How Much Does a Concrete Patio Cost in Los Angeles?
In September 2026, Homewyse puts the national average for a basic concrete patio at $10.59 to $12.99 per square foot. That price is for a broom-finish slab, 4 inches or thicker, on a site that is ready to pour. Any work the site needs before the pour sits on top of it.
The figure assumes fiber-reinforced 3,500 PSI concrete and a patio of 500 square feet at most. Its labor line covers layout, light grading, forms, reinforcing, the pour and the finish. Excavation, a gravel base, compaction and tearing out an old patio are all left out. On concrete patios we form and pour, each of those is its own line in the written quote.
What Does an LA Patio Add to the National Price?
A Los Angeles quote adds whatever the site needs first, one line at a time:
- Excavation. The yard gets dug out so the base and slab finish at the right height. Homewyse prices digging as a separate option and assumes the soil gets spread on site. When a lot has no room for it, the soil leaves by truck.
- Gravel base and compaction. Guidance from the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) has the subgrade well compacted by rolling, vibrating or tamping.
- Tear-out and haul-off. Homewyse puts removing a concrete slab at $11.67 to $14.22 per square foot, its September 2026 national average. That line covers jackhammering, loading, hauling and disposal.
- Overhead, tax and fees. The basic figure also leaves out contractor overhead and markup, sales tax on materials, and permit or inspection fees.
Concrete Patio Costs by Type of Job
Only two of these jobs carry a published 2026 figure. The other rows say what changes the price.
| Patio job | Published 2026 figure | What changes the price |
|---|---|---|
| Basic slab on a ready site | $10.59 to $12.99 per sq ft (Homewyse national average) | Broom-finish slab, 4 inches or thicker, 3,500 PSI, up to 500 sq ft, light grading only |
| Slab with excavation and a gravel base | No published figure | Digging to depth, base rock, compaction, and trucking out soil the lot cannot hold |
| Tear out and replace an old patio | Removal at $11.67 to $14.22 per sq ft (Homewyse national average), plus the new slab | Jackhammering and haul-off first, then base repair where the old slab failed |
| Covered-patio slab with footings | No published figure | Footings and post bases poured to the cover builder’s plan, along with the slab |
| Smooth trowel or integral color | No published figure | Finishing labor or color in the mix; the slab and base work stay the same |
A broom finish gives the surface grip, and a smooth trowel finish suits a modern house. Integral color is mixed into the concrete, so the color runs all the way through. We pour patios in all three, using the same broom, trowel and color finishes as our other slabs. Stamped concrete is a decorative specialty we do not offer, so it has no row here.
What Drives the Price in Los Angeles?
The ground under the patio comes first. City of LA plan check treats local soil as expansive unless a soils report says otherwise. Expansive clay swells when it gets wet and shrinks as it dries, and a slab on top rides that movement. NRMCA lists improper subgrade preparation among the causes of cracking, which makes the base the wrong place to save money.
Thickness sets the concrete order. HomeGuide calls 4 inches the standard for a residential patio. Heavier uses that need 6 inches add material and labor. Thickness also sets how far apart the joints go.
Water has to leave the patio. NRMCA guidance slopes the subgrade and the slab for proper drainage. On a patio, that fall runs away from the house. A yard that drains toward the back door needs grading before the forms go in.
Access sets the labor. When a mixer truck cannot reach the backyard, the concrete goes in by pump or by wheelbarrow. HomeGuide lists limited access for equipment among the site conditions that raise labor costs. Old concrete and extra soil leave by the same route, so a tight side yard slows the haul-off too.
Do You Need a Permit for a Concrete Patio in Los Angeles?
In the City of LA, platforms, walks and driveways not more than 30 inches above grade need no building permit. They also cannot sit over a basement or a story below. The rule is Section 91.106.2 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code. A patio poured at ground level is well under its height line.
The exemption stops at the slab, and a patio cover is a structure. The code asks for a separate permit for each building or structure unless an exception applies. The cover builder handles that permit, and we pour the slab and footings to the builder’s plan. Steps or a landing that climb past 30 inches, and garden walls, are separate questions as well. Our guide to patio permits in Los Angeles walks through each of those cases.
Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena and the other nearby cities run their own building departments. Altadena and La Crescenta-Montrose are unincorporated LA County. Where a permit applies, it is handled as part of the job. We file the paperwork for you where the agency allows it.
Will a New Concrete Patio Crack?
Yes, somewhere. NRMCA says it is not possible to produce concrete with no cracks at all. Reinforcement in a slab cannot prevent cracking either. Its guidance adds that most random early cracks rarely affect the slab’s structural integrity or service life.
Joints decide where those cracks land. NRMCA calls joints pre-planned cracks: a contraction joint creates a weakened plane, and the slab cracks along it.
Its guidance spaces joints no more than 24 to 36 times the slab thickness apart. In a 4 inch slab, that comes to about 10 feet. Each joint is cut at least a quarter of the slab’s depth.
A cracked patio does not always need replacing. A stable hairline crack with level edges gets cleaned and sealed. A root-lifted or sunken section gets cut out and repoured on a fixed base.
That work can move fast. One customer’s review describes our crew cutting out a cracked entrance slab and old tree roots. From the first cut to fresh concrete, the job took just 2 days.
When cracks cross most of the slab and the base has failed, tear-out and a new pour is the fix. Our crack sealing and section repours page shows how we tell those cases apart.
Concrete, Pavers or Flagstone?
Concrete goes down as one pour, which leaves a flat surface for furniture. Flagstone goes down piece by piece, dry-laid on gravel and sand or mortared over a reinforced concrete base. The Homewyse September 2026 national average for a flagstone patio starts at $25.82 to $33.38 per square foot. Our flagstone laid dry or mortared page covers which method suits which yard.
Pavers are the third option. They go down as separate units over a compacted base, so a sunken corner can be lifted and reset. The paver patio price breakdown covers what they cost here.
Getting a Written Number for Your Patio
The permit question gets answered on the same visit as the price. We measure the patio, check drainage and access, and note what has to come out first. Whether your city wants a permit, and for which part, goes into the quote with the rest.
One customer had us quote demolishing and rebuilding a brick fence and a concrete patio together. Every quote is free, given on site and in writing.