Asphalt driveway cost in Gulfport, MS

Local wages behind the labor line

Wages are the part of this estimate that changes most from town to town. 3 trades carry the job here, and each is compared with its US median. The weighted result for Gulfport is 0.83 times the national level.

For paving, surfacing and tamping equipment operators (47-2071, weighted 40%) the local median is $21.76 an hour, which is 15% below the national $25.64. The middle half of them earn between $17.72 and $24.20 an hour. BLS counts 60 of them working in the area, 3.8 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 2.7), so the local bench is deeper than average.

Construction laborers (47-2061), 30% of the weighting: a median of $18.69 an hour, 18% below the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $16.86 and $22.67 an hour. About 1,090 work in the metro. That is 68.9 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.

For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073, weighted 30%) the local median is $23.42 an hour, which is 19% below the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $19.05 and $27.50 an hour. BLS counts 510 of them working in the area, 32.2 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 30.7), so the local bench is about average.

Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the paving, surfacing and tamping equipment operators on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($24.20 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $80. At the 25th percentile ($17.72) it shrinks by about $130. The total moves by 1.7% or 2.8%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 158,310 jobs in the Gulfport-Biloxi area. That makes it the 149th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.10% of US employment.

Cost by quality level and size in Gulfport

Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Gulfport wages and prices. They overlap on purpose: a good standard job and a modest premium job can cost the same. The grid below prices the same bands at 4 common sizes.

What nearby projects cost in Gulfport

Because every project leans on different trades, Gulfport's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, French drain runs −11% and concrete driveway −19%.

When to schedule asphalt driveway in Gulfport

We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Gulfport - Biloxi Ap (in the city). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.

September through June is the stretch where digging, grading and setting material in the ground runs into the fewest weather problems in Gulfport (10 of 12 months). July and August have an average daytime high of 90°F or more.

Gulfport gets about 63 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are June, July and August (7.2 inches in July). Inside the workable window, October and November are the driest, at 3.7 and 4.0 inches. The station averages about 69 days a year at 90°F or above.

Does the season change the price? Probably, but we do not have a sourced seasonal price curve, so the estimator shows a year-round figure and does not adjust by month. When you collect quotes, ask whether scheduling in a slower month gets a better rate.

Specs and site conditions that change a Gulfport bid

• Base work

  Four to eight inches of compacted aggregate under the asphalt is where cheap quotes cut corners. Base typically runs $1-$3 per sq ft.

• Small jobs cost more per foot

  Paving crews move a paver, roller and trucks to your address, so a 400 sq ft driveway carries more mobilization per square foot than a 1,000 sq ft one.

• Hot-mix price

  Hot-mix asphalt is $100-$200 per ton delivered and moves with oil prices (PaveGauge).

Add-ons priced for Gulfport

Extras are quoted nationally and then scaled to Gulfport by the average of the local wage index (0.83) and goods index (0.96), a factor of 0.90. Tick any of them in the estimator above to add them to your total. Treat these as planning figures: an add-on touches different trades than the main job, so the scaling is an approximation.

Is Gulfport cheap or dear? The local comparison

Contractors rarely work more than an hour or two from home, so the neighboring metros set a rough ceiling and floor for your quotes. Midpoints for 600 sq ft range from $4,550 to $4,850 across Gulfport and its five closest metros.

Across 300 US metros, Gulfport comes in at #254 from the top. The priciest is Kahului, HI at $7,650; the cheapest is Fort Smith, AR at $4,450 (midpoints, 600 sq ft). Statewide, Gulfport is 4% above the Mississippi figure.

Other Mississippi metros

Cities with a workforce like Gulfport's

Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Gulfport against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.