How much is a yard of concrete?
The typical $130–$162 a cubic yard is the middle half of 13 figures from national cost guides, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) and supplier price lists in six states. The full spread runs from $115 to $195. The NRMCA’s member survey put the average selling price at $160 a yard in 2023, and ConcreteNetwork.com gives an average of $179.95 for 2025, so a price near the top of the typical range is normal in many markets.
That price covers the concrete only. Plants add charges for small loads, delivery distance, weekends and time on site. On a 3-yard order at national typical prices those charges come to $185–$260, about half again on top of the $390–$485 the concrete itself costs.
The table shows posted prices at seven suppliers for a standard 3,000 psi mix and one stronger mix. The prices are before tax and before the fees in the next section, except in Orlando, where delivery is included. The Vacaville, Orlando and Douglasville suppliers mix on site from volumetric trucks, and the Douglasville supplier specializes in loads under 6 yards.
| Supplier location | 3,000 psi, per yard | Stronger mix, per yard | Price list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | $127.05 | $132 (4,000 psi) | 2026 |
| Columbus, NE | $148 | $156 (4,000 psi) | 2026 |
| Vacaville, CA | $162 | $170 (4,000 psi) | 2026 |
| Orlando, FL | $179 | $209 (4,000 psi) | 2026 |
| Douglasville, GA | $195 | $215 (4,000 psi) | 2026 |
| Crosby, TX | $145 (orders under 50 yards) | not listed | 2025 |
| Paterson and Bridgewater, NJ | $115 | $155 (5,000 psi) | 2024 |
The New Jersey list is undated apart from a 2024 copyright, so treat it as possibly out of date.
Short-load fees, delivery and standby charges
A ready-mix truck carries about 9–11 cubic yards, according to the NRMCA. Order less than that and most plants add a short-load fee. Three national cost guides put it at $40 to $60 per cubic yard (LawnStarter $43, HomeGuide $53, Angi $40–$60), for a typical range of $42–$55, charged on orders under about 10 yards.
Some suppliers charge a flat amount per load instead. In our survey, a Columbus, Nebraska plant adds $50 under 4 yards, a Vacaville, California supplier adds $100 or the price of the yards you’re short, whichever is less, and a Douglasville, Georgia supplier adds $200 under 6 yards.
Delivery, fuel and environmental fees come on top at many plants. The typical flat fee on the supplier lists is $60–$95 per truck, with a $55 environmental fee in Los Angeles and a $75 fuel and environmental fee in Douglasville. Zone-based delivery costs more: $120–$350 per load in Vacaville depending on distance, $190–$260 in northern New Jersey and $363.88 for the closest zone in Los Angeles.
This is what an order costs at national typical prices once the short-load and delivery fees are added:
| Order | Concrete | Short-load fee | Delivery fees | Total | Per yard, all in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yd³ | $130–$162 | $42–$55 | $60–$95 | $232–$311 | $232–$311 |
| 2 yd³ | $260–$325 | $85–$110 | $60–$95 | $405–$525 | $202–$264 |
| 3 yd³ | $390–$485 | $125–$165 | $60–$95 | $575–$745 | $192–$248 |
| 5 yd³ | $650–$810 | $210–$275 | $60–$95 | $920–$1,180 | $184–$236 |
| 8 yd³ | $1,040–$1,300 | $340–$440 | $60–$95 | $1,440–$1,830 | $180–$228 |
| 9 yd³ | $1,170–$1,460 | $380–$495 | $60–$95 | $1,610–$2,040 | $179–$227 |
| 10 yd³ | $1,300–$1,620 | none | $60–$95 | $1,360–$1,710 | $136–$171 |
The last two rows show that where the fee is charged per yard on the whole order, 9 yards costs more than 10. If your measurement lands just under a full truck, ask the plant where its cutoff is before you order.
A part-load charge can rival the price of the concrete because the truck, driver and trip cost about the same whether the drum holds 1 yard or 10. On a 1-yard order at national typical prices, the short-load and delivery fees ($100–$150) come close to the yard of concrete ($130–$162). With Douglasville’s $200 short-load fee and $75 fuel fee, the fees on one yard ($275) are more than the $195 yard itself.
Other charges show up on price lists too. The Vacaville supplier adds $100 for Saturday delivery and doubles the delivery fee on Sunday. The Nebraska plant adds a winter surcharge of $5 a yard from December 1 to March 15. Time on site is billed after a free period: the Nebraska plant charges $120 an hour once a truck has been there more than an hour, and the Vacaville supplier allows 5 minutes per yard (20 minutes for loads of 4 yards or less) and then charges $10 per 5 minutes. Both rates come to $2 a minute, so a crew that isn’t ready when the truck arrives adds to the bill.
Placing 3 yards yourself vs hiring a finisher
The calculator above starts at three cubic yards, enough for a 12 × 18 ft slab 4 inches thick, which needs 2.93 yards with 10% extra. Bought by the yard at national typical prices, that order costs:
- Concrete: 3 × $130–$162 = $390–$485
- Short-load fee: 3 × $42–$55 = $125–$165
- Delivery and environmental fees: $60–$95
- Total: $575–$745, or $192–$248 a yard all in
A real price list shows the same pattern. The Orlando supplier quotes 3 yards delivered for $860 ($286.67 a yard) and 2.5 yards for $750 ($300 a yard), each with up to 50 minutes on site included. The same 3 yards in 80 lb bags is 135 bags at $840–$875, or 180 bags of 60 lb mix for about $875, and every bag has to be mixed by hand or in a rented mixer.
If you hire the job out, a typical installed price for that 12 × 18 ft slab, at $6–$10.25 per square foot, is $1,320–$2,230. Of that, the labor-only rate HomeGuide gives for slabs ($3–$5 per square foot) accounts for $650–$1,080. Cement masons and concrete finishers earned a national median of $27.41 an hour in May 2025 by Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, though a contractor bills more per hour to cover insurance, tools and overhead.
If you order the concrete yourself, time on site costs money too. On the Vacaville supplier’s terms, a 3-yard load gives you 20 minutes to unload before standby starts, so the forms, base, wheelbarrows and helpers need to be in place when the truck backs in.
Price by mix strength and add-ons
Stronger mixes cost more per yard. At the five suppliers in the table that list both, moving from 3,000 to 4,000 psi adds $4.95 (Los Angeles), $8 (Columbus and Vacaville), $20 (Douglasville) or $30 (Orlando) a yard. Douglasville’s 5,000 psi mix is $225, and the New Jersey list has 5,000 psi at $155, $40 above its 3,000 psi price. Your contractor or local code sets the strength, so ask the plant to quote the mix that’s specified.
Add-ons are priced per yard too. Fiber reinforcement is about $5 a yard in Orlando, $7 in Douglasville and $15 for fiber mesh in New Jersey, where calcium chloride, which speeds up setting, is $10 a yard. The Douglasville supplier adds $25 a yard to make a mix that can go through a line pump, with the pump itself billed separately.
When the truck can’t reach the pour, a pump is a separate charge. Two suppliers list a pump at $300–$450 per pour; the Los Angeles plant adds $13 a yard on top of its $300 setup. National guides put pump trucks at $148–$205 an hour, and HomeGuide notes a typical 4- to 5-hour minimum for a boom pump. At its $140–$190 hourly range, that minimum alone is $560–$950.
How many yards do you need?
Multiply length × width in feet by the thickness in inches and divide by 324 for cubic yards. At 4 inches, Sakrete’s minimum for slabs and walkways, one yard covers 81 square feet, a 9 × 9 ft slab. At 5 inches it covers 64.8 square feet and at 6 inches 54.
The NRMCA’s guide to ordering ready-mix suggests ordering 4–10 percent more than the plan dimensions give, to cover contingencies. The table below uses 10%, as the calculators on this site do.
| Slab | Cubic yards | 80 lb bags | 60 lb bags | 40 lb bags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 × 9 ft, 81 sq ft | 1.1, 1 before extra | 50 | 66 | 99 |
| 10 × 12 ft, 120 sq ft | 1.63, 1.48 before extra | 74 | 98 | 147 |
| 12 × 18 ft, 216 sq ft | 2.93, 2.67 before extra | 132 | 176 | 264 |
| 16 × 20 ft, 320 sq ft | 4.35, 3.95 before extra | 196 | 261 | 392 |
| 24 × 24 ft, 576 sq ft | 7.82, 7.11 before extra | 352 | 470 | 704 |
4 in thick, with 10% extra, as the calculator does. Bag yields are the manufacturer's: 0.60, 0.45 and 0.30 cu ft.
Some short-load plants sell in half-yard steps, while others want whole yards or a minimum charge. The concrete calculator works out the yards for footings, columns and steps as well as slabs.
Bagged concrete cost per yard
Bag yields come from the manufacturer: an 80 lb bag makes 0.6 cu ft, a 60 lb bag 0.45 cu ft and a 40 lb bag 0.3 cu ft. Per cubic yard that works out to:
- 45 bags of 80 lb mix: $280–$290 at $6.24–$6.47 a bag
- 60 bags of 60 lb mix: about $290 at $4.85 a bag (one retailer’s price)
- 90 bags of 40 lb mix: about $593 at $6.59 a bag (one retailer’s price)
The 80 lb and 60 lb sizes cost about the same per yard; the 40 lb size costs about twice as much. The 45 bags of 80 lb mix weigh 3,600 lb. Home Depot sells a pallet of 42 bags, which makes 25.2 cubic feet, a little under one yard (0.93).
For less than a yard, bags and a mixer can beat a short load. At national typical prices half a yard costs $145–$200 delivered and $145–$150 in 23 bags; three-quarters of a yard is $190–$255 delivered and $210–$220 in 34 bags. Add the mixer rental from your local rental shop to the bag side. A flat short-load fee shifts the math: at the Douglasville supplier, one yard with its $200 short-load fee and $75 fuel fee comes to $470, against $280–$290 in bags. The concrete calculator shows where the bag and truck costs cross for your own slab.
How much concrete prices have risen
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a monthly index of what ready-mix plants charge. It stood at 286.5 in January 2020 and 401.582 in May 2026, a 40.2% rise. The preliminary September 2026 figure, 402.820, is about the same. A price that was $100 a yard at the plant in early 2020 tracks to about $140 now. The index measures what producers charge, not your delivered price, but it’s still a reason not to budget from an old quote or an undated price list.
How to get a better price on ready-mix
- Combine pours into one truck. Two separate 5-yard orders cost $1,840–$2,360 at national typical prices; one 10-yard order is $1,360–$1,710, which saves $485–$640. A slab and a walkway poured the same morning can share a load.
- Ask where the short-load cutoff is. Ask too whether the fee is per yard or flat, since that changes which order size is cheapest.
- Pick the day. Weekday delivery avoids weekend surcharges, and some plants add a winter charge per yard.
- Be ready before the truck arrives. Standby at $2 a minute adds up while forms get finished.
- Get the full price list in writing. Include the fuel, environmental and zone fees so you can compare totals.
Contractors who order often can pay less: the Vacaville supplier’s contractor price is $10 a yard below retail for customers with four or more deliveries a month.
What to ask a concrete supplier
- What’s the price per yard for the mix I need, and what does it cost with fiber or an accelerator?
- Is there a short-load fee, and is it per yard or per load? Below what size?
- What are the delivery, fuel and environmental fees for my address?
- How many minutes of unloading are included, and what’s the standby rate after that?
- Are there weekend, after-hours or winter surcharges?
- What’s the minimum order, and do you sell half yards?
- Can the truck reach my forms, or do I need a pump? Who provides it?
- Is sales tax included in the quote?
If a contractor is supplying the concrete, ask them the same questions about the load they’re ordering for you, and whether the concrete appears on the quote as its own line.
How to read a concrete delivery quote
Start with the volume: your length times width in feet, times the thickness in inches, divided by 324, plus 4% to 10% for contingencies. If the quote orders a lot more than that, ask why.
Next, split the concrete line from the fees. Divide the concrete line by the yards and compare it with the typical $130–$162; anything between $115 and $195 matches a price some source in our survey reported. Then add every fee back in and divide again for the all-in price per yard, and compare that with the table above for your order size. A 3-yard quote at $250 a yard all in is a little above the national typical $192–$248, which can be normal for a short-load specialist or a long delivery.
The quote box in the cost calculator does the division for you: type the total you were quoted, and it divides by your yards and sets the result against the typical per-yard price. That range is for concrete before fees, so a small order’s all-in total will show as above typical; tick the short-load fee and delivery boxes to see the typical all-in total for your size instead.