Paver patio cost in Chicago, IL

Planning more than one job in Chicago?

Jobs that often go together with paver patio are priced below at their usual sizes, using the same Chicago wage and price inputs. Compared with national midpoints, concrete driveway comes out highest (+30%) and wood deck lowest (+18%); the gap comes from the trades each job uses.

The best months for paver patio in Chicago

Climate numbers on this page come from NOAA's 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals at the nearest suitable station, Chicago Midway 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 Chicago are April through November: 8 of 12. Outside them, January, February, March and December have an average overnight low at or below freezing (32°F).

In January, February, March and December the average low is at or below freezing, which means frozen ground and slower digging, compaction and sod or stone placement. NOAA counts about 106 days a year with a low at or below 32°F at this station.

Chicago gets about 34 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are May, June and August (4.1 inches in May). Inside the workable window, September and November are the driest, at 2.8 and 2.4 inches. The station averages about 20 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: Chicago trade wages

The labor line is built from BLS wage data, one trade at a time. This job draws on 3 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 Chicago the blend is 1.31.

For construction laborers (47-2061, weighted 50%) the local median is $29.27 an hour, which is 29% above the national $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $22.25 and $48.44 an hour. BLS counts 26,690 of them working in the area, 59.1 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 70.5), so the local bench is thinner than average.

For brickmasons and blockmasons (47-2021, weighted 30%) the local median is $43.26 an hour, which is 45% above the national $29.87. The middle half of them earn between $29.78 and $49.31 an hour. BLS counts 2,140 of them working in the area, 4.7 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 3.4), so the local bench is deeper than average.

Landscaping and groundskeeping workers (37-3011), 20% of the weighting: a median of $21.77 an hour, 16% above the US median of $18.82. The middle half of them earn between $18.34 and $22.93 an hour. About 25,160 work in the metro. That is 55.7 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 61.3 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.

A quick sensitivity check: moving the lead trade (construction laborers) from the median to the 75th percentile wage adds about $1,100 to the midpoint estimate; the 25th percentile takes off about $390. That is a swing of roughly 7.7% to 21.0% of the total, which is useful for judging whether a bid reflects wages or something else, such as scope or margin.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has 4,513,280 jobs in total (BLS, May 2025), ranking 3rd by size among the 300 metros on this site.

How Chicago compares

Same job, same size (300 sq ft), priced for the nearest metros. Chicago is the priciest of the group. Niles is the cheapest at $4,100.

Out of the 300 metros we cover, Chicago ranks #10 for the cost of this job (#1 is the most expensive). Statewide, Chicago is 2% above the Illinois figure.

Elsewhere in Illinois

Metros of a similar size

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

Specs and site conditions that change a Chicago bid

• Pattern

  Herringbone and curves take longer to lay and waste more stone than a running bond.

• Permit

  At-grade patios often need no permit; add a retaining wall, a cover, or a connection to the house and that changes.

• Paver material

  Pavers alone average $2-$4 per sq ft but the full range is $1-$15 depending on concrete, brick, or natural stone (HomeGuide).

Optional extras in Chicago

Add-ons start from national price ranges and are scaled by 1.19 for Chicago, which is the average of the area's wage index (1.31) and goods price index (1.07). The estimator above can add them to your total.

Chicago: what basic, standard and premium work costs

The cited range is split into basic, standard and premium bands, then scaled to Chicago. Bands overlap, because plenty of standard jobs cost as much as a light premium one. Sizes run from 12x12 (144 sq ft) to pool deck (800 sq ft).