How Much Does Concrete Cost?
Concrete cost = cubic yards to order × your supplier's price per cubic yard, plus delivery, any short-load fee, labor and anything else on the quote. One published U.S. reference puts ready-mix at roughly $160–$195 per cubic yard (indicative, national: see the sourced reference). Your local price will differ, so type yours into the calculator.
Ready-mix prices vary by region and by supplier. The mix matters, the size of the order matters, and so do the distance from the plant, the access to your site, and how much work goes into the ground, the forms, the reinforcement and the finish before and after the truck arrives. A national range is a starting point for a budget, not a quote for your street.
This concrete cost estimator starts from an illustrative $180 per cubic yard, the ballpark of the source below, so you see a result straight away. Call it a price calculator if you like: it measures your slab, adds the waste allowance you choose, and multiplies the volume by the price in the price field. Replace the starting figure with a real quote and the result becomes a genuine starting budget. It is not a bid: a contractor's written estimate can legitimately differ because of site conditions and scope that no online tool can see.
Get a price in three calls. Ask two or three local ready-mix suppliers for their price per cubic yard for your mix, then ask what else appears on the ticket: delivery, fuel, short-load, extra time on site. Our concrete planning guide has a checklist for that conversation.
Concrete Price Reference (Sourced)
A published 2026 U.S. reference gives $160–$195 per cubic yard for ready-mix concrete. It is an indicative national range, not a local or real-time price, and not a quote.
Limits of this estimate
- One source, national. It is a single publication's figure for the whole country. Real quotes depend on region, supplier, mix strength, order size and delivery distance.
- Scope unclear. The article does not say whether its range covers the concrete alone or a delivered price, and it notes that some supplier quotes behind its regional examples included delivery or short-load fees.
- Dates and spread. Its national average of $179.95 per cubic yard is labeled as a 2025 figure although the page was updated in July 2026, and its regional examples run from $150 to $210 (Chicago $170–$210; Los Angeles $170–$200; Lynchburg, VA $150–$180).
- The calculator's starting price. The illustrative $180 per cubic yard is the ballpark the article suggests. It is an assumption for a first result, not a local price and not updated in real time. Replace it with your supplier's quote.
- Not verified or endorsed by us. We report what the source states. Prices move: check the article and your suppliers before you budget.
Keep the cost lines apart
| Cost line | What it covers | Reference from the source |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete | The ready-mix itself, priced per cubic yard | $160–$195 per cubic yard (indicative) |
| Delivery fee | Trucking to your site; many suppliers price it by trip or distance | No figure given. Ask your supplier. |
| Short-load fee | Extra charge some suppliers add when the order is under their minimum load | No figure given. Ask your supplier. |
| Labor | Installation work. It is not part of the concrete price | No figure given for labor alone. |
A fully installed project is a different number
The same article gives $6.50 to $10.50 per square foot for a plain concrete slab, with materials and labor, depending on project size and complexity. That is an installed-project figure. Do not compare it with the per-yard concrete price, and do not add it to the calculator's concrete line: the calculator keeps the concrete, the fees and your own labor amount on separate lines.
Concrete Cost per Cubic Yard
The price per cubic yard is what a local ready-mix supplier quotes for your mix and order size. One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet and covers 81 square feet at 4 inches thick.
Ready-mix concrete in the United States is quoted per cubic yard, a volume of 27 cubic feet. The number you type into the price field is that quote. It starts at an illustrative $180; because the calculator multiplies your order volume by whatever is in the field, small differences between suppliers show up immediately: change the price and watch the estimate move.
The price per yard moves with the strength rating, additives, fibers, color and the type of aggregate, and it often has a delivery component rolled in or listed separately. Ask which one you are looking at so you do not pay for delivery twice in your budget.
| Thickness | Area covered |
|---|---|
| 3 in | 108 sq ft |
| 4 in | 81 sq ft |
| 5 in | 64.8 sq ft |
| 6 in | 54 sq ft |
Calculated as 27 ÷ (thickness in inches ÷ 12). No allowance for waste.
| Cubic yards | Area at 4 in | Concrete cost at the calculator's price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 yd³ | 81 sq ft | $180 |
| 2 yd³ | 162 sq ft | $360 |
| 3 yd³ | 243 sq ft | $540 |
| 4 yd³ | 324 sq ft | $720 |
| 5 yd³ | 405 sq ft | $900 |
| 10 yd³ | 810 sq ft | $1,800 |
Cost = cubic yards × the price in the calculator above (initially the illustrative $180, not a local price). Delivery and short-load fees are not included.
For metric, one cubic yard is 0.7646 cubic meters and one cubic meter is 1.3080 cubic yards. A price per cubic meter is therefore about 1.31 times the price per cubic yard for the same concrete.
Concrete Cost by Project Type
For any flat pour the concrete maths is the same: area × thickness gives the volume, and volume × your price gives the material cost. What changes from one project to the next is preparation, reinforcement, finish and labor.
The calculator models a flat rectangular pour. Plenty of home projects fit that description, but what pushes the cost differs from one to the next. For L-shapes or separate areas, calculate each rectangle and add the volumes.
Patios and walkways
These are usually poured around 4 inches thick for foot traffic, though local conditions and codes can call for more. Expect finish choices (broom, exposed aggregate, stamped, colored) and drainage slope to affect labor far more than the concrete volume does.
Shed and equipment pads
A pad for a shed, a generator or an air conditioner is small enough that the minimum-order or short-load rules of a ready-mix plant can matter more than the per-yard price. Ask about them before you set a budget, and consider whether bagged mix makes sense for very small pours.
Driveways and garage floors
Vehicles call for a thicker slab and good subgrade preparation, and the area is large, so waste and reinforcement have a bigger impact on the total. Check what thickness and reinforcement your local requirements and your contractor recommend, and enter that thickness rather than the 4-inch default.
Footings and foundations
You can use the calculator for a rough volume, but these elements are structural. Their dimensions come from a design and local code, not from a rule of thumb, so treat any number from this page as a preliminary check only.
Concrete Cost by Size
A 10 × 10 ft slab at 4 inches thick needs about 1.23 cubic yards (1.36 with 10% waste); a 20 × 20 ft slab needs about 4.94 (5.43 with waste).
These are the concrete quantities for common slab sizes, shown with a 10% waste allowance. The last column multiplies the 4-inch order volume by the price in the calculator above. It starts at the illustrative $180 per cubic yard and follows whatever price you type, so replace it with your quote.
| Slab size | Area | 4 in thick | 6 in thick | Concrete cost at 4 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft | 100 sq ft | 1.36 yd³ | 2.04 yd³ | $244 |
| 12 × 12 ft | 144 sq ft | 1.96 yd³ | 2.93 yd³ | $352 |
| 12 × 20 ft | 240 sq ft | 3.26 yd³ | 4.89 yd³ | $587 |
| 20 × 20 ft | 400 sq ft | 5.43 yd³ | 8.15 yd³ | $978 |
| 24 × 24 ft | 576 sq ft | 7.82 yd³ | 11.73 yd³ | $1,408 |
| 30 × 30 ft | 900 sq ft | 12.22 yd³ | 18.33 yd³ | $2,200 |
Concrete only: no delivery or short-load fees, no labor. Volumes are rounded to two decimals; the cost column uses unrounded volumes.
If your size is not listed, type it in the calculator. Volume scales directly with every dimension, and thickness is the easiest one to underestimate: moving from a 4-inch slab to a 5-inch slab adds 25% to the concrete you need, and moving to 6 inches adds 50%.
Materials, Delivery and Labor
Concrete, delivery, short-load fees and labor are four separate lines. The calculator keeps them apart so you can see what each one adds, and so a concrete price is never mistaken for the cost of a finished slab.
- Concrete (materials). Your price per cubic yard multiplied by the order volume. If your supplier quotes a delivered price, this line may already include trucking.
- Delivery fee. Optional flat amount for trucking, fuel or waiting time when they are listed apart from the concrete.
- Short-load fee. Optional flat amount that some suppliers charge when an order is below their minimum load. Small pours such as a shed pad are where it matters most.
- Labor. Optional flat amount for installation. If a contractor quotes per square foot, multiply their rate by the surface area shown in the result and enter the total.
Open Add delivery, short-load fee or labor in the calculator to include them. The result shows the concrete and the fees as one subtotal, labor on its own line, and a total, so materials and installation are never blended. Items that remain outside the estimate unless you add them yourself: excavation and grading, gravel base, forms, rebar or mesh, finishing and sealing, pumping, taxes, permits and disposal of excavated material. Even with a labor amount, the result is not a full installed-project quote.
How to Calculate Concrete Cost
You can check the calculator by hand in four steps for a rectangular slab in feet and inches.
2. Volume (cubic yards) = cubic feet ÷ 27
3. Order (cubic yards) = volume × (1 + waste % ÷ 100)
4. Cost = order (cubic yards) × your price per cubic yard + delivery fee + short-load fee + labor
Worked example. A 20 ft × 20 ft slab, 4 inches thick, with 10% waste, at the illustrative $180 per cubic yard:
133.33 ÷ 27 = 4.94 cubic yards
4.94 × 1.10 = 5.43 cubic yards to order
5.43 × $180 per cubic yard ≈ $977.78 (calculated from the unrounded volume)
The $180 per cubic yard is the illustrative starting price, the ballpark of the sourced reference. It is not a local price and not updated in real time. Use your own quote, and add delivery, short-load fees and labor as separate lines.
Metric works the same way: volume in cubic meters is length (m) × width (m) × thickness (cm) ÷ 100, and the cost uses a price per cubic meter.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is 2 yards of concrete delivered?
Two cubic yards cost 2 × your supplier's price per cubic yard, plus the delivery fee and any short-load fee they list. Two cubic yards cover about 162 square feet at 4 inches thick. At the illustrative $180 per cubic yard the concrete alone would be $360, but very small orders often carry a short-load or minimum-order charge, so ask before you assume the per-yard price applies. The table under "Concrete Cost per Cubic Yard" multiplies 1 to 10 yards by the price in the calculator.
Does concrete delivery cost extra?
Often, yes, but it depends on the supplier. Some quote one delivered price per cubic yard; others list the concrete separately and add a delivery fee, a fuel surcharge, a short-load fee for small orders, or a charge for time on site. Ask which applies, then enter the delivery fee and the short-load fee in their own fields so nothing is counted twice.
What is the difference between material cost and installed cost?
Material cost is the concrete itself: volume to order times the price per cubic yard, plus the delivery and short-load fees if you add them. Installed cost also includes site preparation, forms, reinforcement, placing, finishing, curing and sometimes permits and disposal. The two are different numbers: the source in the price reference gives $160–$195 per cubic yard for the concrete, but $6.50–$10.50 per square foot for a plain installed slab with materials and labor. This calculator shows the concrete, and a total with labor only if you type a labor amount yourself.
How do I work out concrete cost per square foot?
Divide the total by the surface area, or use thickness: cost per square foot = price per cubic yard × (thickness in inches ÷ 12) ÷ 27, before waste. As arithmetic only, at the illustrative $180 per cubic yard and 4 inches thick that is $2.22 per square foot of concrete alone. That is not the cost of an installed slab: labor, preparation and finishing come on top. The calculator shows your own per-square-foot figure for whatever lines you enter.
How much concrete do I need for a 20 × 20 ft slab?
At 4 inches thick, a 20 × 20 ft slab is 4.94 cubic yards of concrete. With a 10% waste allowance, plan to order about 5.43 cubic yards. At 6 inches thick the same footprint needs 7.41 cubic yards before waste.
How many cubic yards are in a 10 × 10 ft slab?
A 10 × 10 ft slab that is 4 inches thick holds 1.23 cubic yards, or 1.36 cubic yards with a 10% allowance.
How much area does one cubic yard of concrete cover?
One cubic yard covers 81 square feet at 4 inches thick, 64.8 square feet at 5 inches, and 54 square feet at 6 inches. That comes straight from 27 cubic feet divided by the thickness in feet.
What price should I enter?
Enter the price per cubic yard you were quoted by a local ready-mix supplier for the mix you need. The field starts at an illustrative $180, the ballpark suggested by the sourced reference on this page, so you see a result straight away. It is not a local price and it is not updated in real time: the calculator does not know your local prices and does not pull them from anywhere. Ask whether the quoted price already includes delivery before you add a delivery fee.
Where does the $160–$195 per cubic yard range come from, and how reliable is it?
It comes from one published article: Concrete Network, "Concrete Prices 2026 – How Much is a Yard of Concrete?", updated July 14, 2026. We read it on October 26, 2026. It is an indicative U.S. national range, not a local or real-time price and not a quote. The article does not say whether the range is concrete alone or a delivered price, its national average of $179.95 is labeled as a 2025 figure, and the regional examples it lists run from $150 to $210 per cubic yard. Use it as a starting point and replace it with a supplier quote.
How much extra concrete should I order?
Many contractors build in a margin of roughly 5% to 10%, and more for uneven ground or complex forms. The default here is 10% and you can change it with the plus and minus buttons or by typing a value. Your supplier or contractor knows your site better than any calculator does.
What does the estimate leave out?
Unless you type them into the delivery fee, short-load fee and labor fields, the estimate covers concrete only. Excavation, gravel base, forms, rebar or wire mesh, finishing, sealing, taxes, permits and disposal are not included, so even with a labor amount it is not a full installed-project quote. Fees and labor are flat amounts you provide, not figures the tool looks up.
Can I use meters and centimeters?
Yes. Switch to "Meters & cm" and enter length and width in meters, thickness in centimeters, and a price per cubic meter. One cubic yard equals 0.7646 cubic meters, so one cubic meter is 1.3080 cubic yards. When you switch units, your numbers are converted so the project stays the same.