Concrete patio cost in Billings, MT

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 Billings is 1.06 times the national level.

For cement masons and concrete finishers (47-2051, weighted 50%) the local median is $30.12 an hour, which is 10% above the national $27.41. The middle half of them earn between $27.69 and $33.63 an hour. BLS counts 140 of them working in the area, 14.9 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 $23.68 an hour, 5% above the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $21.42 and $28.31 an hour. About 830 work in the metro. That is 88.5 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, which suggests plenty of local crews to bid.

For carpenters (47-2031, weighted 10%) the local median is $28.34 an hour, which is in line with the national $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $23.84 and $30.83 an hour. BLS counts 530 of them working in the area, 56.5 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 43.1), so the local bench is deeper than average.

For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073, weighted 10%) the local median is $29.81 an hour, which is 4% above the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $28.39 and $34.85 an hour. BLS counts 540 of them working in the area, 57.6 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 30.7), 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 ($33.63 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $85. At the 25th percentile ($27.69) it shrinks by about $60. The total moves by 3.3% or 2.3%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 93,800 jobs in the Billings area. That makes it the 213th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.06% of US employment.

When to schedule concrete patio in Billings

We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Billings Logan Intl Ap (in the city). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.

May through September is the stretch where pouring concrete runs into the fewest weather problems in Billings (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.

Billings gets about 14 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 57 inches of snow. The wettest months are April, May and June (2.4 inches in May). Inside the workable window, July and August are the driest, at 1.2 and 0.9 inches. The station averages about 32 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.

Concrete patio: what moves the price in Billings

• Permit

  Permits run $50-$400 where required. Many cities don't require one for a small at-grade patio.

• Finish

  Plain concrete is $4-$12 per sq ft and a broom finish $6-$13; designs with several colors and decorative finishes run up to about $28 (HomeGuide).

• Site prep

  Excavation, forms and a gravel base are the unglamorous part of the bill and vary most with soil and slope.

Billings against nearby metros and the rest of Montana

Same job, same size (300 sq ft), priced for the nearest metros. Bozeman is the priciest of the group at $2,750. Rapid City is the cheapest at $2,400.

Across 300 US metros, Billings comes in at #114 from the top. The priciest is Kahului, HI at $3,800; the cheapest is McAllen, TX at $2,100 (midpoints, 300 sq ft). Statewide, Billings is 0% above the Montana figure.

Other Montana metros

Cities with a workforce like Billings's

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

Cost by quality level and size in Billings

Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Billings 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 3 common sizes.

Planning more than one job in Billings?

Because every project leans on different trades, Billings's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, concrete driveway runs +3% and wood deck −3%.

Add-ons priced for Billings

Extras are quoted nationally and then scaled to Billings by the average of the local wage index (1.06) and goods index (0.96), a factor of 1.01. 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.