Paver patio cost in Missoula, MT

When to schedule paver patio in Missoula

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

May through September is the stretch where digging, grading and setting material in the ground runs into the fewest weather problems in Missoula (5 of 12 months). January, February, March, April, October, November and December have an average overnight low at or below freezing (32°F).

In January, February, March, April, October, November 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 173 days a year with a low at or below 32°F at this station.

Missoula gets about 14 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 43 inches of snow. The wettest months are April, May and June (2.1 inches in June). Inside the workable window, July and August are the driest, at 0.8 and 0.8 inches. The station averages about 27 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.

Missoula against nearby metros and the rest of Montana

Same job, same size (300 sq ft), priced for the nearest metros. Kennewick is the priciest of the group at $4,850. Idaho Falls is the cheapest at $4,200.

Across 300 US metros, Missoula comes in at #140 from the top. The priciest is Kahului, HI at $5,650; the cheapest is Dothan, AL at $3,500 (midpoints, 300 sq ft). Statewide, Missoula is 0% below the Montana figure.

Other Montana metros

Cities with a workforce like Missoula's

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

Cost by quality level and size in Missoula

Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Missoula 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 4 common sizes.

Specs and site conditions that change a Missoula 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).

What nearby projects cost in Missoula

Because every project leans on different trades, Missoula's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, concrete driveway runs +3% and wood deck −4%.

Extras that change the Missoula total

Extras are quoted nationally and then scaled to Missoula by the average of the local wage index (1.03) and goods index (0.96), a factor of 0.99. 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.

Local wages behind the labor line

Wages are the part of this estimate that changes most from town to town. 3 trades carry the job here, and each is compared with its US median. The weighted result for Missoula is 1.03 times the national level.

Construction laborers (47-2061), 50% of the weighting: a median of $24.00 an hour, 6% above the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $21.41 and $26.36 an hour. About 510 work in the metro. That is 76.0 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.

Brickmasons and blockmasons (47-2021) carry 30% of the labor weighting. BLS does not publish this trade for the Missoula metro, so we used the Montana statewide median: $26.94 an hour against $29.87 for the US. The middle half of them earn between $23.24 and $29.69 an hour.

For landscaping and groundskeeping workers (37-3011, weighted 20%) the local median is $21.38 an hour, which is 14% above the national $18.82. The middle half of them earn between $18.63 and $24.51 an hour. BLS counts 490 of them working in the area, 73.1 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 61.3), so the local bench is deeper than average.

Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the construction laborers on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($26.36 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $130. At the 25th percentile ($21.41) it shrinks by about $150. The total moves by 3.1% or 3.4%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 67,070 jobs in the Missoula area. That makes it the 270th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.04% of US employment.