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How much does a 400 sq ft concrete slab cost in Bismarck, ND?

A poured concrete slab in Bismarck, ND
$2,487
400 ft² of slab · typical range $1,530 – $4,208
Typical total$6.22 per ft² of slab$2,487
Range you should see in bidsthree bids on the same scope normally land inside this$1,530 – $4,208
Labor portion50% of the job — this is the part that moves by city$1,243
Material portion50% — bought at national prices$1,243
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers pay near Bismarckabout $26/hr · Bismarck, ND metro$54,820/yr
U.S. mean for the same tradeSOC 47-2051$60,050/yr
Versus the national pricetrade pay here runs −8.7% against the U.S. mean−$113
Short pour season181 freezing days a year in Bismarck. ACI 306 cold-weather protection — blankets, heated water, or waiting — is a real line item here, not boilerplate—

Notes

  • Where the number comes from. The national price for a poured concrete slab is $6.50 per ft² of slab — poured slab pricing published for 2026, $4–$11 per ft² for a 4-inch slab on grade. Labor is about 50% of that. Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers near Bismarck, ND average $54,820 a year against a U.S. mean of $60,050 — a factor of 0.913 — so the labor half is scaled by that and the material half is not. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Bismarck, ND metro area, SOC 47-2051.
  • Why the city matters, not just the state. Trade pay moves inside a state as much as it does between states. Crews do not commute across a state to bid a job, and materials ship at national prices either way — so a metro wage is the honest input here and a state average quietly rounds four different cities into one number.
  • Short pour season. 181 freezing days a year in Bismarck. ACI 306 cold-weather protection — blankets, heated water, or waiting — is a real line item here, not boilerplate.
  • What is in the price: excavation to grade, a compacted gravel base, forms, wire mesh or fibre, the concrete itself, placing, screeding, a broom or trowel finish, and labor.
  • What is not: thickened edges for a load-bearing wall, a vapour barrier under a heated slab, rebar mats where an engineer calls for them, saw-cut control joints past the standard spacing, and any grading or drainage work around the pour. These are the lines that turn a $2,487 quote into a $3,108 invoice, so ask about each one before signing.
  • Use this as a bid check, not a quote. It prices an average job in average condition. Difficult access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a per-unit average.

a poured concrete slab in Bismarck, ND

$2,487 is the typical number, and three bids on the same scope normally land between $1,530 and $4,208.

That is $113 less than the same job priced at the national average.

Why the city changes the number

About 50% of this job is labor — $1,243 of the $2,487 above. Labor is the only part that moves locally; a bundle of material costs what it costs wherever it is nailed down.

Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers near Bismarck average $54,820 a year, against a U.S. mean of $60,050. That is a factor of 0.913, so the labor half is scaled by it and the material half is not.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Bismarck, ND metro area, SOC 47-2051.

What the quote should include

Short pour season

The lines that turn a quote into an invoice

Ask about each of them before you sign. On a job this size they are the difference between $2,487 and something a quarter higher.

Use it as a bid check, not a quote

This prices an average job in average condition. Access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a national average.

If a bid lands outside $1,530 – $4,208, that is not automatically wrong — but it is the question worth asking out loud.

Nearby sizes

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