Asphalt driveway cost in Oklahoma City, OK

Who does the work: Oklahoma City trade wages

The labor line is built from BLS wage data, one trade at a time. This job draws on 3 trades. We compare each trade's local median with the US median, weight the ratios by how much of the job each trade does, and apply the blend to the national labor cost. For Oklahoma City the blend is 0.86.

Paving, surfacing and tamping equipment operators (47-2071), 40% of the weighting: a median of $23.13 an hour, 10% below the US median of $25.64. The middle half of them earn between $22.11 and $24.61 an hour. About 190 work in the metro. That is 2.8 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 2.7 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.

For construction laborers (47-2061, weighted 30%) the local median is $18.96 an hour, which is 16% below the national $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $17.79 and $22.89 an hour. BLS counts 5,570 of them working in the area, 82.2 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 70.5), so the local bench is deeper than average.

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073), 30% of the weighting: a median of $23.41 an hour, 19% below the US median of $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $20.11 and $27.82 an hour. About 2,250 work in the metro. That is 33.2 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 30.7 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.

A quick sensitivity check: moving the lead trade (paving, surfacing and tamping equipment operators) from the median to the 75th percentile wage adds about $50 to the midpoint estimate; the 25th percentile takes off about $35. That is a swing of roughly 0.7% to 1.0% of the total, which is useful for judging whether a bid reflects wages or something else, such as scope or margin.

Oklahoma City has 677,680 jobs in total (BLS, May 2025), ranking 44th by size among the 300 metros on this site.

Extras that change the Oklahoma City total

Add-ons start from national price ranges and are scaled by 0.90 for Oklahoma City, which is the average of the area's wage index (0.86) and goods price index (0.94). The estimator above can add them to your total.

Why two Oklahoma City quotes can differ

• Sealcoating

  Sealing is $1-$2 per sq ft and is a maintenance cost, not part of the install.

• New versus overlay

  Resurfacing an existing driveway runs $3-$7 per sq ft; a full new driveway runs $5-$12+ (HomeGuide). Tearing out and replacing one is higher still.

• 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.

Is Oklahoma City 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 $4,450 to $5,100 across Oklahoma City and its five closest metros.

Out of the 300 metros we cover, Oklahoma City ranks #261 for the cost of this job (#1 is the most expensive). Statewide, Oklahoma City is 1% above the Oklahoma figure.

Elsewhere in Oklahoma

Metros of a similar size

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

The best months for asphalt driveway in Oklahoma City

Climate numbers on this page come from NOAA's 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals at the nearest suitable station, Oklahoma City Will Rogers Ap (5 miles from the city center). They are 30-year averages, so any one year can run hotter, colder or wetter.

For digging, grading and setting material in the ground, the comfortable months in Oklahoma City are March through June and September through November: 7 of 12. Outside them, January, February and December have an average overnight low at or below freezing (32°F), and July and August have an average daytime high of 90°F or more.

In January, February and December the average low is at or below freezing, which means frozen ground and slower digging, compaction and sod or stone placement. NOAA counts about 72 days a year with a low at or below 32°F at this station.

Oklahoma City gets about 36 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 7 inches of snow. The wettest months are May, June and September (5.3 inches in May). Inside the workable window, March and November are the driest, at 2.5 and 1.7 inches. The station averages about 74 days a year at 90°F or above.

We do not adjust the estimate by month, because we have no reliable published data on seasonal pricing. It is still worth asking contractors whether an off-peak start date changes their bid.

Planning more than one job in Oklahoma City?

Jobs that often go together with asphalt driveway are priced below at their usual sizes, using the same Oklahoma City wage and price inputs. Compared with national midpoints, French drain comes out highest (−10%) and concrete driveway lowest (−14%); the gap comes from the trades each job uses.

Oklahoma City: what basic, standard and premium work costs

The cited range is split into basic, standard and premium bands, then scaled to Oklahoma City. Bands overlap, because plenty of standard jobs cost as much as a light premium one. Sizes run from 1-car (12x20), 240 sq ft to long rural (10x100), 1,000 sq ft.