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Exeter · Rockingham County · labor +28.5%
Driveway paving cost in Exeter, NH
A 600 sq ft driveway in asphalt driveway comes to about $3,500 to $8,200 in Exeter once the national installed price is adjusted for what paving, surfacing and tamping equipment operators earn locally. The town's fee schedule names this work puts the permit at $10 for a job at the midpoint.
Figures checked October 20, 2026 · sources
- 1Asphalt, 600 sq ft $3,500–$8,200
- 2Labor index +28.5% vs US
- 3Exeter permit $10
Change size or material All Exeter projects
Driveway paving prices in Exeter by material
Each row starts from the installed price per square foot of driveway published in a national cost guide, then moves only the labor part of that price by Exeter's labor index. For 600 sq ft:
| Material | National | Exeter | Midpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asphalt driveway | $3,000–$7,200 | $3,500–$8,200 | $5,850 |
| Concrete driveway | $3,600–$9,000 | $3,800–$9,450 | $6,600 |
| Gravel driveway | $2,400–$6,000 | $2,750–$6,850 | $4,800 |
By size
| Driveway area (sq ft) | Exeter estimate | Permit at midpoint |
|---|---|---|
| 400 sq ft | $2,350–$5,500 | $10 |
| 600 sq ft | $3,500–$8,200 | $10 |
| 800 sq ft | $4,700–$10,950 | $10 |
| 1,000 sq ft | $5,850–$13,700 | $10 |
Asphalt driveway. Some contractors have a minimum charge of $2,000 or more. (HomeGuide: Asphalt driveway cost (May 28, 2025))
Permit fee in Exeter
Named in the schedule The fee schedule names this kind of work.
“Driveway permit (Public Works) — COST: $ 10.00”
Applied to a 600 sq ft driveway estimated at $3,500 to $8,200, that gives $10 to $10, about 0.17% of the midpoint price. Among the 5 towns on this site whose schedules cover this work, Exeter ranks 1 from the cheapest; Exeter is lowest at $10 and Barnstead highest at $125 for its own midpoint job.
Schedule: Town of Exeter Building Department Fee Schedule (revised 01/01/2024). The building department decides whether a permit is required and what valuation it accepts; the national guide puts driveway permits at an amount it does not state.
Why Exeter differs from the national price
Exeter is in Rockingham County, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan area (mostly Massachusetts). The median wage there for paving, surfacing and tamping equipment operators is $32.94 an hour against $25.64 nationally, so the labor part of a national price is scaled by 1.285 (+28.5%). That area is mostly Massachusetts; the New Hampshire statewide median for the same trade is $29.85, so a Exeter quote may land nearer the low end of the range shown.
On this job the labor portion is $1,800 to $3,600 at national rates and $2,300 to $4,600 at Exeter rates, so the midpoint rises $770 above the national figure. Against the New Hampshire statewide wage it is $330 higher. Materials are priced at the national figure: shingle, lumber and equipment prices are set by distributors, not by a town.
Exeter at a glance
Exeter had 16,178 residents in the state's 2025 estimate, up 13.1% from 14,306 in 2010, faster than the state's 7.5% over the same years. Its density of 822 people per square mile puts it 7 of 19 among the towns on this site.
69.1% of Exeter's occupied homes are lived in by their owners, fewer than the 72.8% statewide, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $456,600 (New Hampshire: $402,500). The midpoint estimate for this driveway works out to 1.3% of that median value, a small share of what a typical house there is worth.
Taking off the old driveway
Remove the old driveway adds $2 to $6 per sq ft nationally (“Removing an old driveway adds $2 to $6 per square foot on average.”). That work is all labor, so at Exeter's index it is $1,550 to $4,600 for 600 sq ft, on top of the estimate above.
Before asking for quotes
- The Exeter building department can say for free whether this job needs a permit and what it will cost; the schedule linked above is its own published document.
- Written quotes that list the same scope (area, material line, removal, disposal, permit) can be compared line by line; the quote comparison guide walks through it with these numbers.
- A quote far below $3,500 or above $8,200 is not wrong in itself, but it is worth asking what it includes or leaves out.
Other projects in Exeter
Roof replacement cost in Exeter · Siding replacement cost in Exeter · Deck building cost in Exeter · Heat pump installation cost in Exeter
Driveway paving in nearby towns
| Town | Labor area | Estimate | Permit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | $3,500–$8,200 | $100 |
| Barnstead | Central NH | $3,300–$7,800 | $125 |
| Conway | Northern NH | $3,300–$7,800 | $100 |
| Newport | Southwestern NH | $3,300–$7,800 | $100 |
More: all driveway paving town pages · permit fees by town · labor costs in New Hampshire
Sources
- Installed price: HomeGuide: Asphalt driveway cost (May 28, 2025) — “An asphalt driveway costs $5 to $12+ per square foot for the materials and professional installation.”.
- Labor portion: HomeGuide: Asphalt driveway cost (May 28, 2025) — “Labor is $3 to $6+ and materials are $2 to $6+, for an average total of $5 to $12+.”.
- Labor index: O*NET OnLine, Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators (47-2071.00), New Hampshire local wages; area definitions: BLS, May 2025 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Definitions.
- Permit: Town of Exeter Building Department Fee Schedule.
- Population: NH Office of Planning and Development, 2025 Population Estimates of New Hampshire Cities and Towns (published July 17, 2026); housing: Census QuickFacts, Exeter.
All figures checked October 20, 2026. Estimates are ranges built from published averages, not quotes; a contractor's price depends on the house, access, the season and the scope written into the quote. Cost by Town does not perform or arrange work.