Concrete slab cost in Augusta, GA

Climate in Augusta: timing your concrete slab job

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

February through May and September through December are the stretches where pouring concrete runs into the fewest weather problems in Augusta (8 of 12 months). January has an average overnight low of 40°F or below; 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.

Augusta gets about 45 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are June, July and August (5.0 inches in August). Inside the workable window, October and November are the driest, at 2.7 and 2.8 inches. The station averages about 80 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.

Optional extras in Augusta

Extras are quoted nationally and then scaled to Augusta by the average of the local wage index (0.83) and goods index (0.96), a factor of 0.90. 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.

Planning more than one job in Augusta?

Because every project leans on different trades, Augusta's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, detached garage runs −7% and concrete driveway −13%.

Specs and site conditions that change a Augusta bid

• Small-job minimums

  Many crews have a minimum charge, so a 10x10 pad can cost more per square foot than a 20x20 slab.

• Finish

  A broom finish is the baseline. Stamped, stained, or exposed-aggregate finishes are priced as add-ons on top of the slab.

• Thickness and mix

  A 4-inch slab uses about 1.23 cubic yards of concrete per 100 sq ft; a 6-inch slab uses about 1.85. Stepping up from a 3,000 PSI to a 4,000-4,500 PSI mix adds $10-$40 per cubic yard (Estimators.us).

Cost by quality level and size in Augusta

Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Augusta 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 5 common sizes.

Augusta against nearby metros and the rest of Georgia

Of the five closest metros, 1 is cheaper than Augusta. Athens is the lowest at about $3,400 (midpoint, 400 sq ft), 80 miles away.

Across 300 US metros, Augusta comes in at #240 from the top. The priciest is Kahului, HI at $5,300; the cheapest is McAllen, TX at $3,200 (midpoints, 400 sq ft). Statewide, Augusta is 1% below the Georgia figure.

Other Georgia metros

Cities with a workforce like Augusta's

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

Augusta labor market for concrete slab

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 Augusta is 0.83 times the national level.

For cement masons and concrete finishers (47-2051, weighted 50%) the local median is $22.29 an hour, which is 19% below the national $27.41. The middle half of them earn between $18.13 and $26.61 an hour. BLS counts 160 of them working in the area, 6.9 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 $18.62 an hour, 18% below the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $16.43 and $23.02 an hour. About 1,630 work in the metro. That is 70.3 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.

For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073, weighted 10%) the local median is $23.17 an hour, which is 19% below the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $20.95 and $27.82 an hour. BLS counts 670 of them working in the area, 28.9 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 $28.33 an hour, which is in line with the national $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $22.66 and $32.50 an hour. BLS counts 830 of them working in the area, 35.8 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 ($26.61 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $130. At the 25th percentile ($18.13) it shrinks by about $120. The total moves by 3.6% or 3.5%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 231,930 jobs in the Augusta-Richmond County area. That makes it the 106th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.15% of US employment.