Concrete Patio Cost in Los Angeles: What You Will Actually Pay
A poured concrete patio in Los Angeles costs $8 to $18 per square foot installed for a standard broom finish, and $12 to $26 per square foot for stamped concrete. A 500 square foot patio, a common size for a table, a grill and a pair of loungers, lands between $4,000 and $9,000 in plain concrete and between $6,000 and $13,000 stamped, before demolition of anything already there. These are typical Los Angeles budgeting estimates, not a price list or a quote. Your project can come in lower or higher depending on the house, the scope and the finishes; the only real number is a written proposal after a site visit.
Green Design and Build pours patios across Los Angeles County, the San Fernando Valley, Orange County, Ventura County, western Riverside County and western San Bernardino County. This guide explains where the money goes so you can read a bid and see what is missing.
Cost per square foot by finish
The base, forming, reinforcement and pour are the same whatever the top looks like. Every finish beyond a broom is an add.
| Finish | Installed per sq ft | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Broom finish | $8–$18 | Standard. Grippy, plain, easy to match on a future repair. |
| Salt finish | $8–$18 | Light pitted texture. Usually the same range as broom. |
| Color or stain | $10–$23 | Adds $2–$5. Integral color in the mix or a stain after cure. |
| Exposed aggregate | $11–$24 | Adds $3–$6. The paste is washed off to show the stone, then sealed. |
| Stamped | $12–$26 | Adds $4–$8. Color hardener, release, mats and sealer. |
| Thicker slab or extra rebar | +$1–$3 | Only if the slab will carry a hot tub, a masonry island or a vehicle. |
These are typical Los Angeles budgeting estimates, not a price list or a quote. Your project can come in lower or higher depending on the house, the scope and the finishes; the only real number is a written proposal after a site visit.
Why so wide a range? The bottom is a big rectangle on a flat lot with a Bobcat parked next to it. The top is a curved shape on a sloped lot with a 36-inch side gate, a drain line and a sealer. Both are honest prices for different jobs.
Worked examples
These assume a flat lot, reasonable access and nothing to demolish. Add the extras in the next section as they apply.
| Patio size | Broom finish | Exposed aggregate | Stamped |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 sq ft (about 15 × 20) | $2,400–$5,400 | $3,300–$7,200 | $3,600–$7,800 |
| 500 sq ft (about 20 × 25) | $4,000–$9,000 | $5,500–$12,000 | $6,000–$13,000 |
| 800 sq ft (about 20 × 40) | $6,400–$14,400 | $8,800–$19,200 | $9,600–$20,800 |
These are typical Los Angeles budgeting estimates, not a price list or a quote. Your project can come in lower or higher depending on the house, the scope and the finishes; the only real number is a written proposal after a site visit.
The per-square-foot number rises as the job gets smaller. A 300 square foot pour still needs a truck, a crew, forms and a compactor for the day, so it sits toward the top of the range; an 800 square foot pour spreads those fixed costs and prices nearer the middle.
What adds to the cost
| Extra | Typical cost | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Demolition and haul-away of an old slab | $1,500–$3,000 | Any existing patio. More if it is thick, reinforced or far from the truck. |
| Difficult access | $500–$1,500+ | No Bobcat path to the yard; rock and debris by wheelbarrow, concrete by pump. |
| Drainage | About $90 per linear foot | Where the yard cannot shed water on its own. |
| Thicker slab with rebar | +$1–$3 per sq ft | Hot tub, masonry kitchen island or vehicle on the slab. |
These are typical Los Angeles budgeting estimates, not a price list or a quote. Your project can come in lower or higher depending on the house, the scope and the finishes; the only real number is a written proposal after a site visit.
Removing the old slab is the item most often missing from a low bid. Ask whether it is included before you compare numbers.
Steps and grade changes. A patio a foot below the back door needs a landing and at least two risers. Each step is formed, poured and finished separately, and a long run of steps is a small project of its own. A flat yard with the door at grade is the cheapest patio you can build.
Drainage. A patio must fall away from the house at roughly a quarter inch per foot. Where the yard cannot take that water, we add a channel or area drain and run it to daylight or a dry well. Skipping this is how a patio ends up with water against the foundation.
Soil. On the expansive clay across much of the San Fernando Valley we thicken the base and moisten the subgrade before the pour. It costs a little more in rock and time, and it is the difference between a patio that stays flat and one that lifts at the corners in its third winter.
Sleeves and conduit. If you might ever want a patio cover, lighting, a gas line for a barbecue or an outdoor kitchen, tell us before the pour. A conduit under the slab now is cheap. Saw-cutting a finished patio for it later is not.
Concrete patio or paver patio
We build both, so this is not a sales pitch for either. Pavers run $15 to $25+ per square foot installed, so a 500 square foot paver patio is $7,500 to $12,500 or more against $4,000 to $9,000 in broom-finished concrete. These are typical Los Angeles budgeting estimates, not a price list or a quote. Your project can come in lower or higher depending on the house, the scope and the finishes; the only real number is a written proposal after a site visit.
What the extra money buys is repairability. A paver that settles over a tree root or a plumbing repair can be lifted, the base fixed and the same stone reset. A cracked concrete patio stays cracked; the repair is visible and the color rarely matches. Our rule of thumb: mature tree, sewer lateral or irrigation main under the patio, choose pavers. Wide-open yard with nothing beneath, choose concrete and put the difference toward a cover. The full comparison is in our paver patio cost guide.
Permits
A patio at grade normally needs no building permit. In the City of Los Angeles, platforms, walks and driveways not more than 30 inches above grade are exempt, and most cities in our area follow the same rule. You will need a permit if the patio includes a retaining wall over 4 feet or one holding back a slope, any electrical or gas line, or an attached or oversized patio cover. Thresholds vary by city and we confirm what applies to your address before we quote.
Timeline
A typical patio is 3 to 7 days on site from tear-out to the end of the pour: a day or two of demolition and excavation, a day of base and forms, and a morning to pour. You can walk on a broom finish after 24 hours and a stamped finish after 48. Keep furniture off it for about a week and let it reach its full 28-day cure before sealing a decorative finish. In summer inland we pour at first light; a patio finished in 100-degree afternoon heat dusts and crazes within the year.
Where a patio fits in a bigger project
A patio plus a cover, lighting and a kitchen is a backyard remodel, and the sequence matters: grade and drainage, then sleeves and footings, then base and slab, then the structures on top. If you are planning more than the slab, see our outdoor living page and design ideas gallery before settling on a size.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 500 square foot concrete patio cost in Los Angeles?
Between $4,000 and $9,000 for a broom finish and between $6,000 and $13,000 stamped, with reasonable access and nothing to demolish. Add $1,500 to $3,000 if an old slab has to come out. These are typical Los Angeles budgeting estimates, not a price list or a quote. Your project can come in lower or higher depending on the house, the scope and the finishes; the only real number is a written proposal after a site visit.
Is a concrete patio cheaper than pavers?
Yes, to install, on every size of patio. Pavers cost more because each stone is set by hand on a screeded bedding layer over a compacted base, where concrete is placed and finished in a morning. The trade-off is that pavers can be lifted and reset after a root or plumbing problem and concrete cannot. If nothing runs under the patio, concrete is the better value and we will say so.
Do I need a permit for a concrete patio?
Usually not. A patio at grade is exempt from a building permit in the City of Los Angeles and in most cities we work in. You do need a permit for a retaining wall over 4 feet or one carrying a surcharge, for any outdoor electrical or gas line, and for an attached patio cover or a detached one larger than 120 square feet. We confirm the rules for your address before we quote.
How thick should a concrete patio be?
Four inches, reinforced, over a compacted aggregate base. That handles furniture, foot traffic and a barbecue. If the slab will carry a hot tub, a masonry kitchen island or a vehicle, we pour 5 to 6 inches with rebar. The base under the slab matters more than the extra inch of concrete: a thick slab on loose soil still cracks.
Why do some patio bids come in so much lower?
Usually because something is missing: demolition of the old slab, a compacted base, reinforcement lifted off the dirt, drainage or the sealer on a decorative finish. Ask any bidder to state base depth, reinforcement type, slab thickness and where the water goes. A bid that cannot answer those four questions is not cheaper; it is a different job.
How long does a concrete patio last?
A properly built patio should outlast the furniture on it by decades. The ones that fail early were poured on uncompacted soil, on Valley clay without a proper base, dead flat with water pooling at the edge, or with control joints too far apart. Concrete rarely fails; the ground under it does, and that is where the money in a good bid goes.
If you are planning a patio anywhere in our five-county area, we will come out for a free site visit, measure the yard, check access and drainage, and send a written proposal within 48 hours.