How much does a 2-car concrete driveway cost?

A 20 × 24 ft two-car driveway (480 sq ft) typically costs $3,120–$6,360 installed at 4 inches thick. A wider 24 × 24 ft one runs $3,740–$7,630. The 20 × 24 ft driveway takes 6.52 cubic yards of concrete with 10% extra, about $1,180–$1,510 delivered.

Is concrete or asphalt cheaper for a driveway?

Neither is reliably cheaper nationally, because their installed prices overlap: concrete typically runs $6.50–$13.25 per square foot and new asphalt $7–$12.75. For a 480 sq ft driveway that's $3,120–$6,360 in concrete against $3,360–$6,120 in asphalt, so local quotes decide it. Gravel is far cheaper, though sources disagree widely on its price.

How much does it cost to replace a concrete driveway?

Tearing out the old slab typically costs $2.25–$6.75 per square foot and a new driveway $6.50–$13.25, so replacement runs about $8.75–$20 per square foot. For a 480 sq ft driveway that's $4,200–$9,600. HomeGuide's own figure for tearing out and replacing a slab is $8–$18 per square foot.

Is $10 a square foot fair for a concrete driveway?

Yes, it sits inside the national typical range of $6.50–$13.25 per square foot installed. Check what the price includes: tear-out, base depth, thickness, control joints and the apron. A quote under $5 per square foot is lower than any source we found, so ask what's been left out.

How far apart should control joints be in a concrete driveway?

The Michigan Concrete Association sets the maximum spacing at 2 feet for every inch of thickness: 8 feet for a 4 in driveway and 10 feet for a 5 in one. A 40 × 12 ft driveway at 4 inches needs a joint down the middle and four across, which makes ten panels of 6 × 8 ft.

Do I need a permit for a concrete driveway?

Often, especially for the apron that crosses the sidewalk to the street, which local codes commonly require to be 6 inches thick. Rules and fees are set by your city or county, so call the building department before you sign, and ask the contractor whether the permit is in their price.

Concrete Driveway Cost per Square Foot, with Calculator

Q: How thick should a concrete driveway be?

Four inches is the usual minimum for cars, light trucks and SUVs, and 5 inches or more where delivery trucks or other heavy vehicles drive, according to County Materials and the Michigan Concrete Association. Codes often ask for 6 inches on the apron between the street and the sidewalk. Going from 4 to 5 inches on a 480 sq ft driveway adds about $280–$355 of concrete.

Concrete driveway cost per square foot

Concrete driveway cost is typically $6.50–$13.25 per square foot installed. That range is the middle of three national guides: HomeGuide gives $6–$15, ConcreteNetwork.com $5–$8 for a plain gray driveway and NerdWallet, citing Angi, $8–$20. HomeGuide splits its range into $3–$7 for labor and $3–$8 for materials. Decorative work costs more: ConcreteNetwork.com puts a decorative driveway at $8–$21.

The concrete is the smaller part of that price. For the 40 × 12 ft driveway in the calculator, 6.52 cubic yards delivered costs $1,180–$1,510 with the short-load fee and delivery charges, which is $2.50–$3.25 of each square foot. A contractor who buys a full truck for a bigger job avoids the short-load fee, so their concrete cost per square foot can be lower still. The rest of the installed price is the crew, excavation, base stone, forms, finishing, joints, cleanup and the contractor’s overhead.

What drives the cost of a concrete driveway

Area. Price scales mostly with square feet, so measure the apron and any parking pad as well as the drive itself.
Thickness. Each extra inch on a 480 sq ft driveway adds about 1.6 cubic yards of concrete, counting the 10% extra.
Tear-out. Breaking up and hauling away an old driveway can add as much as half again to the job.
Soil and base. Soft ground means more digging and a deeper base, from 6 to 12 inches of stone.
Access. If the truck can’t back up to the forms, a pump costs $300–$450 per pour at the suppliers we found.
The apron and permit. Codes usually call for a thicker apron where the driveway meets the street, and work there may need a permit and inspection.
Finish. Plain broom finish is the baseline; decorative work runs up to $21 per square foot in ConcreteNetwork.com’s figures.

Cost by driveway size

The sizes below run from a one-car 10 × 20 ft pad to a 20 × 50 ft drive, all 4 inches thick. Each is priced as a typical installed job and as the concrete alone from a ready-mix truck. The 80 lb bag column is there for comparison; almost nobody pours a driveway from bags.

Concrete driveway cost by size, 4 in thick
Slab	Installed	Concrete only, ready-mix	Concrete only, 80 lb bags
10 × 20 ft, 200 sq ft · 2.72 yd³	$1,300–$2,650	$530–$680	$770–$795, 123 bags
20 × 24 ft, 480 sq ft · 6.52 yd³	$3,120–$6,360	$1,180–$1,510	$1,830–$1,900, 294 bags
24 × 24 ft, 576 sq ft · 7.82 yd³	$3,740–$7,630	$1,410–$1,790	$2,200–$2,280, 352 bags
12 × 50 ft, 600 sq ft · 8.15 yd³	$3,900–$7,950	$1,460–$1,860	$2,290–$2,370, 367 bags
20 × 50 ft, 1,000 sq ft · 13.58 yd³	$6,500–$13,250	$1,830–$2,290	$3,820–$3,960, 612 bags

4 in thick. Installed uses the typical $6.50–$13.25 per sq ft. Concrete only includes 10% extra, ready-mix at $130–$162 per cubic yard, a short-load fee on orders under a full truck and a delivery fee; bags at $6.24–6.47 each. National typical prices, 2023–2026 sources.

The 20 × 50 ft driveway needs 13.58 cubic yards, more than one truck carries (9–11 cubic yards). The table prices it without a short-load fee, but a plant may charge one on the second, partly full truck, so ask how they’ll split the load.

How thick should a concrete driveway be?

A new light-gray concrete driveway with a broom finish and straight control joints leading to a two-car garage — A broom-finished driveway with control joints. Illustration generated for this page.

County Materials’ driveway guidance, which points readers to the Wisconsin Ready Mixed Concrete Association, gives 4 inches for cars, light trucks and SUVs and 5 inches or more for heavier vehicles. The Michigan Concrete Association gives the same figures: 4 inches minimum, 5 inches where delivery vehicles use the driveway. Ohio’s ready-mix association notes that codes usually require 6 inches for the apron between the street and the sidewalk.

Extra thickness costs little next to the installed price. On the 40 × 12 ft driveway, going from 4 to 5 inches raises the order from 6.52 to 8.15 cubic yards and the delivered concrete from $1,180–$1,510 to $1,460–$1,860, about $280–$355 more, or $0.60–$0.75 per square foot. Going to 6 inches (9.78 yards) adds $560–$705 over 4 inches. The thickness chips on the calculator switch between 4 and 5 inches to show the difference for your own driveway, and the concrete calculator gives the yards and bags for any other thickness.

Base, forms, reinforcement and control joints

The concrete sits on compacted stone. County Materials calls for 6–12 inches of compacted gravel or crushed stone under a residential driveway, and the Michigan Concrete Association sets a minimum compacted sub-base of 4 inches. Crusher run is a common choice because it packs hard, and the order allows a third extra for that compaction:

Crusher run base under a 40 × 12 ft driveway, 6 in compacted

Area: 40 ft × 12 ft = 480 sq ft; × 6 in deep = 240 cu ft.
240 cu ft ÷ 27 = 8.89 cubic yards.
Adding 33% for compaction and 5% extra for waste gives 12.4 cubic yards.
Rounded up to the next 0.5 cubic yard: order 12.5 cubic yards.
Weight of crusher run: 15.1–18.6 tons, depending on moisture and grading.

At the typical $24–$34 a ton, 15.1–18.6 tons cost $360–$635, plus $50–$150 for delivery. On soft soil where the contractor goes to 12 inches, the stone roughly doubles to $725–$1,270 before delivery.

Control joints are the grooves that tell the slab where to crack. The Michigan Concrete Association sets the maximum spacing at 2 ft per inch of thickness, which is 8 feet for a 4 in driveway and 10 feet for a 5 in one. On the 40 × 12 ft example at 4 inches, that means one joint down the middle and four across: ten panels of 6 × 8 ft and 88 linear feet of joints. At 5 inches the cross joints can move to every 10 feet, so three across and the same center joint. Ask whether the joints will be tooled into the wet concrete or saw-cut afterward, and who decides where they go.

National guides rarely price forms and reinforcement separately, and the ones that do price rebar disagree by several times over. Ask for both as separate lines on the quote, and ask how the reinforcement will be held up inside the slab while the concrete goes in.

Removing an old driveway

Tear-out and disposal typically adds $2.25–$6.75 per square foot. HomeGuide gives $3–$8 including disposal, LawnStarter $2–$7 and Angi $2–$6, with most of Angi’s figure going to labor. For a 480 sq ft driveway that’s $1,080–$3,240 before any new concrete goes in.

The price reflects the weight. Cured concrete weighs 3,780–4,185 lb per cubic yard, so an old 40 × 12 ft driveway 4 inches thick (5.93 cubic yards) is 22,400–24,800 lb, or 11.2–12.4 tons, to break up, load and haul away. LawnStarter puts disposal fees at $51–$100 a ton, which would be $570–$1,240 for this driveway if the hauler charges by weight.

Put together, a full replacement runs about $8.75–$20 per square foot: $4,200–$9,600 for 480 square feet. HomeGuide’s own figure for tearing out and replacing a slab is a little lower, $8–$18 per square foot. A $13,500 replacement quote is a typical price for a driveway of roughly 675 to 1,540 square feet at $8.75–$20 per square foot. On a 480 sq ft driveway it works out to $28.13 per square foot, well above the typical range, so get a second quote and ask the contractor what drives the price.

Concrete vs asphalt vs gravel driveway cost

For a 20 × 24 ft two-car driveway (480 sq ft), national typical prices put concrete at $3,120–$6,360, new asphalt at $3,360–$6,120 and gravel at $480–$2,280. Concrete and asphalt overlap so much that local prices decide which is cheaper. Asphalt can later be overlaid for a typical $1.50–$4 per square foot. Gravel costs least to install, but sources disagree widely on how much, and it needs topping up and regrading. For more detail, see what an asphalt driveway costs and what a gravel driveway costs.

Pouring a 40 × 12 ft concrete driveway yourself vs hiring a crew

Take the calculator’s example: a 40 × 12 ft driveway, 4 inches thick, on 6 inches of compacted crusher run.

Concrete: 6.52 cubic yards with 10% extra, $1,180–$1,510 delivered with the short-load and delivery fees
Base: 15.1–18.6 tons of crusher run, $410–$785 delivered
Materials total: $1,590–$2,290, before forms, reinforcement, a plate compactor and a concrete saw

A typical installed job for the same driveway is $3,120–$6,360, or $4,200–$9,600 if an old driveway has to come out first. HomeGuide’s labor share of $3–$7 per square foot comes to $1,440–$3,360 here. National median pay in May 2025 was $27.41 an hour for cement masons and concrete finishers and $22.66 for construction laborers (Bureau of Labor Statistics). A contractor’s hourly rate is higher than the wage because it also covers insurance, equipment and overhead.

Weigh the savings against the risk. A driveway has to slope so water runs off, carry vehicles and get its joints at the right time, and all 6.5 yards arrive on one truck. If the result has to come out, removal alone costs $1,080–$3,240 for this size. A middle path is to do the demolition or base prep yourself and hire a crew for forming, the pour and finishing.

What to ask a driveway contractor

How thick will the driveway be, and will the apron at the street be thicker?
What goes under the slab, how many inches of it, and what compacts it?
Is tear-out of the old driveway included, and who pays the disposal fees?
Where will the control joints go, and will they be tooled or saw-cut?
What reinforcement is included, and how will it be held up during the pour?
Which way will the driveway slope, and where will the water go?
Is the permit in your price, and who schedules the inspection?
What finish do you use, and how will the concrete be cured?

How to read a concrete driveway quote

Turn every quote into a price per square foot before you compare them. Divide the total by length × width; a 480 sq ft driveway quoted at $4,800 is $10 a square foot, inside the typical $6.50–$13.25. When three quotes come in far apart, line them up item by item: thickness, base depth, tear-out, apron, joints, reinforcement, permit and cleanup. Quotes often differ because they cover different work, and the cheapest one may simply leave something out.

A quote below $5 per square foot is lower than any source we found, so ask what’s missing. One above $20 is higher than any source and needs a reason, such as heavy demolition, a long or steep site, a thick apron or a decorative finish. Between those two, the differences come down to scope and the contractor.

The quote box in the driveway calculator above does this for you. It takes your driveway’s size and the total you were quoted and shows the price per square foot against the typical range for a new driveway. That check covers the new concrete only, so if your quote includes tearing out the old driveway, take the removal line out first, or tick the tear-out box to see the typical total with removal and compare against that.

Concrete Driveway Cost