Concrete driveway cost in Abilene, TX

Abilene weather and the concrete driveway calendar

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

For pouring concrete, the comfortable months in Abilene are March through May and September through November: 6 of 12. Outside them, January, February and December have an average overnight low of 40°F or below, and June, July and August 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, July and August, crews often start early, wet the base and plan for faster set times.

Abilene gets about 25 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 4 inches of snow. The wettest months are May, June and October (3.4 inches in June). Inside the workable window, March and November are the driest, at 1.7 and 1.4 inches. The station averages about 102 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.

Abilene against nearby metros and the rest of Texas

Same job, same size (600 sq ft), priced for the nearest metros. Dallas is the priciest of the group at $5,950. Waco is the cheapest at $5,350.

Out of the 300 metros we cover, Abilene ranks #272 for the cost of this job (#1 is the most expensive). Statewide, Abilene is 4% below the Texas figure.

Elsewhere in Texas

Metros of a similar size

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

Planning more than one job in Abilene?

Jobs that often go together with concrete driveway are priced below at their usual sizes, using the same Abilene wage and price inputs. Compared with national midpoints, asphalt driveway comes out highest (−10%) and concrete patio lowest (−13%); the gap comes from the trades each job uses.

Add-ons priced for Abilene

Add-ons start from national price ranges and are scaled by 0.87 for Abilene, which is the average of the area's wage index (0.80) and goods price index (0.94). The estimator above can add them to your total.

What local crews earn in Abilene

The labor line is built from BLS wage data, one trade at a time. This job draws on 4 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 Abilene the blend is 0.80.

Cement masons and concrete finishers (47-2051), 50% of the weighting: a median of $22.33 an hour, 19% below the US median of $27.41. The middle half of them earn between $17.72 and $25.85 an hour. About 70 work in the metro. That is 9.3 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 13.3 nationally, so expect fewer local crews to bid.

For construction laborers (47-2061, weighted 30%) the local median is $18.35 an hour, which is 19% below the national $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $16.82 and $22.01 an hour. BLS counts 570 of them working in the area, 75.9 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 70.5), so the local bench is about average.

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073), 10% of the weighting: a median of $23.80 an hour, 17% below the US median of $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $21.07 and $28.74 an hour. About 230 work in the metro. That is 30.6 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 30.7 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.

Carpenters (47-2031), 10% of the weighting: a median of $20.69 an hour, 29% below the US median of $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $18.00 and $23.86 an hour. About 80 work in the metro. That is 10.7 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 43.1 nationally, so expect fewer local crews to bid.

A quick sensitivity check: moving the lead trade (cement masons and concrete finishers) from the median to the 75th percentile wage adds about $280 to the midpoint estimate; the 25th percentile takes off about $370. That is a swing of roughly 6.8% to 5.2% of the total, which is useful for judging whether a bid reflects wages or something else, such as scope or margin.

Abilene has 75,070 jobs in total (BLS, May 2025), ranking 246th by size among the 300 metros on this site.

Cost by quality level and size in Abilene

The cited range is split into basic, standard and premium bands, then scaled to Abilene. 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 3-car (900 sq ft).

Specs and site conditions that change a Abilene bid

• 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).