How Many Tons Are in a Cubic Yard?

Short answer

For most gravel and crushed stone, one cubic yard weighs roughly 1.4 to 1.7 tons. Sand is similar, topsoil is lighter, and wet concrete is heavier, at about 2 tons. Mulch weighs only a fraction of a ton. The exact figure depends on the stone, the size of the pieces and, above all, how wet the material is, so always ask your supplier for theirs.

Cubic yard vs ton

A cubic yard is a volume: a cube 3 ft on each side, or 27 cubic feet. A US ton (short ton) is a weight of 2,000 lb. A metric tonne is 1,000 kg, or about 2,205 lb. Landscape yards often sell by the cubic yard, while quarries and some suppliers sell by the ton, which is why you end up converting. To go from one to the other you need the material's density: how much one cubic yard weighs.

tons = cubic yards × tons per cubic yard

cubic yards = tons ÷ tons per cubic yard

Typical tons per cubic yard

These are rules of thumb for loose, roughly dry material. Use them for planning only.

To switch between the two columns, multiply tons per cubic yard by 1.187 to get tonnes per cubic meter. The conversion combines two facts: a cubic yard is 0.7646 m³ and a short ton is 0.9072 tonnes.

Why the weight varies

• Moisture. Wet sand and soil can weigh noticeably more than dry. A load delivered after rain weighs more for the same volume, so you get less material per ton.
• Particle size and shape. Crushed stone with fines packs tightly and weighs more than uniform round stone, which has more air between the pieces.
• Rock type. Granite, limestone and trap rock have different densities.
• Compaction. A compacted cubic yard holds more material than a loose one. Suppliers quote loose volume, so add extra for compaction.

Worked example: yards to tons

A garden path 40 ft long and 3 ft wide, topped with 3 in of pea gravel, covers 120 sq ft. 120 × (3 ÷ 12) = 30 cu ft, which is 1.11 cubic yards. If your supplier rates its pea gravel at 1.5 tons per cubic yard, that is 30 ÷ 27 × 1.5 = 1.67 tons. A quarry that sells only in whole tons would deliver 2.

Worked example: tons to yards

You have a quote for 10 tons of gravel at 1.4 tons per cubic yard. 10 ÷ 1.4 = 7.14 cubic yards. At 4 in deep, one cubic yard covers 81 sq ft, so 10 tons covers about 579 sq ft.

How much does a cubic yard of concrete weigh?

Normal-weight concrete weighs about 145 to 150 lb per cubic foot. At 150 lb, 27 cu ft comes to 4,050 lb, or just over 2 tons per cubic yard. That is why a pickup truck should never be loaded with a full yard of wet concrete or crushed stone without checking its payload rating; many light pickups have payload ratings at or below about 2,000 lb.

Quick conversion at 1.4 tons per cubic yard

Crushed stone is often quoted at about 1.4 tons per cubic yard, so this is a handy planning table. Swap in your supplier's figure for real orders.

Bagged stone and sand are sold by volume, often in 0.5 cu ft bags. A cubic yard is 54 of those bags, which is why bulk delivery is usually cheaper and easier for anything over about half a yard.

Ordering tips

• Ask whether a price is per ton, per cubic yard or per scoop, and how big the yard's loader bucket is.
• Ask for the supplier's own weight per yard for the exact product you are buying.
• Add about 10 percent for gravel that will be compacted.
• Check delivery minimums and whether the truck can reach your drop spot without damaging a driveway or lawn.

Start with an accurate volume: the cubic yard calculator works it out from length, width and depth, and the gravel calculator adds a weight estimate for common materials.

Frequently asked questions