Concrete driveway cost in Cleveland, OH

Related projects, priced for Cleveland

Because every project leans on different trades, Cleveland's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, paver patio runs +8% and concrete slab +3%.

Climate in Cleveland: timing your concrete driveway job

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

April through October is the stretch where pouring concrete runs into the fewest weather problems in Cleveland (7 of 12 months). January, February, March, 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.

Cleveland gets about 33 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are May, July and August (3.7 inches in July). Inside the workable window, June and September are the driest, at 2.8 and 2.9 inches. The station averages about 9 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.

Cleveland: what basic, standard and premium work costs

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

Cleveland against nearby metros and the rest of Ohio

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 $6,450 to $7,000 across Cleveland and its five closest metros.

Across 300 US metros, Cleveland comes in at #59 from the top. The priciest is Kahului, HI at $10,000; the cheapest is McAllen, TX at $4,950 (midpoints, 600 sq ft). Statewide, Cleveland is 3% above the Ohio figure.

Other Ohio metros

Cities with a workforce like Cleveland's

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

Cleveland 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 Cleveland is 1.16 times the national level.

For cement masons and concrete finishers (47-2051, weighted 50%) the local median is $31.77 an hour, which is 16% above the national $27.41. The middle half of them earn between $24.32 and $37.33 an hour. BLS counts 900 of them working in the area, 8.7 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 13.3), so the local bench is thinner than average.

Construction laborers (47-2061), 30% of the weighting: a median of $27.49 an hour, 21% above the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $22.57 and $34.86 an hour. About 5,660 work in the metro. That is 54.9 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 10%) the local median is $34.49 an hour, which is 20% above the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $27.73 and $45.63 an hour. BLS counts 2,660 of them working in the area, 25.8 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 30.7), so the local bench is thinner than average.

For carpenters (47-2031, weighted 10%) the local median is $29.16 an hour, which is in line with the national $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $24.22 and $38.03 an hour. BLS counts 3,280 of them working in the area, 31.8 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 43.1), so the local bench is thinner 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 ($37.33 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $450. At the 25th percentile ($24.32) it shrinks by about $600. The total moves by 6.4% or 8.5%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 1,031,130 jobs in the Cleveland area. That makes it the 36th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.66% of US employment.

Extras that change the Cleveland total

Extras are quoted nationally and then scaled to Cleveland by the average of the local wage index (1.16) and goods index (0.94), a factor of 1.05. 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.

Concrete driveway: what moves the price in Cleveland

• 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.

• Finish

  Decorative driveways run $10-$25 per sq ft installed: colors and borders at $10-$15, stamped patterns at $15-$20, and high-end finishes at $20-$25+ (HomeGuide).