Concrete slab cost in Albuquerque, NM

Add-ons priced for Albuquerque

Add-ons start from national price ranges and are scaled by 0.92 for Albuquerque, which is the average of the area's wage index (0.88) and goods price index (0.96). The estimator above can add them to your total.

Pick a size, pick a tier: concrete slab pricing in Albuquerque

The cited range is split into basic, standard and premium bands, then scaled to Albuquerque. Bands overlap, because plenty of standard jobs cost as much as a light premium one. Sizes run from 10x10 pad (100 sq ft) to 30x40 foundation (1,200 sq ft).

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 400 sq ft range from $3,250 to $3,700 across Albuquerque and its five closest metros.

Out of the 300 metros we cover, Albuquerque ranks #198 for the cost of this job (#1 is the most expensive). Statewide, Albuquerque is 1% above the New Mexico figure.

Elsewhere in New Mexico

Metros of a similar size

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

The best months for concrete slab in Albuquerque

Climate numbers on this page come from NOAA's 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals at the nearest suitable station, Albuquerque Intl 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 Albuquerque are April through May and August through October: 5 of 12. Outside them, January, February, March, November and December have an average overnight low of 40°F or below, and 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.

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.

Who does the work: Albuquerque trade wages

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 Albuquerque the blend is 0.88.

Cement masons and concrete finishers (47-2051), 50% of the weighting: a median of $24.19 an hour, 12% below the US median of $27.41. The middle half of them earn between $22.42 and $33.78 an hour. About 840 work in the metro. That is 20.8 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 13.3 nationally, which suggests plenty of local crews to bid.

For construction laborers (47-2061, weighted 30%) the local median is $19.44 an hour, which is 14% below the national $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $17.40 and $23.09 an hour. BLS counts 4,140 of them working in the area, 102.3 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 70.5), so the local bench is deeper than average.

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073), 10% of the weighting: a median of $24.59 an hour, 15% below the US median of $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $22.99 and $29.11 an hour. About 1,330 work in the metro. That is 32.9 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 $28.89 an hour, in line with the US median of $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $23.21 and $31.48 an hour. About 1,940 work in the metro. That is 47.9 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 43.1 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.

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 $50. That is a swing of roughly 1.5% to 7.9% of the total, which is useful for judging whether a bid reflects wages or something else, such as scope or margin.

Albuquerque has 404,700 jobs in total (BLS, May 2025), ranking 62nd by size among the 300 metros on this site.

Planning more than one job in Albuquerque?

Jobs that often go together with concrete slab are priced below at their usual sizes, using the same Albuquerque wage and price inputs. Compared with national midpoints, detached garage comes out highest (−6%) and concrete driveway lowest (−9%); the gap comes from the trades each job uses.

Specs and site conditions that change a Albuquerque bid

• 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).

• Base and reinforcement

  A compacted gravel base, vapor barrier, and wire mesh or rebar are priced separately by some contractors and bundled by others. Ask which one your quote does.

• Truck and pump access

  If the mixer truck can't back up to the forms, someone has to wheelbarrow it in or hire a pump. Pump or line-pump hire is typically billed per day.