Concrete Driveway Repair Cost in 2026

Repair scope	Typical range (2026)	Per square foot
Crack filling and sealing (600 sq ft driveway)	$480 to $1,800	$0.80 to $3
Surface patching, 50 to 100 sq ft area	$400 to $1,200	$4 to $12
Mudjacking or foam leveling (600 sq ft slab)	$1,800 to $4,200	$3 to $7
Partial slab replacement, 100 to 200 sq ft	$1,200 to $3,600	$8 to $18
Full replacement, 400 sq ft driveway	$3,200 to $5,600	$8 to $14
Full replacement, 600 sq ft driveway	$4,800 to $8,400	$8 to $14
Full replacement, 800 sq ft driveway	$6,400 to $11,200	$8 to $14

Most concrete driveway repairs in this market fall between $2,400 and $10,800 for a standard 2-car residential driveway. Crack sealing sits at the low end, and full slab replacement with demolition sits at the high end. A site visit is what produces an actual number, because subgrade condition drives more cost variation than surface condition.

What Determines the Cost of a Concrete Driveway Repair?

Four to six factors move a concrete driveway repair price by thousands of dollars on the same square footage. Each factor listed below carries a measurable cost impact.

How Much Does Demolition and Removal Add?

Demolition and haul-off of an existing concrete slab adds $2 to $6 per square foot to any replacement job. A 600 sq ft driveway with a 4-inch slab produces roughly 7.5 cubic yards of debris. Disposal fees at local facilities run $45 to $75 per cubic yard in the Greater New Orleans market, and a loaded roll-off haul runs $350 to $500.

How Does Subgrade Condition Affect the Price?

Subgrade repair adds $1.50 to $4 per square foot when the existing base has failed. On the south shore, soft alluvial clay and organic silt compress under load, causing settlement that cracks the slab above. Correcting that condition requires excavating 6 to 8 inches below slab depth and replacing the material with compacted limestone. On the north shore, sandy soil drains well but erodes under slab edges, requiring different base treatment.

What Does Reinforcement Cost?

Fiber mesh reinforcement adds $0.30 to $0.50 per square foot. Rebar reinforcement with #3 bar on 18-inch centers adds $0.80 to $1.50 per square foot. Rebar is the standard for driveways in this region because clay soils move seasonally, and a fiber-only slab cracks at joints that rebar holds together.

How Does the Repair Type Change the Price?

Crack sealing with flexible polyurethane filler costs $0.80 to $3 per square foot across the full driveway area. Surface patching with polymer-modified overlay runs $4 to $12 per square foot on the patched area only. Mudjacking to raise a settled slab runs $3 to $7 per square foot. Full tear-out and replacement runs $8 to $14 per square foot. The repair type a driveway needs depends on whether the damage is cosmetic, structural, or caused by subgrade failure underneath the slab.

How Do Finish and Detailing Affect Cost?

A standard broom finish adds no premium. Exposed aggregate adds $2 to $4 per square foot. A stamped or textured finish adds $4 to $8 per square foot. Integral color adds $0.75 to $1.50 per square foot to any finish. These premiums apply to the poured area only, not the full driveway footprint if only a section is replaced.

What Does a Concrete Driveway Repair Cost by Size?

Cost scales linearly with area, but smaller jobs carry a higher per-square-foot rate because mobilization, setup, and minimum material orders stay fixed.

• 200 sq ft (single-car, partial repair): $1,600 to $3,600 at $8 to $18 per square foot
• 400 sq ft (single-car, full replacement): $3,200 to $5,600 at $8 to $14 per square foot
• 600 sq ft (2-car, full replacement): $4,800 to $8,400 at $8 to $14 per square foot
• 800 sq ft (wide 2-car or extended driveway): $6,400 to $11,200 at $8 to $14 per square foot
• 1,000 sq ft (large or circular driveway): $8,000 to $14,000 at $8 to $14 per square foot

A 50 sq ft patch repair is the exception. Minimum trip and pour charges put a small patch at $400 to $1,200 regardless of square footage, which works out to $8 to $24 per square foot.

What Does a Concrete Driveway Repair Cost by Repair Type?

The type of damage determines the repair method, and each method sits in a distinct cost band.

What Does Crack Sealing Cost?

Crack sealing with routed polyurethane filler costs $1 to $3 per linear foot for cracks under 1/2 inch wide. A 600 sq ft driveway with 60 to 100 linear feet of hairline to moderate cracking runs $150 to $400 for sealing alone. Crack sealing is cosmetic and preventive. Crack sealing does not restore structural capacity to a slab that has already settled or broken into separate sections.

What Does Concrete Leveling or Mudjacking Cost?

Mudjacking with limestone slurry costs $3 to $5 per square foot. Polyurethane foam injection costs $5 to $7 per square foot. A 600 sq ft driveway that has settled 1 to 2 inches runs $1,800 to $4,200 for leveling. Leveling works when the slab is intact but has dropped because the soil beneath compressed. Leveling does not work when the slab has broken into pieces, because the pump pressure fractures it further.

What Does a Concrete Overlay Cost?

A bonded concrete overlay runs $4 to $10 per square foot. An overlay applies a 1 to 2 inch layer of polymer-modified concrete over the existing surface. The existing slab needs to be structurally sound and level within 1/4 inch over 10 feet. On a 600 sq ft driveway, an overlay runs $2,400 to $6,000. An overlay adds a fresh surface and 15 to 20 years of wear life without the cost of demolition.

What Does Full Slab Replacement Cost?

Full slab replacement costs $8 to $14 per square foot, including demolition, haul-off, subgrade preparation, forming, 3500 PSI concrete, reinforcement, and a broom finish. A 600 sq ft full replacement in Metairie or Kenner runs $4,800 to $8,400 at 2026 rates. Full replacement is the correct repair when settlement exceeds 2 inches, when the slab has broken into 3 or more sections, or when rebar corrosion has caused spalling across the surface.

What Is Included in a Contractor's Price, and What Is Not?

A complete driveway repair bid includes labor, material, equipment, and cleanup. Knowing what falls inside and outside that number prevents surprise charges.

A standard contractor price for full replacement includes these items:

• Demolition and removal of existing concrete
• Haul-off and disposal fees
• Subgrade grading and compaction
• 4 to 6 inches of compacted limestone base
• Forming and reinforcement (rebar or fiber)
• 3500 PSI ready-mix concrete, 4-inch slab thickness
• Control joints cut within 12 hours of the pour
• Broom finish
• Site cleanup

These items are typically not included and add cost when needed:

• Permit fees (Jefferson Parish charges $75 to $200 depending on scope; confirm current fees with the Jefferson Parish Department of Inspection and Code Enforcement)
• Sealer application ($0.50 to $1.50 per square foot, recommended 28 days after the pour)
• Decorative finish upgrades (stamped, exposed aggregate, integral color)
• Tree root removal or utility relocation
• Drainage modifications or French drain installation
• Apron tie-in to an existing garage slab

How Do You Tell if a Concrete Driveway Repair Quote Is Fair?

A fair quote specifies slab thickness, concrete PSI, base depth, reinforcement type, and joint spacing in writing. Any bid missing those five details leaves room for the contractor to cut each one.

Three signs a low bid cuts substance, not overhead:

1. No base preparation listed. Pouring 4 inches of concrete directly on clay soil produces visible cracking within 12 to 18 months in this region. A bid omitting "4 to 6 inches of compacted limestone base" is omitting the single most important step.
2. No reinforcement specified. A residential driveway slab without rebar or fiber is a slab that relies on the concrete alone to resist soil movement. On south-shore clay, that slab cracks at control joints and between them.
3. A price more than 30% below three comparable bids. Labor and material costs do not vary by 30% between licensed contractors using the same suppliers. A 30% discount almost always means thinner concrete, no base, or no reinforcement.

Request the concrete supplier's batch ticket on pour day. The ticket shows the PSI rating, the total yardage delivered, and the slump. Comparing the ticket to the bid confirms the contractor poured what the bid specified.

Where Do New Orleans Concrete Driveway Repair Prices Sit Against the National Range?

Greater New Orleans concrete driveway repair runs 10% to 20% above the national average of $6 to $12 per square foot for full replacement. Three factors drive the difference. First, south-shore soils require deeper base preparation. A 6-inch compacted limestone base is standard here, compared to 4 inches in markets with stable sandy or rocky subgrade. That adds $1 to $2 per square foot in material and compaction labor. Second, concrete delivery in Orleans and Jefferson parishes carries higher logistics costs because batch plants sit farther from most residential neighborhoods than in sprawl markets. A 10-yard load runs $1,400 to $1,700 delivered in this market versus $1,100 to $1,400 nationally. Third, the labor market in Greater New Orleans runs $35 to $50 per hour for experienced concrete finishers, reflecting sustained post-storm rebuilding demand across the region.

North-shore pricing in Slidell, Mandeville, and Covington tends to run $1 to $2 per square foot lower because sandy soils require less base correction, and material delivery distances from Northshore batch plants are shorter. St. Tammany Parish permit processes differ from Jefferson and Orleans, so confirm permit requirements with the St. Tammany Parish Department of Planning and Development before scheduling work.