Masonry and Hardscape profit margin benchmarks
The IRS reports what one-owner businesses filing Schedule C earn, by sector. Masonry and Hardscape falls under Specialty trade contractors. For tax year 2023, 2,521,516 returns reported $257.8 billion in receipts, $80.4 billion in cost of sales and $40.5 billion in net income less deficit (the table gives thousands of dollars):
| Benchmark | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross margin | 68.8% |
| Net margin, owner pay included | 15.7% |
| Average receipts per return | $102,220 |
| Average net income per return | $16,054 |
The owner's own draw is not an expense on a Schedule C, so that net margin is mostly the owner's wage, not profit on top of it.
Where the money goes in masonry and hardscape
Masonry and hardscape are material and labor heavy: block, brick, pavers and base stone, then the hours to set them. Equipment rentals and disposal of old material add up on every hardscape job.
For a worked example, our driveway cost calculator puts paver driveway, installed at $10.00 to $60 a sq ft, typical $35, and treats about 50% of that as labor. On the typical price, that is about $17.50 of labor and $17.50 of materials, equipment and everything else, before your overhead and profit.
Where masonry and hardscape margin leaks, and how to win it back
- Base prep underestimated
- Cuts and waste on patterned pavers
- Equipment rentals that run an extra day
- Scaffold time on tall walls
- Small repairs with no minimum
Ways masons raise margin: price base prep from the site visit; set a minimum for small repairs; rent heavy gear only for the days it is needed; sell sealing and joint sand as upkeep.
Check your masonry and hardscape prices against the costs
The typical national prices from our sourced calculators are a check on whether your prices leave room for margin:
| Service | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Repointing (tuckpointing), up to 8 ft | $6.25 | $4.00 to $8.50 a sq ft |
| Repointing above 8 ft | $17.50 | $10.00 to $25 a sq ft |
| Small repair minimum | $300 | $300 to $300 a job |
| Paver patio, concrete pavers | $11.50 | $8.00 to $15.00 a sq ft |
| Paver patio, natural stone | $28 | $16.50 to $40 a sq ft |
| Block retaining wall | $90 | $40 to $150 a foot |
Work out the margin on each line of your menu, not just the big jobs. The usual masonry and hardscape menu: repointing (tuckpointing), up to 8 ft; repointing above 8 ft; small repair minimum; chimney crown and cap repair; brick and block replacement; paver patio, concrete pavers; paver patio, natural stone; block retaining wall; fire pit; steps and stoops; sealcoating, asphalt emulsion with labor; paver cleaning and resanding; masonry sealing.
Overhead comes out of the margin before profit. In masonry and hardscape it includes general liability insurance, which Insureon's customers who are masonry contractors pay an average of $88 a month for; commercial auto at $268 a month on the same figures.
Work out your own margin
Put one recent masonry and hardscape job into the calculator above, or switch it to "My margin for the year" to set your year next to the IRS benchmark. A 50% markup is a 33% margin; the markup calculator shows the rest.
Sources
- IRS Statistics of Income: Nonfarm sole proprietorships, Table 2, income statements by industrial sector, tax year 2023, checked October 9, 2026
- IRS: SOI tax stats, nonfarm sole proprietorship statistics, checked October 9, 2026
- Insureon: Insurance cost for masonry contractors, checked October 9, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, driveway installation cost, checked October 8, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, concrete driveway cost, checked October 8, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, asphalt paving cost, checked October 8, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, paver driveway cost, checked October 8, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, asphalt sealing cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Fixr, driveway paving cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Fixr, asphalt driveway cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Bob Vila, asphalt driveway cost, checked October 8, 2026
- This Old House, concrete slab cost, checked October 8, 2026
- Inch Calculator, concrete calculator (waste allowance), checked October 8, 2026
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files), checked October 8, 2026
- US Census Bureau, 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area to county relationship file, checked October 8, 2026
- Fixr: Tuckpointing brick cost, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr: Brick or stone siding repair cost, checked October 9, 2026
- Bob Vila: Tuckpointing cost, checked October 9, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, paver patio cost, checked October 9, 2026
- Bob Vila, paver patio cost, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr, patio cost, checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr, retaining wall cost, checked October 9, 2026
- HomeAdvisor, retaining wall cost, checked October 9, 2026
- Bob Vila, retaining wall cost, checked October 9, 2026
Last checked October 9, 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and differ by state and city, so confirm with the agency named before you act.