Gravel driveway cost in Jonesboro, AR

What nearby projects cost in Jonesboro

Jobs that often go together with gravel driveway are priced below at their usual sizes, using the same Jonesboro wage and price inputs. Compared with national midpoints, sod installation comes out highest (−9%) and concrete driveway lowest (−20%); the gap comes from the trades each job uses.

Is Jonesboro cheap or dear? The local comparison

Of the five closest metros, 1 is cheaper than Jonesboro. Little Rock is the lowest at about $5,450 (midpoint, 1,000 sq ft), 120 miles away.

Out of the 300 metros we cover, Jonesboro ranks #289 for the cost of this job (#1 is the most expensive). Statewide, Jonesboro is 1% above the Arkansas figure.

Elsewhere in Arkansas

Metros of a similar size

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

Who does the work: Jonesboro trade wages

The labor line is built from BLS wage data, one trade at a time. This job draws on 2 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 Jonesboro the blend is 0.78.

For construction laborers (47-2061, weighted 50%) the local median is $18.26 an hour, which is 19% below the national $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $16.23 and $20.53 an hour. BLS counts 390 of them working in the area, 64.3 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 70.5), so the local bench is about average.

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073), 50% of the weighting: a median of $21.92 an hour, 24% below the US median of $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $18.23 and $23.12 an hour. About 240 work in the metro. That is 39.6 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 30.7 nationally, which suggests plenty of local crews to bid.

A quick sensitivity check: moving the lead trade (construction laborers) from the median to the 75th percentile wage adds about $160 to the midpoint estimate; the 25th percentile takes off about $140. That is a swing of roughly 2.6% to 2.9% of the total, which is useful for judging whether a bid reflects wages or something else, such as scope or margin.

Jonesboro has 60,620 jobs in total (BLS, May 2025), ranking 286th by size among the 300 metros on this site.

The best months for gravel driveway in Jonesboro

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

For digging, grading and setting material in the ground, the comfortable months in Jonesboro are February through May and September through December: 8 of 12. Outside them, January has an average overnight low at or below freezing (32°F), and June, July and August have an average daytime high of 90°F or more.

In January the average low is at or below freezing, which means frozen ground and slower digging, compaction and sod or stone placement. NOAA counts about 65 days a year with a low at or below 32°F at this station.

Jonesboro gets about 49 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are March, April and May (5.2 inches in May). Inside the workable window, February and September are the driest, at 3.8 and 3.3 inches. The station averages about 66 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.

Extras that change the Jonesboro total

Add-ons start from national price ranges and are scaled by 0.86 for Jonesboro, which is the average of the area's wage index (0.78) and goods price index (0.94). The estimator above can add them to your total.

Specs and site conditions that change a Jonesboro bid

• Stone is sold by weight

  Stone is priced by the ton, so every extra inch of depth or foot of width adds loads of delivery.

• Permit

  A driveway permit is typically $50-$200 where one is needed for a new curb cut or connection; plenty of rural counties require none.

• Depth and layers

  A proper driveway is a 4-inch base plus a 2-inch top course. Each extra inch of stone adds weight in tons and money.

Jonesboro: what basic, standard and premium work costs

The cited range is split into basic, standard and premium bands, then scaled to Jonesboro. Bands overlap, because plenty of standard jobs cost as much as a light premium one. Sizes run from single car (500 sq ft) to long rural (2,000 sq ft).