Concrete driveway cost in Albuquerque, NM

Extras that change the Albuquerque total

Extras are quoted nationally and then scaled to Albuquerque by the average of the local wage index (0.88) and goods index (0.96), a factor of 0.92. 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.

Cost by quality level and size in Albuquerque

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

When to schedule concrete driveway in Albuquerque

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

April through May and August through October are the stretches where pouring concrete runs into the fewest weather problems in Albuquerque (5 of 12 months). January, February, March, November and December have an average overnight low of 40°F or below; June and July have an average daytime high of 90°F or more.

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.

Heat matters for concrete as well. With average highs of 90°F or more in June and July, crews often start early, wet the base and plan for faster set times.

Albuquerque gets about 9 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 8 inches of snow. The wettest months are July, August and September (1.6 inches in July). Inside the workable window, April and May are the driest, at 0.5 and 0.4 inches. The station averages about 64 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.

Local wages behind the labor line

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 Albuquerque is 0.88 times the national level.

For cement masons and concrete finishers (47-2051, weighted 50%) the local median is $24.19 an hour, which is 12% below the national $27.41. The middle half of them earn between $22.42 and $33.78 an hour. BLS counts 840 of them working in the area, 20.8 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 13.3), so the local bench is deeper than average.

Construction laborers (47-2061), 30% of the weighting: a median of $19.44 an hour, 14% below the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $17.40 and $23.09 an hour. About 4,140 work in the metro. That is 102.3 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 $24.59 an hour, which is 15% below the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $22.99 and $29.11 an hour. BLS counts 1,330 of them working in the area, 32.9 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 30.7), so the local bench is about average.

For carpenters (47-2031, weighted 10%) the local median is $28.89 an hour, which is in line with the national $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $23.21 and $31.48 an hour. BLS counts 1,940 of them working in the area, 47.9 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 43.1), so the local bench is about average.

Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the cement masons and concrete finishers on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($33.78 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $770. At the 25th percentile ($22.42) it shrinks by about $140. The total moves by 13.2% or 2.4%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 404,700 jobs in the Albuquerque area. That makes it the 62nd largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.26% of US employment.

Is Albuquerque 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 $5,150 to $6,200 across Albuquerque and its five closest metros.

Across 300 US metros, Albuquerque comes in at #197 from the top. The priciest is Kahului, HI at $10,000; the cheapest is McAllen, TX at $4,950 (midpoints, 600 sq ft). Statewide, Albuquerque is 2% above the New Mexico figure.

Other New Mexico metros

Cities with a workforce like Albuquerque's

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

Concrete driveway: what moves the price in Albuquerque

• 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.

Planning more than one job in Albuquerque?

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