Asphalt vs Concrete Driveway in Texas

We pave asphalt for a living, so weigh our opinion accordingly. But we turn down driveway jobs where concrete is the better answer, and this page explains how we decide.

Side by side

	Asphalt	Concrete
Installed cost in Dallas	$4 to $8 per sq ft	$7 to $13 per sq ft
Typical life	15 to 20 years with upkeep	25 to 35 years
Upkeep	Sealcoat every 2 to 3 years, seal cracks	Seal joints, wash, little else
Repairs	Patch in an afternoon	Cut out and replace the slab
Ready for cars	24 to 48 hours	About 7 days
On moving clay	Flexes, cracks can be sealed	Rigid, slabs crack and tilt
In summer heat	Softens, hot to walk on	Stays hard, cooler surface
Parked heavy loads	Can dent in summer	No problem

Cost

For a standard 600 square foot driveway, asphalt runs $2,400 to $4,800 and concrete $4,200 to $7,800. The gap grows with length. On a 300 foot lane to a house on acreage, the difference can be $15,000 or more.

Asphalt needs regular maintenance, and that closes some of the gap. Budget $300 to $500 every three years for sealing and crack repair. Over 20 years, asphalt still comes out cheaper on most driveways, but by less than the install prices suggest.

Texas clay

Most of the Dallas area, and a wide band of Texas running from San Antonio up through Austin and Waco, sits on expansive clay. It swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and the ground can move an inch or more between seasons.

Concrete is rigid. It deals with movement through its joints, and when the movement is uneven, a slab cracks or one side lifts. Steel reinforcing holds the pieces together but doesn't stop the crack. Once a slab has tilted, the fix is to break it out and pour a new one.

Asphalt is flexible. It follows small movements without breaking, and when it does crack, the crack can be sealed for a dollar or so a foot. A section that has failed gets cut out and patched the same day. Asphalt's weakness on clay is the base. Laid thin on bare clay it fails fast, which is why we put six inches of compacted stone under it.

Texas heat

This is where concrete has the edge. A black driveway in full sun passes 140 degrees in July. It's uncomfortable for bare feet and pets, and the surface softens enough to scuff if you turn your steering wheel while the car is standing still.

Point loads are the real issue. A trailer tongue jack, RV leveling jacks or a motorcycle kickstand can sink into asphalt on a hot day. If you store a trailer or RV on the driveway, park it on a concrete pad or put boards under the jacks.

Repairs and appearance

Asphalt repairs disappear. Patch it, sealcoat the whole driveway, and it's one uniform black surface again.

Concrete repairs show. A new slab next to 15 year old slabs is a different color and stays that way. On the other hand, concrete can be stamped, colored or given an exposed aggregate finish, and asphalt can't.

Rules that decide it for you

Check these before you compare prices. Many Dallas-area cities require concrete for the driveway approach, the part between the street and your property line. Some require it for the whole driveway in standard residential zoning. Plenty of HOAs do too. If concrete is required, the comparison is over.

When we'd tell you to pick concrete

Your driveway is under about 40 feet and every other house on the street has concrete. Asphalt would save you perhaps $2,000 and could cost you more than that at resale.

Your city or HOA requires it.

You park a heavy trailer, boat or RV in one spot for months at a time.

You don't want to think about maintenance at all.

When asphalt is the better buy

The driveway is long. Past about 100 feet, the savings get hard to ignore.

It's a private road, a shared lane or a parking area, where repairs will be needed over the years and you want them cheap.

The ground moves a lot and you'd sooner seal a crack than replace a slab.

You need to use it quickly. Asphalt takes cars in a day or two.

If you've landed on asphalt, the next step is the Dallas driveway cost guide or our driveway paving page.