Concrete Cost Per Yard
Ready-mix concrete costs $185.38 per cubic yard on average in the US as of September 2026. This index updates that figure and the price of crushed stone per ton each month from federal data, and the numbers are free to cite.
Ready-mix concrete
$185.38/ yd³
▲ 2.3% year over year
Crushed stone, quarry price
$18.16/ ton
▲ 6.3% year over year
National averages, data through September 2026. Page last updated October 31, 2026. Crushed stone is a producer price at the quarry; for retail and delivered prices see Gravel Prices.
How much do 1 to 20 yards of concrete cost?
One cubic yard costs about $185.38 at the US average, so 3 yards is about $556 and 10 yards about $1,854. Delivery is extra, and most suppliers add a short-load fee or minimum charge below about 3 to 6 yards (see the delivery fees below).
| Yards | Concrete at US average | Slab area at 4 in | Slab area at 6 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yard | $185 | 81 ft² | 54 ft² |
| 2 yards | $371 | 162 ft² | 108 ft² |
| 3 yards | $556 | 243 ft² | 162 ft² |
| 4 yards | $742 | 324 ft² | 216 ft² |
| 5 yards | $927 | 405 ft² | 270 ft² |
| 6 yards | $1,112 | 486 ft² | 324 ft² |
| 8 yards | $1,483 | 648 ft² | 432 ft² |
| 9 yards | $1,668 | 729 ft² | 486 ft² |
| 10 yards | $1,854 | 810 ft² | 540 ft² |
| 12 yards | $2,225 | 972 ft² | 648 ft² |
| 15 yards | $2,781 | 1,215 ft² | 810 ft² |
| 20 yards | $3,708 | 1,620 ft² | 1,080 ft² |
Prices are for the concrete itself at the US average. Delivery fees, short-load fees, pumping, forms and finishing labor are extra. Short-load fees vary: some suppliers charge for the missing yards and others charge a flat fee, so ask about it when you get a quote. A yard covers 81 square feet at 4 inches and 54 at 6 inches. For installed slab prices, use the Concrete Slab Cost Calculator, and for the yardage itself, the Concrete Calculator.
How much does concrete cost delivered?
A full 10-yard truck costs about $1,854 in concrete at the US average (10 × $185.38), plus the supplier's delivery fee. A single yard delivered costs $305 to $382 at three of the four suppliers below, and $905 at the fourth, which sets an $820 minimum.
Small orders cost more per yard because the truck, driver and fuel cost the same whether it carries 1 yard or 10. A standard ready-mix truck carries 8 to 10 cubic yards (Billd). For smaller orders, suppliers recover that cost with a short-load fee, a minimum charge or a flat delivery fee, and the threshold differs by supplier.
Published delivery and short-load fees
These fees come from each supplier's public price sheet, checked October 11, 2026. Each is one supplier's price; neither NRMCA nor BLS publishes a national short-load fee.
Vacaville, CA. No date posted; checked October 11, 2026.
3,000 PSI: $162 per yard
- Delivery $120 per load in Vacaville, Dixon and Winters, rising by zone to $350
- Short load under 3 yd in the nearest zone (5 or 6 yd farther out): $100, or the price of the missing yards if that is less
- Minimum charge of 1 yd ($162) in the nearest zone
- Saturday +$100, Sunday double the delivery fee; standby $10 per 5 min past the allowed unload time
Augusta, GA. Effective April 1, 2026; checked October 11, 2026.
3,000 PSI: $174 per yard
- Cash-on-delivery price; $164 per yard on a contractor account
- $85 delivery charge on orders under 6 yd
- $820 minimum for 4 yd or less
- 1 hour to unload free, then $75 per hour
Clearwater, FL. 2026 price list; checked October 11, 2026.
3,000 PSI: $191 per yard
- First yard $241 including delivery, each additional yard $191 (first yard drops to $191 on orders over 5 yd)
- $10 per yard environmental fee
- $65 fuel charge in the local delivery area
- $2 per minute after 1 hour on site
Paterson and Bridgewater, NJ. No date posted (site copyright 2024); checked October 11, 2026.
3,000 PSI: $115 per yard
- Mixes from $115 (3000) to $155 (5000) per yard
- Flat delivery fee by zone: $190 (zone 1) to $260 (zone 5)
- No short-load fee or minimum listed
- $20 fee to pick up ready-mix yourself
Delivered price by order size
Each column applies one supplier's posted fees to an order of 3,000 PSI concrete, delivered on a weekday to the nearest zone in one truck and unloaded within the free time. Every fee comes from a price sheet.
| Yards | Townsend, CA | American, GA | On-Call, FL | Short Load, NJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yd | $382$382/yd | $905$905/yd | $316$316/yd | $305$305/yd |
| 2 yd | $544$272/yd | $905$453/yd | $517$259/yd | $420$210/yd |
| 3 yd | $606$202/yd | $905$302/yd | $718$239/yd | $535$178/yd |
| 4 yd | $768$192/yd | $905$226/yd | $919$230/yd | $650$163/yd |
| 5 yd | $930$186/yd | $955$191/yd | $1,120$224/yd | $765$153/yd |
| 6 yd | $1,092$182/yd | $1,044$174/yd | $1,271$212/yd | $880$147/yd |
| 8 yd | $1,416$177/yd | $1,392$174/yd | $1,673$209/yd | $1,110$139/yd |
| 10 yd | $1,740$174/yd | $1,740$174/yd | $2,075$208/yd | $1,340$134/yd |
Short Load Concrete is shown at its zone 1 fee; zone 5 adds $70 to every row. Townsend's farther zones charge more for delivery and set a short-load threshold of 5 or 6 yards instead of 3.
How much is a 10-yard truck of concrete?
About $1,854 plus delivery, based on the US average of $185.38 per yard (NRMCA's 2024 average carried forward with the BLS index). At the four posted price sheets above, 10 yards delivered comes to $1,740 (Vacaville, CA), $1,740 (Augusta, GA), $2,075 (Clearwater, FL), and $1,340 (Paterson and Bridgewater, NJ).
Consumer cost guides report lower figures. Lawn Love puts a full truckload of 8 to 10 yards at $1,025 to $1,395, and LawnStarter gives $120 to $150 per yard including delivery within 20 miles, which is $1,200 to $1,500 for 10 yards. Their typical per-yard figures ($125 average at Lawn Love, $120 to $150 at LawnStarter) sit below the national average and below three of the four posted 3,000 PSI prices ($162, $174 and $191). New Jersey at $115 is the exception. These guide figures are best treated as a low-end check.
Concrete price by PSI
Stronger mixes use more cement: Townsend's 3,000 PSI mix has 5 sacks per yard and its 5,000 PSI mix has 7. At both suppliers that post a PSI ladder, each 500 PSI step adds $4 per yard.
| Strength | Townsend, CA | American Concrete, GA |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 PSI | Not listed | $170 |
| 3,000 PSI | $162 | $174 |
| 3,500 PSI | $166 | Not listed |
| 4,000 PSI | $170 | $182 |
| 4,500 PSI | $174 | Not listed |
| 5,000 PSI | $178 | Not listed |
Per cubic yard before delivery fees. Townsend lists standard prices; American Concrete lists cash-on-delivery prices, $10 less on a contractor account.
Is it cheaper to buy bags or have concrete delivered?
Below about 1 yard, bags usually cost less. Above 3 yards, ready-mix is cheaper at every supplier here. In between, it depends on the supplier's minimum charge. Quikrete's Concrete Mix data sheet gives the yield per bag, and a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet:
- 40 lb bag: about 0.30 cu ft, so 90 bags per yard
- 60 lb bag: about 0.45 cu ft, so 60 bags per yard
- 80 lb bag: about 0.60 cu ft, so 45 bags per yard
At $6.65 per 80 lb bag (LawnStarter, updated September 24, 2026; checked October 11, 2026), a yard of bags costs 45 × $6.65 = $299.25, plus 3,600 lb of bags to lift and mix by hand or with a rented mixer. The break-even is the order size where a supplier's delivered total drops below the same yardage in bags:
| Supplier | 1 yard delivered | Ready-mix cheaper from |
|---|---|---|
| Short Load ConcretePaterson and Bridgewater, NJ | $305 | about 1 yd |
| Concrete On-CallClearwater, FL | $316 | about 1.2 yd |
| Townsend ConcreteVacaville, CA | $382 | about 1.6 yd |
| American ConcreteAugusta, GA | $905 | about 3 yd |
Bags at $299.25 per yard against each supplier's 3,000 PSI total at its nearest zone, treating the order as exact yardage. Bag prices vary by product and store: Lawn Love reports $4.50 to $27 per bag. For the yardage of your own pour, use the Concrete Calculator.
Ready-mix concrete price, 2019 to 2026
Concrete is up roughly 45% since 2019, from an estimated $127.66 to $185.38 per cubic yard. The 2024 average is NRMCA's published national figure. Earlier values are estimates: the 2024 average scaled backward by the BLS ready-mix price index, not observed prices.
Ready-mix concrete price by year
Average price per cubic yard for each year, newest first. The basis column says which figures come from NRMCA and which are estimates.
| Year | Price per yd³ | Change vs prior year | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026(partial year: September value) | $185.38 | +2.3% | NRMCA average carried forward with BLS PPI |
| 2025 | $181.41 | +0.8% | NRMCA average carried forward with BLS PPI |
| 2024 | $179.89 | +5.7% | NRMCA national average |
| 2023 | $170.12 | +11.0% | Estimate, back-calculated from BLS PPI |
| 2022 | $153.23 | +10.6% | Estimate, back-calculated from BLS PPI |
| 2021 | $138.50 | +3.7% | Estimate, back-calculated from BLS PPI |
| 2020 | $133.53 | +2.5% | Estimate, back-calculated from BLS PPI |
| 2019 | $130.23 | n/a | Estimate, back-calculated from BLS PPI |
Full years show the average of the twelve monthly values, compared with the prior year's average. The current year is not finished, so it shows the latest month and compares it with the same month a year earlier. Years before 2024 are estimates back-calculated from BLS series PCU327320327320. The CSV has every monthly value from January 2019 to September 2026, in US dollars per cubic yard, and the same caveat applies to its pre-2024 rows.
Crushed stone price, 2019 to 2026
Crushed stone has risen faster than concrete in percentage terms, up 63% over the same period.
How these figures are calculated
Each price starts from a national average published by a primary source. Each month, that anchor is multiplied by the change in the matching US Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index. The calculation always starts from the original anchor, not from last month's result, so small errors cannot compound and pull the series away from the published figure.
The history before 2024 runs the same calculation backward: the 2024 anchor multiplied by each earlier month's index reading over the 2024 average. Those figures are estimates of what the national average would have been if prices moved exactly with the index. NRMCA did not publish them.
- Concrete, anchored to the NRMCA (National Ready Mixed Concrete Association) national weighted-average ready-mix price ($179.89/yd³, 2024), tracked with BLS series PCU327320327320 (also on FRED).
- Crushed stone, anchored to the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) Mineral Commodity Summaries, national average crushed stone price ($15.88/ton, 2024), tracked with BLS series WPU1321 (also on FRED).
The update runs automatically each month after BLS publishes. If an update would move a price by more than 10% in one month, it is rejected and the previous figure stays, because a jump that size is more likely a bad API response than a real price move.
These are national averages, and real quotes vary a lot by region. The four posted 3,000 PSI prices on this page run from $115 a yard in New Jersey to $191 in Florida, and delivery distance, load size, mix design and short-load fees also change the price. Use the average as a baseline for checking a local quote.
Frequently asked questions
The concrete alone costs about $185.38 per cubic yard at the US average as of September 2026. A one-yard order costs more because of delivery fees and minimums. It comes to $305 to $382 delivered at three of the four suppliers on this page, and $905 at the fourth, which has an $820 minimum.
At four suppliers' posted 2026 prices for 3,000 PSI concrete, one yard delivered costs $305 (Short Load Concrete, Paterson and Bridgewater, NJ), $316 (Concrete On-Call, Clearwater, FL), $382 (Townsend Concrete, Vacaville, CA), and $905 (American Concrete, Augusta, GA). The concrete itself is $115 to $191 a yard; the rest is delivery, short-load fees and minimum charges.
Suppliers charge for delivery in different ways. The four price sheets on this page show a flat delivery fee of $120 to $350 per load by zone (Townsend Concrete, CA), $85 only on orders under 6 yards (American Concrete, GA), a $65 fuel charge plus $10 per yard and a $50 premium on the first yard (Concrete On-Call, FL), and $190 to $260 by zone with no short-load fee (Short Load Concrete, NJ). Most of them also charge for weekend delivery and for time on site past the free unload window.
For less than about 1 yard, bags are usually cheaper. An 80 lb bag makes about 0.60 cubic feet (Quikrete data sheet), so a yard takes 45 bags, about $299 at $6.65 a bag. At the four supplier price sheets on this page, ready-mix becomes cheaper somewhere between 1 and 3 yards, depending mostly on the supplier's minimum charge.
A cubic yard covers 81 square feet at 4 inches thick. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet and 4 inches is a third of a foot, so 27 ÷ (4 ÷ 12) = 81. At 6 inches, a yard covers 54 square feet.
A 20x20 slab at 4 inches takes 4.94 cubic yards (400 sq ft × 4/12 ft ÷ 27), so about $915 in concrete at the US average, before delivery and short-load fees. Installed with forms, base and finishing, it costs about $2,400 to $4,800 at the $6 to $12 per square foot range our Concrete Slab Cost Calculator uses.
About $1,854 for the concrete at the US average of $185.38 a yard, plus the supplier's delivery fee. At four suppliers' posted 3,000 PSI prices, 10 yards delivered costs $1,340 to $2,075. Consumer cost guides report less. Lawn Love gives $1,025 to $1,395 for a full truckload of 8 to 10 yards.
Citing this page
These figures may be cited freely with a link back to this page.
CalcRafter Concrete Price Index. Ready-mix concrete: $185.38/yd³ (September 2026). Retrieved from https://calcrafter.com/concrete-price-index/