Concrete driveway cost in Duluth, MN

Climate in Duluth: timing your concrete driveway job

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

May through September is the stretch where pouring concrete runs into the fewest weather problems in Duluth (5 of 12 months). January, February, March, April, October, November and December have an average overnight low of 40°F or below.

The 40°F line is a deliberately cautious stand-in. The American Concrete Institute's cold-weather guide (ACI 306R-16) defines cold-weather concreting around an average daily air temperature below 40°F, which is colder than our test of an average overnight low at or below 40°F, so we flag a few extra shoulder months. In cold weather crews may need heated enclosures, insulating blankets or accelerated mixes, and those measures can raise a quote.

Duluth gets about 31 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 90 inches of snow. The wettest months are June, July and August (4.4 inches in June). Inside the workable window, May and September are the driest, at 3.4 and 3.5 inches. The station averages about 2 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.

Duluth against nearby metros and the rest of Minnesota

Of the five closest metros, 4 are cheaper than Duluth. Fargo is the lowest at about $6,400 (midpoint, 600 sq ft), 215 miles away.

Across 300 US metros, Duluth comes in at #36 from the top. The priciest is Kahului, HI at $10,000; the cheapest is McAllen, TX at $4,950 (midpoints, 600 sq ft). Statewide, Duluth is 0% below the Minnesota figure.

Other Minnesota metros

Cities with a workforce like Duluth's

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

Duluth labor market for concrete driveway

Wages are the part of this estimate that changes most from town to town. 4 trades carry the job here, and each is compared with its US median. The weighted result for Duluth is 1.23 times the national level.

For cement masons and concrete finishers (47-2051, weighted 50%) the local median is $33.81 an hour, which is 23% above the national $27.41. The middle half of them earn between $28.31 and $40.26 an hour. BLS counts 150 of them working in the area, 12.0 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 13.3), so the local bench is about average.

Construction laborers (47-2061), 30% of the weighting: a median of $29.49 an hour, 30% above the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $23.29 and $37.00 an hour. About 1,390 work in the metro. That is 111.5 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, which suggests plenty of local crews to bid.

For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073, weighted 10%) the local median is $36.08 an hour, which is 25% above the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $29.89 and $40.28 an hour. BLS counts 770 of them working in the area, 61.7 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 30.7), so the local bench is deeper than average.

For carpenters (47-2031, weighted 10%) the local median is $29.10 an hour, which is in line with the national $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $23.05 and $36.50 an hour. BLS counts 620 of them working in the area, 49.7 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 43.1), so the local bench is deeper than average.

Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the cement masons and concrete finishers on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($40.26 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $520. At the 25th percentile ($28.31) it shrinks by about $440. The total moves by 7.1% or 6.0%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 124,710 jobs in the Duluth area. That makes it the 173rd largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.08% of US employment.

Specs and site conditions that change a Duluth bid

• Thickness

  HomeGuide prices a standard 4-inch driveway at $6-$15/sq ft and a 6-inch one, recommended for heavy vehicles, at $8-$20/sq ft.

• Old driveway removal

  Tearing out the old surface adds about $2-$6 per sq ft, and some cities want the haul-off documented.

• Grading and drainage

  Professional grading runs $3-$8 per sq ft or $700-$2,500 for a typical job. A sloped lot or poor soil raises it.

Add-ons priced for Duluth

Extras are quoted nationally and then scaled to Duluth by the average of the local wage index (1.23) and goods index (0.95), a factor of 1.09. 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: concrete driveway pricing in Duluth

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

Planning more than one job in Duluth?

Because every project leans on different trades, Duluth's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, paver patio runs +12% and concrete slab +7%.