How Much Does Concrete Removal Cost in California?

LawnStarter’s national guide, updated December 27, 2025, puts concrete removal at $2 to $7 per square foot on average. Thumbtack’s guide, updated July 8, 2026, gives a national average range of $640 to $2,087. Most people pay around $1,132, Thumbtack says. Project type, rebar, thickness and disposal fees move the price on a California job.

What do national guides say about concrete removal cost?

Three national cost guides land close together. Lawn Love, updated December 27, 2025, says contractors typically charge $2 to $6 per square foot. That sits just under LawnStarter’s $2 to $7.

Lawn Love puts the national average at $1,380. Its prices usually range from $585 to $2,790. Thumbtack’s range of $640 to $2,087 falls inside that band.

Every figure here comes from a named cost guide or a posted public fee. LawnStarter’s per square foot prices cover demolition plus disposal. So each price pays for breaking the concrete and for dumping it.

Keep that split in mind when you compare bids for concrete demolition and removal. Ask each bidder whether disposal is in the price. A bid that leaves out the dump fee can look cheaper than it is.

What does concrete removal cost by project type?

LawnStarter breaks its national averages out by project type. Each range covers demolition plus disposal. Stairs sit at the low end, and foundations sit at the top.

Size moves the price inside each row. Lawn Love’s size table puts a 100 square foot slab at $200 to $600. A 500 square foot slab runs $1,000 to $3,000. Both rows work out to $2 to $6 per square foot.

Pick the row that matches your job, then think about size. Smaller jobs tend to sit near the bottom of a row, and bigger ones near the top.

Foundation removal usually follows a teardown. For a house, that work is residential demolition. For a commercial building, it is commercial demolition. If the whole house is coming down, our house demolition cost guide covers the price of the full teardown.

Does concrete removal cost more on the West Coast?

LawnStarter’s city table prices one 500 square foot slab in cities around the country. Seattle and Portland both come in at $7 to $11 per square foot. That starts where the national range of $2 to $7 tops out. New York runs higher still, at $9 to $14.

For that 500 square foot slab, the Seattle and Portland rates work out to $3,500 to $5,500. LawnStarter ties the gaps between cities to local labor rates and disposal fees. The table lists no California city, and Seattle and Portland are the only West Coast cities on it.

For a California job, treat the national ranges as a starting point. A written estimate from a site visit turns them into a number for your project.

How do rebar and thickness change the price?

Rebar is the first thing to check. LawnStarter puts non-reinforced concrete at $2 to $4 per square foot. Reinforced concrete runs $4 to $7, with demolition plus disposal in both.

Reinforced concrete has rebar or wire mesh inside. LawnStarter says it requires more labor and specialized equipment, which raises costs. Ask each bidder whether the price assumes plain or reinforced concrete.

Thickness is the other big factor. Lawn Love says removal pricing uses 4 to 6 inches as the standard thickness. LawnStarter prices standard 4 to 6 inch slabs at its usual $2 to $7 per square foot.

Past 6 inches, LawnStarter says costs often double. The extra labor and equipment go into cutting the concrete into smaller pieces. That adds time to the project as well as cost.

What would a 500 square foot slab cost by these numbers?

The published rates are easier to read on one slab. Take a 500 square foot slab at the standard 4 inch thickness. At LawnStarter’s $2 to $7 per square foot, it comes to $1,000 to $3,500.

Rebar splits that range in two. At the plain concrete rate, the slab lands at $1,000 to $2,000. At the reinforced rate, it runs $2,000 to $3,500. Lawn Love’s size table puts the same slab at $1,000 to $3,000.

Those per square foot prices already include disposal. When you hold a bid up against them, compare the total with the dump fee in it. LawnStarter says slabs thicker than 6 inches often cost double, so these totals fit standard slabs only.

How much do weight and dump fees add?

Disposal is priced by the ton, and concrete is heavy. College Hunks Hauling Junk says a single cubic yard weighs about 4,000 pounds. Its guide, dated May 25, 2026, puts landfill tipping fees for concrete at about $40 to $100 per ton.

The other guides land in the same range. LawnStarter lists disposal fees of $51 to $100 per ton. Thumbtack says dumps typically charge up to $100 per ton, with a ton at 2,000 pounds.

Weight adds to hauling too. Thumbtack says the heavier the dump load, the higher the transportation costs. Lawn Love adds that on massive slabs, contractors may charge by the ton instead of by the square foot.

Go back to the same 500 square foot slab at 4 inches thick. That is about 6.2 cubic yards of concrete. At about 4,000 pounds a yard, it weighs roughly 24,700 pounds, or about 12.3 tons.

At $100 per ton, the top of those published fees, disposal alone would run about $1,235. At $40 per ton, it would be about $494. These are rough estimates. The scale at the facility sets the real weight.

What do Sacramento and Stanislaus County landfills charge for concrete?

Posted public fees show how much the facility and the load matter. Sacramento County’s Kiefer Landfill posts fees effective January 1, 2026. It lists clean concrete without rebar under inerts, next to tile, brick, rock and stucco.

That clean concrete, with no dirt or trash, is taken at no fee. Concrete with excessive rebar moves to Kiefer’s Large/Bulky Materials rate of $144.90 per ton. So do concrete chunks more than three feet across.

Stanislaus County’s Fink Road Landfill in Crows Landing posts prices effective July 10, 2025. Its normal refuse rate is $49.68 per ton. That category covers demolition and construction debris, including concrete and asphalt.

Big pieces cost more there too. Chunks of concrete over 2 by 2 by 2 feet count as hard-to-handle bulk material. That rate is $110 per ton.

Now run the same 12.3 ton slab through those rates. At Fink Road’s normal refuse rate, it comes to roughly $613. In chunks too big for that rate, it would be about $1,358 there.

At Kiefer’s Large/Bulky rate, the same load would be about $1,789. If it is clean and free of rebar, Kiefer takes it at no fee.

These are estimates built from the posted rates. At Fink Road, keeping chunks under the size limit cuts the estimate by more than half. How the concrete is broken and sorted moves the dump bill.

Is recycling concrete cheaper than the landfill?

It can be. College Hunks Hauling Junk says recycling centers often accept concrete at a lower rate than a typical landfill. LawnStarter also says concrete can often be recycled, which can save on disposal costs. Rates vary by yard, so ask where your concrete is going.

State rules point the same way on bigger jobs. Under CALGreen, a permitted demolition project has to recycle or salvage at least 65 percent of its debris. That rule covers nonhazardous construction and demolition debris, per CalRecycle.

Why do access and distance change the price?

Thumbtack says the total cost depends largely on factors like the size of the concrete area. Access to the worksite is the other factor it names. Lawn Love says costs go up for a slab in a hard-to-reach area.

Lawn Love says contractors often charge more for the extra time and effort of moving concrete a longer distance. Take a backyard patio behind a house. Every broken piece has to travel farther to reach the truck than it would from a front driveway. A slab by the street, where a truck can park close, is the short trip.

When you ask for an estimate, mention any gates, steps, slopes or a long walk from the street. Each one adds time to moving the concrete out.

Do you need a permit or an 811 call to remove concrete?

Sometimes you need a permit. LawnStarter says you may need one when removing concrete. Where one is required, it typically costs $38 to $300.

LawnStarter adds that some areas may require an inspection before issuing a permit, which adds to the expense. Check with your city or county building department before work is scheduled.

A full building teardown is a bigger permit process. Our California demolition permit guide covers the building department and air district steps.

Digging brings in one more rule. In California, calling 811 before digging is a legal requirement, per USA North 811. It asks for at least two working days’ notice before work in the ground starts. If the project includes any digging, build that call into the schedule.

How do you get a real price for concrete removal?

A site visit turns these published ranges into a number for your job. Have the rough size in square feet ready. Add anything you know about rebar or thickness, and how far the concrete sits from the street.

We break out and haul off driveways, slabs, patios and foundations across the Central Valley, the Bay Area and Sacramento. Broken concrete goes to a recycling yard. We are a family company, in business since 1967, and our license is CSLB #247684.

Estimates are free. Contact us for a concrete removal estimate and include the job address.