Cost guides
Concrete cost per yard in Georgia: what goes into a delivered yard
A cubic yard of ready-mix concrete is 27 cubic feet, and what it costs moves with the mix, the load size and how far the truck has to drive. This guide walks through how many yards a typical job takes and what pushes the plant's price up or down.
Updated September 25, 2026
What a cubic yard of concrete actually is
A cubic yard is 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet, or 27 cubic feet. It's the unit ready-mix concrete gets bought and sold in, whether the job needs a driveway's worth or just enough for a small pad.
At a standard 4-inch thickness, that works out to about 81 square feet of coverage. Pour it thicker and the same yard covers less ground; pour it thinner and it covers more, so thickness is worth pinning down before you order.
Concrete cost per yard isn't one fixed number either, which is what the rest of this guide walks through.
It's also not the same question as what a finished job costs. A yard's price only covers the material; it doesn't include forms, labor or finishing, which is why a per-square-foot number for an installed slab looks different from a plant's per-yard price.
How many yards does a typical slab take?
Yardage scales with size and thickness together, not square footage on its own. A 10 by 10 pad poured 8 inches thick takes about the same concrete as a 20 by 10 pad poured 4 inches thick.
| Slab size | Concrete to order |
|---|---|
| 10 x 10 | 1.25 cubic yards |
| 20 x 20 | 5 cubic yards |
| 24 x 24 | 7.25 cubic yards |
| 30 x 40 | 15 cubic yards |
| 40 x 60 | 29.75 cubic yards |
Those figures are for a standard 4-inch pour, rounded up to what a plant actually sells, before adding anything extra for waste. A thicker slab, like a shop floor or a driveway built for heavy vehicles, pushes every one of those numbers higher.
Mix, additives, small loads and distance from the plant
The plant's own price for the mix is the starting point, and it moves with the mix design itself. Higher-strength concrete, or a mix built for a specific job, costs more than a standard load.
Additives change the number too. Fiber mixed in for extra crack resistance, an accelerator for a cold pour or a retarder for a hot one all add to what the load runs.
Small loads often carry their own fee, since running a truck and driver out for a partial load costs the plant close to what a full one does. That's part of why a tiny order can end up costing more per yard than a full truck does, not less.
Distance from the plant, and how long the truck sits waiting to unload once it arrives, can factor in as well. None of that shows up in a plant's posted price; you generally won't see the real number until you're getting quotes for the actual job.
When do bags make more sense than a truck?
Bagged concrete works well under about a yard: a post hole, a small patch, a single step. Past that point, mixing enough 80 lb or 60 lb bags by hand to keep pace with a pour starts working against you.
A delivered yard also mixes more evenly, batch after batch from the same load, than a wheelbarrow of hand-mixed bags ever will. That consistency matters more on anything getting a smooth or stamped finish.
Our concrete calculator shows both sides of that line for your own numbers: cubic yards for a delivered load, or a bag count for the same job mixed by hand.
Forms, labor and finishing: the rest of an installed job
Our concrete slab cost guide breaks down what that looks like per square foot for a typical Georgia slab, driveway or patio.
If you already know roughly what you're pouring, tell us about the project and we'll follow up with a real number. Our concrete flatwork page covers the smaller pours and pads.
What else do people ask about concrete by the yard?
How much does 1 yard of concrete cover at 4 inches thick?
About 81 square feet. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, and at a 4-inch thickness (a third of a foot), 27 divided by a third works out to 81 square feet. Go thicker and that coverage drops: the same yard only covers about 54 square feet at 6 inches.
How many yards of concrete do I need for a 24x24 slab?
At a standard 4-inch thickness, a 24 x 24 slab takes a little over 7 cubic yards. Add the waste most orders include, usually 5 to 10%, and a real order lands closer to 8 yards.
How far ahead do you need to order a concrete truck?
It depends on the plant and the season, but a few days' notice is safer than calling the day before, especially when the weather's been keeping everyone busy. Tell us about the project once you have a rough date, and we'll work the order around it.