How Much Does a Concrete Driveway Replacement Cost in Melbourne?

By our Florida planning ranges, replacing a concrete driveway in Melbourne costs an estimated $9–$25 per square foot once you count tearing out the old slab and adding rebar or wire mesh. For a 500 sq. ft. two-car driveway, that's roughly $4,500–$12,500. Permit and right-of-way fees, a survey and any culvert or drainage work come on top, and they depend on whether you live in the City of Melbourne, another city or unincorporated Brevard.

Concrete driveway cost per square foot

Installed concrete cost (per sq. ft.)

Item	Estimated range	What affects it
Concrete patio slab, reinforced	$7–$12per sq. ft.	Broom finish. Melbourne cost-guide figures published in 2022; current prices may be higher.
Stamped or decorative concrete	$10–$17per sq. ft.	Patterns and color add labor. Melbourne cost-guide figures published in 2022; current prices may be higher.
Concrete driveway, new or replaced	$6–$16per sq. ft.	Forming, base preparation and concrete. A 2026 Tampa estimate shows about $8 to $16; removing the old driveway is extra.

Only the driveway row applies here. It covers forming, base preparation and the concrete for a new or replaced driveway, and it's a statewide planning range drawn mainly from 2026 national and Tampa figures (see below). The patio and stamped rows come from 2022 Melbourne patio prices. They're shown for comparison, not as driveway prices.

Most replacements also involve one or both of these:

Other concrete costs

Item	Estimated range	What affects it
Removing old concrete	$2–$6per sq. ft.	Breaking out and hauling away the old slab, including disposal. Thicker or reinforced concrete costs more.
Rebar or wire mesh reinforcement	$1–$3per sq. ft.	Often specified for driveways. Ask what your quote includes.

Per square foot, a replacement on the same footprint adds up like this:

None of these ranges include permit or right-of-way fees, a survey, engineering, a new culvert, irrigation or landscape repairs, or sales tax if a contractor bills it separately.

What a driveway quote covers

We didn't find a source that splits driveway prices into materials and labor, so we won't guess at one. A complete quote usually lists these parts:

• Tear-out and disposal. Breaking out the old slab and hauling it away. Thick or reinforced old concrete costs more to remove.
• Base preparation and forming. Grading and compacting the base and setting the forms that shape the new slab.
• Concrete and finishing. Placing the concrete, the finish (usually a broom finish on a plain driveway) and the control joints.
• Reinforcement. Rebar or wire mesh is often specified for driveways. Ask whether it's in the price or an add-on.
• The apron. The section that crosses from your property line to the street usually sits in public right-of-way, which brings a separate permit and, on some lots, a culvert.
• Permits and paperwork. The driveway permit, any right-of-way permit, a survey if the permit office wants one and, on some lots, an engineer's design.

Lower-cost, standard and premium jobs

• Lower end: plain gray concrete with a broom finish on the same footprint, good access for trucks and equipment, a thin, unreinforced old slab to remove, and a street with curb and gutter, so no culvert.
• Standard: tear-out and haul-away, rebar or wire mesh, a new apron to the street under a right-of-way permit, and a broom finish with control joints.
• Premium: a stamped, colored or other decorative finish, or pavers; widening or reshaping the driveway; a thicker slab; a new culvert across a drainage swale; a survey or engineer's design; or tight access that slows demolition.

What published estimates show

We found no reliable 2026 driveway prices for Melbourne or Brevard. These are the closest published figures:

• Melbourne (2024): A national cost-guide website's Melbourne, FL page puts an unreinforced concrete driveway at about $6–$10 per sq. ft., not including demolition of the existing driveway.
• Tampa (2026): A construction cost estimator's 2026 Tampa page shows about $8–$16 per sq. ft. installed ($7.98 to $16.28).
• National (2026): A national cost guide puts a concrete driveway at $6–$16 per sq. ft. installed, or $1,885–$6,475 per project, and adds $1–$3 per sq. ft. for rebar or wire mesh. Our driveway and reinforcement ranges match its figures.
• National, plain gray concrete: A concrete industry website puts a plain gray concrete driveway at about $5–$8 per sq. ft.
• Removal (2025): A national cost guide updated in January 2025 puts concrete removal at $2–$6 per sq. ft., the same as our range, and says disposal makes up about $0.50–$2 of that, depending on whether the concrete can be recycled. We found no Florida-specific removal figures.

These are published estimates from websites, not quotes, and they don't spell out what's included. The Melbourne figure leaves out reinforcement and demolition, sits in the lower part of our range and dates from 2024. Use these figures as a sense check, and judge real bids by their written scope.

Example budgets for Melbourne-area driveways

These examples use only the planning ranges above. Assumptions: the old driveway is plain concrete on a flat lot, the new one goes on the same footprint and includes the apron to the street, access is easy, the street has curb and gutter so there's no culvert, and the finish is broom-finished gray concrete. Permit and right-of-way fees, a survey, HOA fees, irrigation repairs and separately billed sales tax aren't included. Totals are rounded.

A parking pad or widening that changes the apron also brings in the right-of-way rules below. The paver row uses our general concrete paver range, which includes excavation, a compacted base, sand bedding and edge restraint; see the pavers section below for why a driveway's base differs.

Fees come on top of these totals. At our October 2026 check, a county right-of-way permit for one driveway connection in unincorporated Brevard came to $175, and Melbourne's right-of-way use permit listed a $94 fee plus a $1,000 restoration bond (details below). We didn't confirm what the driveway permit itself costs in either place, so ask.

These are estimates, not prices. Real quotes depend on your site, soil, drainage, the thickness and finish you choose and what's under the old slab.

Need a contractor for this project?Request a concrete or driveway estimate

Permits and right-of-way fees

Two approvals can apply to one driveway: a permit for the driveway from your building department, and a right-of-way permit for the apron from whoever owns the street. Start by confirming whether your address is inside a city or town or in unincorporated Brevard, because a mailing address doesn't settle it. Our guide to building permits in Brevard County explains how to find out.

Unincorporated Brevard (Viera, Suntree, Merritt Island and other county areas)

• The driveway. Brevard County's code enforcement page lists a concrete driveway among exterior work that needs a permit. Ask Planning and Development which permit type covers a replacement.
• The right-of-way. Public Works Engineering issues residential right-of-way permits, including for driveways, and reviews proposed driveway culverts "to protect the operation of storm water drainage systems."
• Fees. At our October 2026 check, the county's residential right-of-way application listed a $25 application processing fee plus $150 per permanent residential driveway connection, under Resolution 16-189. Work started without a permit is charged double the permit fee. The form says the fees may be amended, so confirm the current fee schedule.
• Design limits. The same form sets the apron width at 12 ft minimum, 24 ft maximum with a two-car garage and 28 ft maximum with a three-car garage. The apron must be at least 5 ft from the nearest side property line.
• Paperwork. The application asks for a description of the work, plus an "Authorization to Act on Behalf of Owner" form when a contractor or engineer applies for you. If you bought the home recently, include the recorded warranty deed.
• Upkeep. The form makes the property owner responsible for repairing and maintaining driveway materials within the county right-of-way.

City of Melbourne

• The driveway permit. Melbourne's Building Section FAQ lists driveways among work that needs a permit. The city handles driveways, fences, accessory structures and flatwork through city ordinance permits, which are separate from building permits; our Brevard fence permit guide shows how that works for fences. Its inspections page says city code requires inspections for some city-specific items, such as fences, sheds and flatwork, so ask which inspections your driveway needs.
• The right-of-way. The city's Engineering Department handles right-of-way use permits and agreements. At our October 2026 check, its fee schedule (effective July 1, 2025) listed a $94 processing fee for a right-of-way use permit and a $1,000 right-of-way restoration bond. Confirm the current fee schedule, ask whether your apron work needs this permit, and ask how the bond is posted and whether and when it's released.
• What we couldn't confirm. We didn't find a Melbourne driveway apron standard or the fee for the driveway ordinance permit itself.
• Starting early costs more. Melbourne's FAQ warns that starting work without a required permit can lead to higher costs, delays and even removal of the work.

Palm Bay, West Melbourne and the beach towns

Each city and town runs its own permits, and we didn't research their driveway rules. Palm Bay's Public Works Department has a permitting page that covers city right-of-way work, so start there. West Melbourne, Melbourne Beach, Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach and Satellite Beach are separate from the City of Melbourne, so ask city or town hall about driveway and right-of-way permits there.

If your driveway meets a state highway, such as US 1 or US 192, or a county road inside city limits, ask your city which agency issues the right-of-way permit. We didn't confirm how that's split.

Don't count on the $7,500 exemption

Since July 1, 2026, Florida law lets the owner of a single-family home, or the owner's contractor, ask in writing to skip a building permit for some work valued under $7,500. For a driveway, it may not help. Melbourne says its ordinance permits, including driveways, aren't affected. The state rule is written for building permits, and a right-of-way permit is a separate Public Works or Engineering approval, so don't assume it's covered. Property partly or entirely in a flood hazard area doesn't qualify, and we found no Brevard County page or form for requests. See the $7,500 permit exemption.

Notice of Commencement

A two-car replacement can pass $5,000. On a permitted job, that's the contract value above which Florida requires a recorded Notice of Commencement to be filed with the building department before the first inspection. Ask your permit office whether it applies to your driveway permit.

Swales, culverts and drainage

On a swale lot, drainage rules can add costs our ranges don't cover. In unincorporated Brevard, the county's submittal rules depend on how your street drains:

• Curb-and-gutter subdivisions: a drawing dimensioned on a survey or plot plan.
• Open-drainage (swale) subdivisions or properties: a certified survey by a Florida-licensed surveyor, under the county's driveway requirements policy dated May 15, 2024. After reviewing the survey, the county may require a design by a Florida professional engineer.

The county's form also requires culverts in its right-of-way to be FDOT-certified material. Inside a city, ask the city's engineering or public works office for its rules. If your driveway crosses a swale, ask the contractor whether the existing culvert will be reused or replaced and to price that separately, along with any survey or engineering.

If the job involves digging, such as regrading or replacing a culvert, Florida's damage prevention law requires the excavator to notify Sunshine 811 at least 2 full business days before digging. Ask your contractor to make the request, and show them private lines that the locate won't cover, such as irrigation pipes and landscape lighting wire.

Thickness, strength and reinforcement

We didn't find a Brevard County or City of Melbourne standard for driveway thickness, concrete strength or reinforcement. For comparison, two other Florida local governments publish apron specifications:

• The City of Umatilla offers a 6-inch reinforced concrete apron of 3,000 psi concrete with 6x6 wire mesh as one option.
• Putnam County requires an apron at least 5 ft long and 6 inches thick.

Those are apron rules from other jurisdictions, not rules here, and they don't tell you what the rest of the driveway on your lot needs. One national cost guide says a 4-inch slab is enough for a driveway used only by cars and small vehicles, but that's a cost guide's view, not a code.

So ask the county's Public Works Engineering or Melbourne's Engineering Department what the apron must meet, and ask every contractor to write down the slab thickness, concrete strength, reinforcement type and joint spacing. Hot, sunny and windy weather also pulls water from fresh concrete and raises the risk of shrinkage cracks. Our concrete vs. pavers guide explains control joints and pouring in hot weather.

Concrete or pavers for your driveway?

By our ranges, pavers cost more upfront: about $12–$18 per square foot against $6–$16 for concrete, and the same $2–$6 to remove an old slab either way. In return, pavers can be lifted and reset when they settle, and a single broken paver can be replaced. A slab is one piece, and its control joints guide where it cracks.

Our concrete vs. pavers guide compares cracking, repairs and upkeep for patios, and most of it carries over. The difference is the load: driveways need a thicker base than patios, so a paver driveway bid should spell out its base depth. For paver prices, see our Florida paver cost guide and paver costs in Melbourne, or try the paver cost calculator.

HOAs, flood zones and beachfront lots

• HOAs. Driveways and pavers are common items on HOA approval lists, and many associations control materials and colors. A change from concrete to pavers, a wider driveway or a new parking pad is the kind of change to submit before you sign a contract. See HOA approval in Florida.
• Flood zones. Check your flood zone on Brevard County's Floodplain Administration map, or ask your city. A flood hazard area rules out the $7,500 exemption entirely.
• Oceanfront lots. For oceanfront lots on the barrier island, Florida DEP says alteration, excavation or construction seaward of the coastal construction control line requires its approval, with certain exceptions. This matters only if the driveway work would sit seaward of the line, so check where it falls on your lot. See CCCL permits in Florida.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Treating the apron as part of your lot. It usually sits in the public right-of-way, with its own permit and size limits. In unincorporated Brevard, a wider apron still has to stay within 24 ft for a two-car garage and at least 5 ft from the side property line.
• Starting before the permits. Both the county and Melbourne charge more for work started without a required permit.
• Comparing quotes with different scopes. Line up the area, thickness, reinforcement, removal and haul-away, apron, culvert and permits before comparing prices. See why contractor quotes differ.
• Budgeting from one number. The only Melbourne figure we found is from 2024 and leaves out demolition and reinforcement, and none of our ranges include a survey, culvert or engineering on a swale lot.

Next steps

1. Measure the driveway, including the apron to the street, and sketch it with the garage, side property line, swale or curb, and any culvert.
2. Confirm whether you're in a city or unincorporated Brevard, and whether your street is a city, county or state road.
3. Ask your building department about the driveway permit and the right-of-way permit: which you need, what they cost, what the apron must meet and whether you need a survey.
4. If you have an HOA, get the design approved first.
5. Get written quotes that list the area, thickness, concrete strength, reinforcement, finish, joint spacing, removal and haul-away, apron work, any culvert, the permits the contractor will pull and when you can drive on the new slab.
6. Ask your building department which license, if any, driveway work needs where you live. Then check the license the contractor gives you on MyFloridaLicense.com (state licenses) and on Brevard County's Licensed Contractor Search. Our guide to checking a contractor before hiring walks through the steps.

Planning more work on the outside of the house at the same time? Our exterior home improvements guide shows where to start with a roof, fence, repaint or stucco repair on the Space Coast.