A 24 × 24 ft garage slab 4 inches thick with wire mesh costs about $3,500 installed at US-average prices, in a range of $2,900 to $4,100, or roughly $6 a square foot. Ready-mix is the smaller part of that: 8 cubic yards at $110 to $150 a yard. Labor to form, place and finish is the biggest line, and a short-load fee adds a few hundred dollars when the order is below a full truck.
How the concrete cost is calculated
The calculator first works out the concrete, then prices each part of the job at a low, typical and high unit cost, and scales labor and materials to your state.
Cost = cubic yards ordered × price per yard + delivery + short-load fee + labor per sq ft × area + reinforcement and finish per sq ft
For the garage slab: 24 × 24 × 4 ÷ 12 = 192 cubic feet; plus 10% and ÷ 27 = 7.82 cubic yards; rounded up to the next quarter yard, 8. At typical prices:
| Line | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-mix, 8 cu yd | $1,050 | $880 to $1,200 |
| Delivery, 1 truck | $60 | $60 to $70 |
| Fuel surcharge | $30 | $20 to $40 |
| Short-load fee, 8 cu yd | $400 | $320 to $480 |
| Forming, placing and finishing, 576 sq ft | $1,450 | $1,150 to $1,750 |
| Welded wire mesh, installed | $520 | $480 to $560 |
| Total | $3,500 | $2,900 to $4,100 |
Totals are rounded the way the calculator shows them. If you place and finish the slab yourself, the labor line drops out and the typical total falls to about $2,050.
Where the prices come from
Each unit cost is a published US average with its date:
- Ready-mix $110 to $150 per cubic yard, short-load fee $40 to $60 per cubic yard on orders below a full truck, fuel surcharge $20 to $40 per load: HomeAdvisor, updated June 2026. It puts 3,000 to 3,500 psi mixes around $130 a yard and 4,000 psi around $150.
- Delivery $55 to $65 per full truck, tow-behind pump $150 to $200 an hour plus $2 to $10 per cubic yard: Fixr, January 2025.
- Labor about $2 to $3 per square foot: HomeAdvisor's slab cost guide, June 2026.
- Welded wire mesh installed $0.83 to $0.98 per square foot: homewyse, September 2026.
- Rebar $2 to $3, thickened edges $1 to $2, vapor barrier $0.50, stain $3.50 to $7.50, stamping $10 to $14 and sealer $4.50 per square foot: This Old House, March 2026.
The typical figure is the middle of each range. The state factor scales material and labor to local levels.
Concrete slab price per square foot
The per-square-foot figure depends heavily on size, because the fixed costs (delivery, short-load fee, pump setup) are spread over fewer feet on a small slab. HomeAdvisor's June 2026 guide averages about $6 per square foot and lists patios at $6 to $9 and driveways at $6 to $12; This Old House gives $4 to $8. homewyse's September 2026 estimate for a basic 4 inch slab, excavation not included, is $10.63 to $13.00 per square foot, a reminder that small jobs and high-cost areas can land well above the build-up here. Use the range to judge quotes, not to replace them.
Ready-mix versus bags
Enter your store's price for a bag and the calculator puts the bagged cost next to the ready-mix cost for the same volume. The garage slab would take 352 bags of 80 lb mix, over 28,000 lb to haul and mix: bags make sense for small pours such as steps, pads and post holes, and ready-mix wins well before this size. The concrete bag calculator compares bag sizes.
What changes the price most
- A pump: when the truck cannot reach, a line pump adds an hourly charge and a per-yard charge. The hours are your estimate; ask the pump company for its minimum.
- The short load: a small order pays the fee on every yard. Pouring two jobs on one truck, or topping the order up to a full truck, can remove it.
- Finish: stamping more than doubles the cost of a plain broom finish per square foot.
- Thickness: going from 4 to 6 inches adds half again to the concrete but little to the labor.
Next steps
Work out the exact volume of other shapes in the concrete calculator, the ready-mix order and trucks in the concrete yard calculator, and the bars for a rebar slab in the rebar calculator. The concrete slab calculator includes this price block under its result.