price for your spec and state. The expected, defensible band. |
| Just above the high estimate | Above range | Often site access, finish detail, or removal work. Ask for an itemised breakdown. |
| More than 10% above the high estimate | Well above range | Itemise the bid and collect at least two more quotes before signing. |
Expected ranges come from our cost model (published ready-mix, stone and materials prices, crew hours at BLS wages, and a stated overhead and margin), with the crew priced at your state's BLS OEWS wages for cement masons and construction laborers (May 2025); concrete and materials stay at national published prices. They include a 4-inch stone base and exclude excavation, demolition, permits, drainage and pump-truck access. Confirm whether your quote includes those before comparing.
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.