Gravel driveway cost

A gravel driveway costs $2 to $6 a square foot installed, typically around $3.50. A 600 square foot two-car driveway is therefore $1,200 to $3,600, and a 300 foot rural drive is $6,000 to $20,000 depending on width and base depth.

It is a third the price of asphalt and it is not maintenance free. Budget regrading every year or two and topping up every three to five.

What it costs

The layers, and why one layer fails

A gravel driveway that works is three layers, not a load of stone dumped on soil.

Geotextile fabric on the subgrade. It separates the stone from the soil beneath and stops the two mixing, which is what turns a gravel drive into a mud drive over five years. It costs $0.30 to $0.80 a square foot and it roughly doubles the life. It is the single most skipped step.

A base course of 4 to 6 inches of large angular stone, often called #3 or crusher run, compacted.

A middle course of 3 to 4 inches of smaller angular stone.

A top course of 2 to 3 inches of #57 or similar, which is what you see and drive on.

Total depth 8 to 12 inches for a residential drive. A single 3 inch layer of pea gravel on soil is not a driveway; it is stone that will disappear.

Angular, not rounded

This is the choice that decides whether the drive holds together.

Angular crushed stone interlocks. The irregular faces lock against each other under load and the surface stays put.

Rounded gravel, including pea gravel and river rock, does not interlock. It rolls under tires, migrates to the edges, and is genuinely difficult to walk on, push a pushchair over, or shovel snow off.

Pea gravel looks better in a photograph and is the wrong material for a driveway. If appearance matters, a gravel stabilizer grid holds rounded stone in place for $2 to $6 a square foot.

The maintenance nobody mentions

Regrading every one to two years, $0.30 to $1.00 a square foot, to pull the material back from the edges and restore the crown. Without a crown the drive holds water and potholes form.

Topping up every three to five years, a few cubic yards spread over the surface.

Weeds, which arrive regardless and are the reason people fit fabric and use a pre-emergent.

Snow. A plow blade lifts gravel and throws it into the lawn, which is both a maintenance cost and a mower hazard. A rubber-edged blade or skids set high help. Anyone in a snow region should factor this in before choosing gravel.

Dust in dry weather, on a long drive, which is a real nuisance and is why some people apply a dust suppressant.

Frequently asked questions

How much gravel do I need?

Length times width times depth in feet, divided by 27, gives cubic yards. A 600 square foot drive at 10 inches total depth is about 18 cubic yards. Add 10%.

Can I do it myself?

Spreading and raking, yes, with a delivered load and a couple of weekends. Excavation, compaction and grading want a machine, and the compaction is what makes the difference between a drive and a pile of stone.

How long does it last?

Indefinitely with maintenance, which is the point: it never needs replacing, it needs topping up. Without maintenance it becomes mud in five to ten years.

Is it good in snow?

Worse than a hard surface. Plowing scrapes gravel off and shoveling catches it. It is manageable and it is a genuine downside in a snow region.

Can I put asphalt over gravel later?

Yes, and this is a common sequence: a gravel drive for a few years, then paving over a base that has already been driven on and compacted. Ask the paver to assess the base depth first.