Concrete sidewalks have become a staple of urban society, with every city and suburb being covered in miles of sidewalks and large cities like New York being dubbed “concrete jungles”. With all these sidewalks everywhere, you may be wondering how much it would cost to get a concrete sidewalk installed for yourself.
A concrete sidewalk costs $20.20 per foot on average. Materials cost about $11.20 per foot and labor costs about $36.00 per hour. Additives like color, stamping, and unique aggregates can raise the price of your concrete sidewalk to $30.00 or more per square foot.
If you are thinking of installing a concrete sidewalk and need to figure the costs of material and labor, this is the article for you. We also have 20 real examples of sidewalk costs from customers throughout the United States.
Table of Contents
Designing Your Sidewalk
When calculating how much your concrete sidewalk costs, you must first calculate how much the concrete itself will cost.
Multiple factors contribute to the overall cost of a concrete sidewalk and all must be considered when you are budgeting for this exciting project.
Such factors include the amount of concrete needed, the custom elements you wish to add to your sidewalk, the complexity of your sidewalk, and how much work you wish to put into the installation of your sidewalk.
First, you must think of how much concrete you need. This is determined by the volume of the sidewalk. To calculate volume, measure, then multiply the desired length, by the width, and thickness of your sidewalk.
Using the volume, find out how much concrete costs in your area (check our concrete pricing guide) and calculate just how many bags you’ll need, or you can ask a contractor for a quote using your measurements.
Also Read: How Many Bags of Concrete Equal a Yard?
Next, you should decide how unique you want your sidewalk to look, as extra features will cost more.
Unique features can include the shape of your sidewalk, the complexity of it, and how decorative you want your sidewalk to be. These things will cause the price of your sidewalk to vary, but they will raise the curb appeal and overall resale value of your home.
A sidewalk with straight edges will cost less than one with curved edges because it is easier to install than the latter. If you have a corner to turn with your sidewalk but don’t want to break the bank, stick with a sharp -rather than a smooth- corner.
If you have a complex sidewalk that features curves, multiple colors, patterns, or borders, expect to pay more than someone who has a plain, straight, grey sidewalk.
These features are works of art in the world of concrete and they are often priced as such.
If you were getting a painting done it would make sense that something more intricate and made with better materials would cost more, right?
The same goes for concrete. If you get fancy additives, beautiful designs, or unique finishes, expect to pay for those things based on their quality and difficulty.
Decorations like stamps, etching, and colors will add to the overall cost of your sidewalk, so keep in mind what you are and are not willing to pay when looking at these extra features.
Another important thing to remember is that DIY decorations and features will always be cheaper than professionally done customization for a few reasons.
First, you don’t need to pay for labor if you are doing the customization yourself. We go over labor costs in the next section, but this will surely save you a few hundred dollars.
Secondly, contractors mark up the price of custom elements like acid stains, colored pigments, and stamping because they must create and make a profit margin. If contractors sold you the product for what they bought it for, they would make no money, so they have to up-sell these items to make it worth their while.
Lastly, concrete workers are professionals and should be paid as such, so concrete work is not cheap. Hard labor is always expensive, but the artistic elements you may desire will cost more because they are just that: artistic.
Now that you know the many options that a concrete sidewalk has for customization, as well as the reasons why concrete customization may be pricey, let’s get into the cost of these elements.
Sidewalk Pricing
In the list below, we’ve outlined the base cost of concrete and its many customization options. These prices are based on what a contractor would charge, meaning they will cost less if you choose to do it yourself, but that is not always recommended.
Many of these customization elements are difficult to do if you are not a professional, so we recommend you find a contractor to do these things for you as that will guarantee a beautiful result.
- Cost of Concrete: Concrete materials cost an average of $1.76 per square foot in the United States. This makes concrete sidewalks quite cheap material-wise (if you keep them simple).
- Cost of Curved Edges: Curving the edges of your walkway to make it look a bit more elegant can raise the price per square foot to over $10.00, but it is best to get a quote from a local contractor to determine accurate pricing.
- Cost of a Border: Adding a border to your concrete sidewalk will cost you anywhere from $2.00-$5.00 per square foot. The price of curbing is dependent on how complex the project is and whether the concrete is poured on-site or pre-poured.
- Cost of Color: Colored concrete costs $9.00 per square foot on average when using a powder that is directly mixed into the concrete, but you can also use acid stain or water-based stain. Expect to pay an extra $2.00-$4.00 per square foot for acid staining, on top of the average material cost.
- Cost of Stamping: Stamping concrete makes it much more interesting and beautiful than if it was left flat. When it comes to stamping, you pay for what you get; stamping can cost anywhere from $8.00-$25.00 per square foot, depending on the complexity and mastery of the design.
- Cost of Etching: Etching is like stamping, but instead of the designs being done by a pre-cut stamp, they are done by hand. Due to the complexity and skill of etching, you should expect to pay $12.00-$25.00 per square foot of the design.
- Cost of Finishes: Concrete finishes include polishing, broom-sweeping, and epoxying. Polishing concrete costs $3.00-$12.00 per square foot, broom sweeping costs $2.50-$5.00 per square foot, and epoxy costs between $3.00-$12.00 per square foot.
Any of the options listed above are great ideas for changing up your concrete sidewalk just enough to make it your own. On top of material and customization costs, there are the costs of labor and delivery.
Cost Of Installation
Labor and delivery costs vary on where you live, but we have found some national averages that may be helpful when you are budgeting for this project.
The labor that is required in creating a concrete sidewalk includes excavation, preparation, delivery, installation, and finishing. Once again, it is smart to remind yourself that these things are expensive because they are done by professionals.
If you would like to DIY any of the following elements, that is more than possible, but it is not always wise. Some steps in the installation process are quite easy, but others are best left to the pros, so tread carefully.
Starting at the beginning of the installation process we have excavation. The excavation of an area happens after you have planned out exactly how your sidewalk will look, where it will be, and what features it will include.
Once you’ve figured these things out, excavators will come to your home and dig out the entire area that you wish to turn into a sidewalk. Excavation costs an average of $1.50-$3.35 per square foot, meaning it can be a bit pricey in the long run.
Preparation ensues after an area has been excavated. Preparing an area for pouring includes grading the soil and placing a layer of gravel on the soil to create a strong base for the concrete to form to.
Preparation costs $5.00-$8.00 per square foot, but it can easily be done at home if you don’t want to pay this much.
Concrete delivery will cost you $119.00-$147.00 per cubic yard for a full 10-yard load of ready-mix concrete, and around $172.00 per yard for a short-load of less than 10 cubic yards.
Installation entails the pouring and forming of the concrete, and companies charge an average of $2.00-$6.00 per square foot. This price is usually not calculated separately but added to the price of concrete per square foot when you receive a quote.
Lastly comes finishing, which will cost you about $2.50 per square foot.
Though we provided price points for each of these things, it is best to plan out what you want your concrete sidewalk to look like, come up with a personal budget, and then call a concrete company in your area so you can get an accurate idea of how much your concrete, features, and labor will cost.
Calculating Your Sidewalk Price
Using the information above, let’s calculate the cost of a few different types of sidewalks just to illustrate how easily the price can go up or down with certain features.
A 300 square foot sidewalk with no additives and a brushed finish:
$1.76 x 300 square feet of concrete= $528.00
$2.40 per square foot of excavation x 300 sq. ft.= $720.00
$6.00 per square foot of preparation x 300 sq. ft.= $1,800
Delivery of 11.1 yards of concrete= $1,631.70
$2.00 per square foot of installation x 300= $600.00
Brushed finish at $3.00 per square foot x 300= $900.00
In total, this sidewalk could cost up to $6,179.70. This is quite a high estimate, as many people decide to excavate and prepare their concrete by themselves.
A pre-excavated and pre-prepared 700 square foot walkway with colored powder and stamping:
$9.00 per square foot of colored concrete x 700 square feet = $6,300.00
Delivery of 25.9 yards of concrete= $3,636.00
$4.00 per square foot of installation x 700 square feet= $2,800.00
$10.00 per square foot of stamping x 200 stamped square feet= $2,000.00
Finishing at $2.50 per square foot x 700 square feet= $1,750.00
This project totals $16,486.00– a very hefty cost for such an area- but money was saved by the homeowners excavating and preparing the area by themselves.
If these imaginary homeowners wouldn’t have excavated and prepared the area on their own, they would have paid $22,366.00 for their sidewalk, which is $5,880.00 more than they paid in the end.
200 square feet of acid stained sidewalk with home-mixed, home-installed concrete:
$5.76 per square foot of acid stained concrete x 200 square feet= $1,152.00
$2.40 per square foot of excavation x 200 square feet= $480.00
$6.00 per square foot of concrete preparation x 200 square feet= $1,200.00
This is the cheapest project out of the three, totaling just $2,832.00 because the owners decided to do the mixing and installation at home.
Also Read: Best Concrete Mix for Sidewalks: What the pros use
When it comes to concrete installation, it is best to mix and pour the concrete yourself (if it is a manageable amount of concrete) because it will save you thousands of dollars.
Save customization, concrete delivery and installation are the two most expensive factors in getting concrete installed. If you can find a way to save on either or both of these things, we advise you to do so.
Related Article: How To Make a Concrete Walkway: The Ultimate Guide
Real Sidewalk Prices
Now that we’ve outlined the average prices of just about every individual part of a concrete sidewalk, let us see just how accurate those prices are.
We have gone through forums throughout the internet to find the best examples of what a concrete sidewalk costs throughout the United States.
| Location | Size of Sidewalk | Price Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 400 square feet | $7,200 total, $18.00 per square foot |
| Alabama | 275 square feet at 4 inches deep | $2,600 total, $9.45 per square foot |
| Colorado | 108 square feet | $1,200 total, $11.11 per square foot |
| Ohio | 400 square feet | $8,000 total, $20.00 per square foot |
| Tennessee | 1,200 square feet at 4 inches deep | $5,000 total, $4.16 per square foot |
| Arizona | 1,900 square feet at 4 inches deep | $6,000 total, $3.15 per square foot |
| New Jersey | 6,000 square feet | $60,000 total, $10.00 per square foot |
| New York | 150 square feet at 4 inches deep | $4,000 total, about $27.00 per square foot |
| Ohio | 63 square feet | $600 total, about $9.50 per square foot |
| New York | 700 square feet | $14,000 total, $20.00 per square foot |
| Massachusetts | 1,100 square feet | $16,000 total, about $14.50 per square foot |
| Virginia | 500 square feet | $3,000 total, $6.00 per square foot |
| Ohio | 450 square feet | $1,200 total, $2.60 per square foot |
| Minnesota | 1000 square feet | $5,500 total, $5.50 per square foot |
| South Carolina | 200 square feet | $2,400 total, $12.00 per square foot |
| Georgia | 120 square feet | $1,320 total, $11.00 per square foot |
| Michigan | 300 square feet | $4,500 total, $15.00 per square foot |
| Idaho | 750 square feet | $4,500 total, $6.00 per square foot |
| Colorado | 500 square feet | $3,750 total, $7.50 per square foot |
| Ohio | 1,000 square feet | $10,500 total, $10.50 per square foot |
