Asphalt driveway cost in Kenosha, WI

When to schedule asphalt driveway in Kenosha

We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Kenosha Rgnl Ap (5 miles from the city center). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.

April through October is the stretch where digging, grading and setting material in the ground runs into the fewest weather problems in Kenosha (7 of 12 months). January, February, March, November and December have an average overnight low at or below freezing (32°F).

In January, February, March, November 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 135 days a year with a low at or below 32°F at this station.

Kenosha gets about 32 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are April, June and August (3.7 inches in June). Inside the workable window, July and October are the driest, at 3.4 and 2.9 inches. The station averages about 11 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.

Why two Kenosha quotes can differ

• 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).

Is Kenosha cheap or dear? The local comparison

Same job, same size (600 sq ft), priced for the nearest metros. Chicago is the priciest of the group at $6,500. Janesville is the cheapest at $5,450.

Across 300 US metros, Kenosha comes in at #50 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, Kenosha is 5% above the Wisconsin figure.

Other Wisconsin metros

Cities with a workforce like Kenosha's

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

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 Kenosha is 1.20 times the national level.

Paving, surfacing and tamping equipment operators (47-2071) carry 40% of the labor weighting. BLS does not publish this trade for the Kenosha metro, so we used the Wisconsin statewide median: $33.18 an hour against $25.64 for the US. The middle half of them earn between $24.22 and $43.86 an hour.

Construction laborers (47-2061), 30% of the weighting: a median of $24.06 an hour, 6% above the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $21.67 and $29.45 an hour. About 340 work in the metro. That is 45.1 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so expect fewer local crews to bid.

For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073, weighted 30%) the local median is $35.19 an hour, which is 22% above the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $29.72 and $45.79 an hour. BLS counts 120 of them working in the area, 15.9 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 30.7), so the local bench is thinner than 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 ($43.86 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $350. At the 25th percentile ($24.22) it shrinks by about $300. The total moves by 6.1% or 5.1%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 75,450 jobs in the Kenosha area. That makes it the 245th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.05% of US employment.

Related projects, priced for Kenosha

Because every project leans on different trades, Kenosha's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, French drain runs +16% and concrete patio +6%.

Extras that change the Kenosha total

Extras are quoted nationally and then scaled to Kenosha by the average of the local wage index (1.20) and goods index (1.06), a factor of 1.13. 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.

Pick a size, pick a tier: asphalt driveway pricing in Kenosha

Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Kenosha 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.