How much does a concrete pool cost?

Typical thickness

4 inchespool deck

Typical strength

4ASTM C39 at 28 days

Ready-mix range

$110–$205per cubic yard, sources disagree

Most of the US

$130–$180per cubic yard

Short version

• Published national averages disagree by nearly 2×: Angi reports about $130/yd³, Concrete Network about $180/yd³.
• The only objective series is the BLS Producer Price Index for ready-mix (PCU3273232732), which has been essentially flat since March 2026.
• Delivery is priced separately: distance surcharge past the base radius, fuel surcharge per load, and a short-load fee when you order under the truck minimum.
• Small pours are cheaper in bags; the crossover is usually under about half a cubic yard.
• Regional spread is real — Northeast and West Coast are highest, Midwest and South lowest.

Why do published concrete prices disagree so much?

Published concrete prices disagree because no public national dataset exists. Angi puts ready-mix near $130 per cubic yard, Concrete Network near $180, and aggregator sites cite figures between $110 and $205 — frequently attributing them to NRMCA regional surveys that have no publicly retrievable dataset behind them.

The honest position is to publish the spread and name each source. The one objective series available is the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index for ready-mix concrete manufacturing, series PCU3273232732, which tracks the direction of prices even though it is an index rather than a dollar figure.

What gets added on top of the per-yard price?

The per-yard price is rarely the whole invoice. Suppliers add a delivery charge beyond a base radius, commonly quoted around $5 to $10 per mile, and a fuel surcharge per load. Ordering less than the truck minimum triggers a short-load fee, typically $40 to $60 for each yard you are short.

None of these are standardized — they are set by individual suppliers, so two yards apart on the same day can quote differently. Ask for the delivered total for your exact quantity rather than the per-yard rate.

How much does the finished project cost per square foot?

Finished flatwork is usually quoted per square foot, and the finish drives the number more than the concrete does. A plain slab runs roughly $6 to $10.50 per square foot installed, a patio $5 to $18, a driveway $5 to $21, and stamped or decorative work $10 to $20 with high-end systems above that.

Those ranges are industry estimates from cost aggregators, not survey data. They move with local labor rates, site access, demolition of whatever is there now, and how much forming the shape requires.

Common mistakes

• Budgeting from a single national average — sources disagree by nearly 2×, and your metro may sit outside the whole published range
• Quoting the per-yard price as the project cost — delivery, fuel, short-load fees, forming, finishing and labor are all separate
• Ordering the exact calculated volume — forms flex and subgrade is uneven; running short mid-pour creates a cold joint you cannot undo