Most patio pricing online is national averages that mean nothing in Michigan. These are our actual 2026 rates for Metro Detroit — what we would quote, not a range scraped from somewhere else.
The short answer
A typical Metro Detroit concrete patio runs $5,400 to $17,200 depending on size and finish. A 400 square foot broom-finish patio sits near our project minimum around $5,400; a 600 square foot stamped patio runs about $9,600 to $11,100. Patios cost more per square foot than driveways of the same size, and the reason is access.
Metro Detroit patio prices by size and finish
All figures include tear-out and haul-away where there is an existing surface, base preparation, reinforcement, the pour, the finish and cut control joints. There are no separate line items added afterward.
| Patio size | Broom finish | Exposed aggregate | Stamped |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 sq ft10×20 — small sitting area | $5,400–$5,900 | $5,400–$5,900 | $5,400–$5,900 |
| 300 sq ft12×25 — table and chairs | $5,400–$5,900 | $5,400–$5,900 | $5,600–$6,500 |
| 400 sq ft16×25 — table plus grill | $5,400–$5,900 | $6,200–$7,100 | $7,500–$8,700 |
| 600 sq ft20×30 — full outdoor living | $6,500–$7,500 | $8,200–$9,500 | $9,600–$11,100 |
| 800 sq ft20×40 — large entertaining | $8,700–$10,000 | $10,900–$12,700 | $12,800–$14,800 |
| 1,000 sq ft25×40 — extensive | $9,700–$11,200 | $12,500–$14,500 | $14,800–$17,200 |
Ranges reflect site conditions. Run your own dimensions through the instant estimator for a ballpark in a couple of minutes, or read on for what moves the number.
Why a patio costs more per foot than a driveway
Homeowners are often surprised that a 400 square foot patio is not simply a third of the price of a 1,200 square foot driveway. Three reasons, and none of them are markup.
Access. A driveway is where the truck parks. A backyard patio is not. Concrete may have to be wheeled in by buggy or pumped over the house, and every yard that cannot be discharged directly off the chute costs labour. A tight side gate or a fence that has to come down changes the day.
Fixed costs spread over fewer feet. Mobilising a crew, equipment and a concrete truck costs about the same whether we pour 300 square feet or 1,200. On a small patio that overhead is divided across a fraction of the area. It is the same reason our rates step down at 500 and again at 1,000 square feet.
The short-load charge. Ready-mix suppliers bill a minimum load, typically around six yards. A 300 square foot patio at four inches thick needs under four yards — you pay for concrete that never leaves the truck. That cost does not disappear on a small job, it just gets absorbed into the square foot rate.
The project minimum, and why it exists
Below roughly 400 square feet our pricing flattens out at a project minimum of $5,400. A 200 square foot patio and a 400 square foot patio often cost the same, because both are a one-day job for the same crew with the same truck and the same setup.
The practical implication is worth knowing: if you were planning a 250 square foot patio, going to 400 square feet may cost you nothing extra. If you have been thinking about the size, that is the conversation to have before we quote rather than after.
What moves your patio quote
- Access to the back yard. The single biggest variable. Wheelbarrow or buggy access adds labour; a pump adds cost outright.
- What is there now. Removing an old concrete patio, a paver patio, or a deck all take different amounts of time. Bare ground is cheapest.
- Grading and drainage. A patio has to pitch away from the house. Where the yard already falls the wrong way, that gets solved before the pour.
- Steps and elevation changes. A patio at grade is straightforward. Steps up to a door, a raised section or a retaining edge all add formwork.
- Finish. Broom is the base. Exposed aggregate adds roughly a quarter. Stamped is the most involved — see our stamped concrete cost guide for the detail.
- Borders and inlays. A trowel-finished or contrasting border is modest money and changes how the whole slab reads.
Concrete patio or pavers?
Pavers usually quote higher per square foot than broom-finish concrete and land near stamped. The difference shows up later rather than at the quote. Paver joints are sand, and in Michigan sand joints wash out, weeds find them, and individual units settle at different rates until the surface is uneven underfoot. A poured slab has no joints to lose.
We converted a paver patio to poured concrete in Dearborn Heights for exactly that reason. Our full comparison is in concrete versus pavers.
Why the cheapest patio quote often costs the most
If one quote comes in well under the others, something is being left out. The three things that get shorted are always the same: base preparation, thickness, and the mix.
Base is invisible once the concrete is down, which is exactly why it gets skipped. A patio poured on uncompacted fill will settle, and a settled slab cannot be repaired — it comes out. Thickness is the second: a quote may say four inches and the pour may be closer to two and a half. And a weaker, lower-PSI mix saves money per yard and shows up as surface scaling three winters later.
Our guide on how to choose a concrete contractor covers how to verify each of these before you sign anything.
Getting an exact number
The table above is honest ballpark territory. What it cannot see is your back yard — how the truck gets close, what the ground does, whether there is a deck to pull out. Those are the things that move a real quote.
Use the instant estimator to get a range in a couple of minutes with no email required, then we measure on site for free and put a firm number in writing.