What you will pay per square foot
A new concrete slab typically runs $4 to $18 per square foot. A new concrete driveway typically runs $8 to $20 per square foot. The spread is wide because jobs differ: how much prep the ground needs, how thick the pour is, how much reinforcement goes in, and what finish you want.
A plain slab on firm ground where the truck can pull right up lands near the $4 end. A driveway with a lot of prep, extra reinforcement and a more involved finish sits toward the high end. When we quote, we measure the actual dimensions, look at the ground, and price the finish you pick.
What moves the price up or down
Thickness comes first. A thicker slab takes more concrete and more reinforcement, and anything that will carry vehicles or heavy loads needs more than a patio does. Tell us what is going on top of the slab and we size the pour to it.
Finish is next. After we screed the pour to grade and bull-float it to take out high and low spots, we wait for the surface sheen to disappear before floating again. From there it is either a steel trowel for a smooth surface or a broom for texture. Each takes different timing and labor, and the quote reflects the one you choose.
Then access. If a concrete truck cannot get close to the pour, we bring a concrete pump to move the mix across the distance. When a job needs the pump, it is its own line in the written quote, priced apart from the concrete and the labor.
Budgeting a slab: two examples
A 20-by-20 slab is 400 square feet. At the low end of the slab range that comes to roughly $1,600, and at the high end roughly $7,200, before extras.
A 1,000-square-foot slab at the same rates lands between $4,000 and $18,000. A pour that size is big enough that we plan the pump, the crew and the finishing timeline before pour day. In our hot humid summers, finishing starts earlier in the day and moves fast.
The low and high ends are far apart because of thickness and load. Tell us what the slab is for and we can narrow the range quickly.
Budgeting a driveway
A 20-by-40 driveway is 800 square feet. At $8 to $20 per square foot, that is about $6,400 at the low end and $16,000 at the high end.
What separates the two is mostly what happens before the pour: whether we are starting on bare ground or removing an old driveway first, how much the subgrade needs, how thick the slab is, and which finish you choose. If the base needs work, that goes in the quote before the pour, since fixing it first costs less than fixing it after the concrete is down.
What is different about pricing in Cedar Rapids
Our summers are hot and humid, and that affects pour scheduling, finishing speed and how we handle curing. It is one reason we do not quote flat numbers sight unseen.
The soils here formed in loess, and that ground moves under foundations and slabs. That is why we check drainage and subgrade on every site instead of assuming it is fine.
With the typical house here dating to 1973, much of our driveway and patio work is replacement. Pulling out the old concrete is part of the job, and we price it as its own line item.
Getting a number for your project
Call us with the rough size and what the concrete needs to carry, and we will give you the typical range for that job. Then we come out, measure, check the ground, and put a written quote together with the exact figure. If you are not sure whether to pour over what is there or tear it out, we will tell you what we would do and why.
Call or use the form on the site to set up a time.
What It Typically Costs
Most jobs land inside these ranges, and yours gets its own written price once we've seen it.
$8–$12 per sq ft
Updated October 2026