Concrete Slab Cost in Texas
Quick answer: a 4-inch concrete slab in Texas costs about $6.00 – $12.00 per sq ft installed, 13% below the U.S. average. A 12 × 12 ft patio runs about $1,030 – $1,810, a 24 × 24 ft garage floor $3,790 – $6,830 and a 20 × 40 ft driveway $5,190 – $9,400.
Texas is one of the cheaper states to pour concrete in our model, and Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth are close to the state level. What costs more in Texas is the ground: much of the eastern half of the state sits on expansive clay that swells when it is wet and shrinks in drought, and a slab built as if the soil were stable will crack.
Concrete Prices in Texas by Project
| Project | Texas installed | Per sq ft | U.S. average | DIY materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 × 12 ft patio | $1,030 – $1,810 | $7.00 – $13.00 | $1,130 – $1,970 | $480 – $710 |
| 10 × 12 ft shed slab | $880 – $1,540 | $7.00 – $13.00 | $970 – $1,680 | $430 – $620 |
| 20 × 20 ft slab | $2,520 – $4,610 | $6.00 – $12.00 | $2,810 – $5,060 | $1,000 – $1,640 |
| 24 × 24 ft garage floor (5 in) | $3,790 – $6,830 | $6.50 – $12.00 | $4,250 – $7,540 | $1,610 – $2,530 |
| 20 × 40 ft driveway (5 in) | $5,190 – $9,400 | $6.00 – $12.00 | $5,820 – $10,380 | $2,160 – $3,440 |
| 30 × 40 ft shop floor (6 in) | $8,170 – $14,570 | $6.50 – $12.50 | $9,190 – $16,140 | $3,620 – $5,540 |
4-inch slabs unless shown. Installed: forms, broom finish and labor, up to vapor barrier, #4 rebar and contractor overhead and profit. DIY: concrete (ready-mix or 80-lb bags, whichever is cheaper) and forms, up to vapor barrier and rebar. Excavation, gravel base and permits are extra.
Metro Areas
Prices in the biggest metro areas differ from the state as a whole, mainly because of labor costs.
| Area | Factor | Slab per sq ft | 12 × 12 patio | 24 × 24 garage | 20 × 40 driveway |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas (statewide) | 0.87 | $6.00 – $12.00 | $1,030 – $1,810 | $3,790 – $6,830 | $5,190 – $9,400 |
| Houston metro, TX | 0.87 | $6.00 – $12.00 | $1,030 – $1,810 | $3,790 – $6,830 | $5,190 – $9,400 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | 0.88 | $6.00 – $12.00 | $1,040 – $1,820 | $3,830 – $6,890 | $5,240 – $9,470 |
Building a Slab in Texas
| Weathering (IRC) | Negligible in South Texas and along the Gulf; moderate across North and Central Texas; severe in the Panhandle. |
|---|---|
| Concrete strength | 3,000 PSI for most patios and driveways; 3,500 PSI air-entrained in the Panhandle. 3,000 PSI ready-mix runs about $117 – $139 per yd³ here. |
| Frost depth | About 6 to 12 in in most of the state; deeper in the Panhandle (around 18 to 24 in). Your city's code sets the depth. |
| Soil | Expansive clay around Houston, the Blackland Prairie (Dallas-Fort Worth to San Antonio) and much of East Texas. House and garage slabs on these soils are usually engineered: thicker select fill, deeper perimeter beams, more steel, or post-tensioned cables. |
| Pouring season | Spring and fall are easiest. Summer pours start at dawn, with a retarder in the mix and wet curing or curing compound right after finishing, because heat and wind dry the surface fast. |
- Keep the soil moisture even around the slab: a downspout or sprinkler soaking one side of a slab on clay is a common cause of one corner lifting and cracking.
- For a garage or house slab, ask for the engineer's foundation design. Post-tensioned slabs are common in Texas subdivisions and are priced differently from a rebar slab.
- Most Texas cities require a permit for a new driveway approach at the street, and many HOAs have their own rules for driveways and patios.
Frost depths and permit rules are set by your city or county; check with the local building department before you dig. A permit for a small residential slab or driveway typically costs about $50 – $350.
Price Your Own Slab in Texas
The calculator below starts at Texas prices. Enter your size, thickness, finish and reinforcement; if you have local prices for ready-mix or labor, type them over the defaults.
Concrete Slab Cost & Volume Estimator
Precision multi-layer project budgeting: Materials, Sub-Base, Reinforcement, Labor & Equipment
Picking a location sets the ready-mix, excavation and labor rates below to that area's typical level. You can still type your own local prices afterwards. Slab prices by state.
Closer spacing uses more steel and raises the rebar cost.
Not charged when bagged concrete is selected.
A scaled plan of your slab: rebar grid at the spacing you chose, support chairs about every 3 to 4 ft, and the recommended control-joint saw cuts (2.5 times the thickness in inches, in feet, capped at 15 ft). It redraws as you change the inputs.
| Scope Item / Material Description | Amount |
|---|
Enter the total your contractor quoted. We compare it with a benchmark for the same slab and scope you set in the calculator: materials at your entered prices plus labor at the regional standard rate, before any overhead or profit. Make sure the calculator scope (base, rebar, finish, pump, demolition) matches what the bid includes.
Optional: enter the bid's line items to see where the markup sits
Enter the forecast for pour day. The check follows ACI 306R (cold weather) and ACI 305R (hot weather) and estimates the surface evaporation rate that drives plastic shrinkage cracking.
How These Prices Are Worked Out
These are modelled prices, not quotes collected from Texas contractors. Each project is priced with the same line items as the slab cost calculator at national unit prices, then Texas's location factor of 0.87 is applied to ready-mix concrete and labor, as the calculator does when you pick Texas. Bagged concrete, forms, rebar and the delivery fee stay at national prices. The factors are approximate, set by our editors to reflect typical construction cost differences between states; the full method is in the 2026 concrete price report.
Have a quote already? Check it with the concrete quote checker, which uses the same factors.
Texas Concrete Questions
About $6.00 to $12.00 per sq ft installed for a 4-inch slab with forms, a broom finish and labor, 13% below the national average. A 12 x 12 ft patio runs about $1,030 to $1,810 and a 24 x 24 ft garage floor (5 in) about $3,790 to $6,830. Excavation, gravel and permits are extra.
A 20 x 40 ft driveway, 5 inches thick with rebar and a broom finish, costs about $5,190 to $9,400 installed in Texas ($6.00 to $12.00 per sq ft). Removing an old driveway and the street apron are extra.
About $117 to $139 per cubic yard for 3,000 PSI ready-mix before delivery fees, and about $124 to $157 for 4,000 PSI. Small loads add a short-load fee of $80 to $200 or more.
In the Houston area our model puts 3,000 PSI ready-mix at about $117 to $139 per cubic yard before delivery, and a 4-inch slab at about $6.00 to $12.00 per sq ft installed, 13% below the U.S. average. A 12 x 12 ft patio runs about $1,030 to $1,810 and a 20 x 40 ft driveway about $5,190 to $9,400.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area our model puts 3,000 PSI ready-mix at about $119 to $141 per cubic yard before delivery, and a 4-inch slab at about $6.00 to $12.00 per sq ft installed, 12% below the U.S. average. A 12 x 12 ft patio runs about $1,040 to $1,820 and a 20 x 40 ft driveway about $5,240 to $9,470.
For a patio or driveway: strip the topsoil, add compacted select fill or gravel, use #4 rebar rather than mesh, and keep water from pooling on one side. For a garage or house, follow an engineer's design, often a post-tensioned slab or one with deep perimeter beams; it costs more than the plain slab priced here.
They are the site's national cost model with Texas's location factor (0.87) applied to ready-mix and labor, the same thing the calculator does when you pick Texas. They are modelled estimates, not prices collected from Texas contractors; get local quotes before you build.