How much does concrete removal cost per square foot?

$2–$4 per square foot for plain concrete and $4–$6 for concrete with rebar or wire mesh, by Fixr (updated January 31, 2025), about $4 on average. That covers breaking it up, loading it and disposal, which Fixr puts at $0.50–$2 per sq ft of it. Thick slabs and sites a machine can't reach cost more. Concrete Network quotes a lower tear-out price for driveways, about $1 per sq ft, but leaves disposal out.

How much does it cost to remove a concrete driveway?

About $2,560–$3,840 for a 16 × 40 ft driveway with rebar, 640 sq ft at $4–$6 per sq ft, or $1,280–$2,560 without it. At 4 inches thick it weighs 32,000 lb (16.00 tons), 2 dumpsters at a 10 ton limit.

How much does it cost to remove a concrete patio?

About $576–$1,152 for a 12 × 24 ft patio without rebar, at $2–$4 per sq ft, or $1,152–$1,728 with it. At 4 inches thick its 14,400 lb (7.20 tons) fit in 1 dumpster.

How many dumpsters do I need for concrete?

One 10 yard dumpster per 10 tons of concrete, the weight limit Dumpsters.com gives for concrete; it fills by weight long before it is full. That is about 400 sq ft of a 4-inch slab per dumpster. Rental terms differ, so type your limit into the calculator.

How much does it cost to remove concrete yourself?

The tools and the hauling: Lawn Love puts a jackhammer at $91 for 24 hours, and Dumpsters.com a dumpster at $300–$795. For the 12 × 24 ft patio that is about $391–$886 with one day of jackhammer, against $576–$1,152 for a contractor. Hauling it yourself instead costs $32–$40 a ton at the landfill or recycler, plus a truck.

Does rebar make concrete removal cost more?

Yes: Fixr gives $4–$6 per square foot for reinforced concrete against $2–$4 for plain, and it notes that reinforced concrete is less likely to be recycled, which raises its disposal cost. If you don't know whether your slab has it, look at a cracked edge or ask the contractor to check before quoting.

What does concrete removal cost per square meter?

About $21.53–$43.06 per square meter for plain concrete and $43.06–$64.58 with rebar, Fixr's US ranges per square foot converted. Solid concrete weighs about 2,403 kg per cubic meter, so a 10 cm slab is about 240 kg per m². Switch the calculator to metric for kilograms and tonnes.

Where can I take broken concrete?

To a landfill that takes construction debris, or to a concrete recycler, which crushes it into aggregate. Fixr notes that disposal costs less when the concrete can be recycled, and that reinforced concrete is less likely to be. Call ahead to ask what a site accepts and what it charges per ton.

Concrete Removal Cost Calculator

Removing concrete costs about $2–$4 per square foot for a plain slab and $4–$6 with rebar or wire mesh, disposal included, so tearing out a 16 × 40 ft driveway with rebar is $2,560–$3,840. Enter the slab's size and thickness to get the contractor's price range, the debris weight in tons, the dumpsters it fills, and the do-it-yourself cost of a jackhammer and dumpsters beside it.

Units

Size preset

LengthWidthThickness (in)

Thickness preset

The slab has rebar or wire mesh

Dumpster weight limit (tons)Jackhammer rental (days)

The limit starts at the 10 tons a 10 yard dumpster for concrete usually allows; type the one in your rental terms. The rental days are for the do-it-yourself price.

640 sq ft: about $1,280–$2,560 to remove

Contractor's price per sq ft:: $2–$4
Removing the old slab (plain), disposal included:: $1,280–$2,560
Debris weight:: 32,000 lb (16.00 tons)
10 yard dumpsters, at 10 tons each:: 2 dumpsters
Concrete volume:: 7.90 cu yd solid, about 15.80 cu yd once broken up
Do it yourself: jackhammer and dumpsters:: $691–$1,681 (1 day at $91, dumpsters at $300–$795 each)
Or haul it yourself:: $512–$640 in landfill or recycler fees at $32–$40 a ton, plus a truck

US prices from Fixr (removal), Dumpsters.com (weight, dumpsters, haul fees) and Lawn Love (jackhammer), read October 2026. Local quotes can sit outside them.

Replacing a driveway? The new one and the removal together in the concrete driveway cost calculator.
Replacing a patio? Use the concrete patio cost calculator.
The concrete for the new slab, in yards and bags: the concrete calculator.

How HomeMath estimates concrete removal

HomeMath multiplies the slab's area by Fixr's removal price per square foot: $2–$4 for plain concrete and $4–$6 with rebar or wire mesh, disposal included (updated January 2025). Thickness doesn't change those ranges, but a thick slab sits at their top. The debris weight is the slab's volume, length × width × thickness, at 150 lb per cubic foot of solid concrete, and the dumpsters are that weight divided by the dumpster's weight limit, 10 tons for the 10 yard dumpster Dumpsters.com suggests for concrete, rounded up. The do-it-yourself cost is the jackhammer days at Lawn Love's $91 for 24 hours plus the dumpsters at $300–$795 each. In metric, HomeMath converts meters and centimeters exactly (1 in = 2.54 cm) and shows the result in cubic meters, liters and square meters.

The published rules it uses: US customary units; metric conversion; removal, weight and hauling. Their sources, and how HomeMath tests every result, are on the about page.

What does concrete removal cost per square foot? (October 2026)

The calculator uses Fixr's concrete removal prices, the only published range here that splits plain from reinforced concrete and includes disposal. Other sources quote other parts of the job, so they differ:

Published concrete removal prices
Item	Price	Source
Plain concrete, per sq ft	$2–$4	Fixr, updated January 31, 2025 (the calculator's)
With rebar or wire mesh, per sq ft	$4–$6	Fixr, updated January 31, 2025 (the calculator's)
Of which disposal, per sq ft	$0.50–$2	Fixr, updated January 31, 2025
Driveway tear-out, per sq ft (disposal extra)	about $1	Concrete Network, updated January 13, 2026
Old walkway, per sq ft	$5–$8	Concrete Network, updated May 21, 2020

Fixr gives about $4 per sq ft as the average, and notes that thick slabs and sites a machine can't reach cost more, and that reinforced concrete is less likely to be recycled. Concrete Network's lower driveway figure leaves disposal out, and its walkway figure comes from an older page (2020).

What does it cost to remove a driveway, a patio or a shed pad?

Example slabs, 4 in thick, at Fixr's removal prices (read October 2026); the weight and dumpsters at 150 lb per cubic foot and the 10 ton limit.

Removal by project, 4 in thick
Slab	Plain	With rebar	Debris
Walkway, 4 × 35 ft (140 sq ft)	$280–$560	$560–$840	3.5 tons, 1 dumpster
Shed pad, 10 × 12 ft (120 sq ft)	$240–$480	$480–$720	3.0 tons, 1 dumpster
Patio, 12 × 24 ft (288 sq ft)	$576–$1,152	$1,152–$1,728	7.2 tons, 1 dumpster
Patio, 20 × 20 ft (400 sq ft)	$800–$1,600	$1,600–$2,400	10.0 tons, 1 dumpster
Driveway, one car, 12 × 20 ft (240 sq ft)	$480–$960	$960–$1,440	6.0 tons, 1 dumpster
Driveway, two cars, 16 × 40 ft (640 sq ft)	$1,280–$2,560	$2,560–$3,840	16.0 tons, 2 dumpsters
Garage floor, 24 × 24 ft (576 sq ft)	$1,152–$2,304	$2,304–$3,456	14.4 tons, 2 dumpsters

Replacing it? The concrete driveway cost calculator and the concrete patio cost calculator add this removal to the price of the new slab.

How much does broken concrete weigh, and how many dumpsters does it fill?

Solid concrete weighs 150 lb per cubic foot, or 4,050 lb a cubic yard, by Dumpsters.com's concrete weight calculator. Broken up, a cubic foot of debris weighs about 75 lb because the pieces leave gaps, so the rubble takes about twice the space of the slab. Rebar and the gravel base are not counted.

Dumpsters.com suggests its 10 yard dumpster for concrete, with a 10 ton weight limit, and says its larger sizes keep the same limit. That is about 4.94 cu yd of solid concrete, so concrete reaches it long before it fills the box. The calculator counts dumpsters by weight, the debris tons ÷ the limit rounded up, and prices a rental at $300–$795; type the limit from your own rental terms, since going over it is charged.

Weight of a concrete slab by thickness
Thickness	Per sq ft	One ton is	One 10 ton dumpster is
3 in	37.5 lb	53 sq ft	533 sq ft
4 in	50.0 lb	40 sq ft	400 sq ft
5 in	62.5 lb	32 sq ft	320 sq ft
6 in	75.0 lb	27 sq ft	267 sq ft

What does it cost to remove concrete yourself?

Doing it yourself trades the contractor's labor for tool rental and hauling. Lawn Love puts a jackhammer at $91 for 24 hours (updated October 16, 2026); a dumpster is $300–$795, or you haul the pieces yourself and pay the landfill or recycler $32–$40 a ton, plus a truck rental, by Dumpsters.com.

Plain slabs 4 in thick: contractor, one jackhammer day with dumpsters, or the landfill fee alone
Slab	Contractor	DIY with dumpsters	Landfill fee
Walkway, 4 × 35 ft	$280–$560	$391–$886	$112–$140
Shed pad, 10 × 12 ft	$240–$480	$391–$886	$96–$120
Patio, 12 × 24 ft	$576–$1,152	$391–$886	$230–$288
Driveway, one car, 12 × 20 ft	$480–$960	$391–$886	$192–$240
Driveway, two cars, 16 × 40 ft	$1,280–$2,560	$691–$1,681	$512–$640
Garage floor, 24 × 24 ft	$1,152–$2,304	$691–$1,681	$461–$576

The do-it-yourself figure counts only the rental and the hauling. Breaking, lifting and loading a ton of concrete for every 40 sq ft of a 4 in slab is the work you take on, and safety gear, a concrete saw for a clean edge and a truck come on top.

How do I estimate concrete removal by hand?

A 12 × 24 ft patio, 4 inches thick, no rebar:

Area: 12 × 24 = 288 sq ft; contractor: 288 × $2–$4 = $576–$1,152.
Volume: 288 × 4/12 = 96 cu ft.
Weight: 96 × 150 = 14,400 lb (7.20 tons).
Dumpsters: 7.2 ÷ 10 rounds up to 1.
Do it yourself: one jackhammer day plus 1 dumpster = $391–$886.

Does rebar or wire mesh make removal cost more?

Yes: Fixr gives $4–$6 per sq ft for reinforced concrete against $2–$4 for plain, and notes it is less likely to be recycled. Not sure whether your slab has it? Look at a broken edge or a crack before you ask for quotes, and tick the box in the calculator if you see steel.

What does concrete removal cost in metric?

Switch the units to metric and the calculator takes meters and centimeters, and gives the weight in kilograms and tonnes and the prices per square meter: $21.53–$43.06 per m² for plain concrete and $43.06–$64.58 with rebar, Fixr's US ranges converted. Solid concrete is about 2,403 kg per cubic meter. A 4 × 7 m patio 10 cm thick weighs 6,728 kg (6.73 t) and costs $603–$1,206 to remove.

Frequently asked questions

How much does concrete removal cost per square foot?: $2–$4 per square foot for plain concrete and $4–$6 for concrete with rebar or wire mesh, by Fixr (updated January 31, 2025), about $4 on average. That covers breaking it up, loading it and disposal, which Fixr puts at $0.50–$2 per sq ft of it. Thick slabs and sites a machine can't reach cost more. Concrete Network quotes a lower tear-out price for driveways, about $1 per sq ft, but leaves disposal out.
How much does it cost to remove a concrete driveway?: About $2,560–$3,840 for a 16 × 40 ft driveway with rebar, 640 sq ft at $4–$6 per sq ft, or $1,280–$2,560 without it. At 4 inches thick it weighs 32,000 lb (16.00 tons), 2 dumpsters at a 10 ton limit.
How much does it cost to remove a concrete patio?: About $576–$1,152 for a 12 × 24 ft patio without rebar, at $2–$4 per sq ft, or $1,152–$1,728 with it. At 4 inches thick its 14,400 lb (7.20 tons) fit in 1 dumpster.
How much does broken concrete weigh?: About 75 lb per cubic foot of debris, by Dumpsters.com, because the pieces leave gaps: the rubble takes about twice the space of the slab it came from. The total weight doesn't change when it breaks: a 4-inch slab is 50 lb per square foot, so every 40 sq ft of it is a ton to haul. For solid concrete by size, use the concrete weight calculator.
How many dumpsters do I need for concrete?: One 10 yard dumpster per 10 tons of concrete, the weight limit Dumpsters.com gives for concrete; it fills by weight long before it is full. That is about 400 sq ft of a 4-inch slab per dumpster. Rental terms differ, so type your limit into the calculator.
How much does it cost to remove concrete yourself?: The tools and the hauling: Lawn Love puts a jackhammer at $91 for 24 hours, and Dumpsters.com a dumpster at $300–$795. For the 12 × 24 ft patio that is about $391–$886 with one day of jackhammer, against $576–$1,152 for a contractor. Hauling it yourself instead costs $32–$40 a ton at the landfill or recycler, plus a truck.
Does rebar make concrete removal cost more?: Yes: Fixr gives $4–$6 per square foot for reinforced concrete against $2–$4 for plain, and it notes that reinforced concrete is less likely to be recycled, which raises its disposal cost. If you don't know whether your slab has it, look at a cracked edge or ask the contractor to check before quoting.
What does concrete removal cost per square meter?: About $21.53–$43.06 per square meter for plain concrete and $43.06–$64.58 with rebar, Fixr's US ranges per square foot converted. Solid concrete weighs about 2,403 kg per cubic meter, so a 10 cm slab is about 240 kg per m². Switch the calculator to metric for kilograms and tonnes.
Where can I take broken concrete?: To a landfill that takes construction debris, or to a concrete recycler, which crushes it into aggregate. Fixr notes that disposal costs less when the concrete can be recycled, and that reinforced concrete is less likely to be. Call ahead to ask what a site accepts and what it charges per ton.