Concrete Driveway Cost in 2026

Here's the number first: in 2026, a concrete driveway costs about $6–$15 per square foot installed, or roughly $10 at mid-range. For the typical 600 sq ft two-car driveway (20 × 30 ft), that's $3,600 to $9,000 — with most homeowners landing near $6,000 for a standard finish. What moves you inside that band is mostly one choice: the finish. Let's price it.

Price per square foot, by finish

Concrete is quoted per square foot, installed — that bundles the gravel base, forming, ready-mix, reinforcement, placement, and finishing. These are the 2026 ranges we use in our driveway cost calculator:

Finish	Installed $/sq ft	600 sq ft driveway
Broom (standard)	$6–$10	$3,600–$6,000
Exposed aggregate	$9–$13	$5,400–$7,800
Colored / integral	$10–$14	$6,000–$8,400
Stamped	$12–$15+	$7,200–$9,000+

A plain broom finish — the light-brushed texture on most driveways — is the value pick and sits at the bottom of the range. Exposed aggregate (washed to reveal the stone) and colored concrete land in the middle. Stamped concrete, pressed to mimic brick, slate, or cobblestone, tops the band; premium multi-color or bordered patterns can run past $18/sq ft, above our calculator's ceiling. Independent pricing lines up with this: Concrete Network puts plain concrete at $5–$8 and decorative work at $8–$21+, and their stamped concrete guide starts basic stamping at $10–$14/sq ft.

Base, thickness, and cubic yards

Underneath the finish is the slab, and two things set its cost: how thick it is and how much concrete that takes.

• Thickness. Four inches is standard for cars and light trucks. Bump to 5–6 inches for an RV, boat, or heavy work truck. The thicker pour uses proportionally more concrete — a 6-inch slab needs 50% more than a 4-inch one.
• Cubic yards. The shortcut is sq ft × thickness (in) ÷ 324. A 600 sq ft driveway at 4 inches needs about 7.4 cubic yards (call it 8 with waste); at 6 inches, about 11 yards. Ready-mix alone runs $110–$165 per cubic yard, per Inch Calculator — so the raw concrete for a 4-inch, 600 sq ft slab is roughly $900–$1,300 before base, forms, and labor.
• Gravel base. A compacted 4-inch aggregate base under the slab is standard; skimping here is the most common cause of early cracking.

Reinforcement: mesh vs. rebar

Nearly every driveway slab is reinforced to control cracking. It's usually included in the per-square-foot price, but here's what it's worth if a bid breaks it out:

• Wire or fiber mesh: about $1–$1.50/sq ft — the default for residential driveways.
• Rebar grid: about $2–$3/sq ft — used on thicker pours, heavy loads, or weak soil.

If two bids are far apart, reinforcement is a good thing to ask about — a cheaper quote sometimes drops the mesh or thins the base.

Removing the old driveway

If you're replacing rather than paving fresh dirt, tear-out is a separate line item — and one thin bids love to omit:

Old surface	Removal $/sq ft	600 sq ft
Asphalt	$1–$3.50	$600–$2,100
Concrete	$2–$6	$1,200–$3,600
Pavers	$1.50–$5	$900–$3,000

Concrete is the priciest to demo — it's heavy, often reinforced, and expensive to haul and dump. On a straight replacement, budget $1,200–$3,600 just to clear the old slab. Add a permit allowance of $50–$250, which most municipalities require for a new driveway.

A worked example: 600 sq ft, broom finish

Here's the math for the most common concrete driveway — a 600 sq ft two-car slab at mid-range 2026 prices:

• 600 sq ft × $10 (broom, typical): $6,000
• Permit allowance: $150
• Total: ~$6,150 — new pour on prepared ground, 4-inch slab with mesh

Replacing an old concrete driveway first (600 sq ft × $4 typical tear-out) adds ~$2,400, bringing it to about $8,550. Want the stamped look instead? Swap the finish to ~$14/sq ft and the slab alone becomes $8,400, pushing the all-in project (with removal and permit) toward $11,000. That's the honest spread for one ordinary driveway — finish and tear-out, not the concrete itself, do most of the work.

For how concrete stacks up against the alternatives, see how much a driveway costs across all materials, our asphalt vs. concrete comparison, and paver driveway cost if you're weighing the premium option. All of them start from the driveway pillar hub.

Get your number

National ranges are a starting point. Your total depends on your exact square footage, finish, slab thickness, reinforcement, and whether an old driveway has to come out first — and every one of those is a field in our calculator. Enter your dimensions and get the full low/mid/high estimate with the math shown.

Open the driveway cost calculator →