Weight of a cubic yard, both ways
Cubic Yards to Tons Calculator
5 cu yd of crushed stone base weighs about 7.38 tons at 1.475 tons per cu yd. Choose the material and weight below.
Sources checked
Your estimate
7.38 tons
5 cu yd of crushed stone base at 1.475 tons per cu yd.
- Cubic yards per ton1 ÷ tons per cubic yard0.68 cu yd
- Weight usedWSDOT crushed surfacing base course, truck measure1.475 tons/cu yd
A ticket from the yard decides the bill. Loose and compacted weights differ for the same stone, and wet material weighs more.
How to convert cubic yards to tons
- Choose the material. The box starts at its weight: 1.475 tons per cubic yard for crushed stone base, the WSDOT truck-measure figure.
- To find tons, multiply cubic yards by the weight. The example: 5 × 1.475 = 7.38 tons.
- To find cubic yards from tons, divide the tons by the weight. A ton of crushed stone base is 0.68 cu yd.
- A short ton is 2,000 lb. Use the ticket from your yard; a weight on a scale beats any table.
The weight of a cubic yard is the one number that matters here, and our data has a figure for most of the materials people buy. WSDOT Design Manual, Exhibit 620-1 (Sep 2024); Martin Marietta aggregates calculator; Vulcan Materials aggregate tonnage estimator; Graniterock construction materials calculator; Ohio DOT Item 411, Table 411.04-1 (2013)
Tons per cubic yard, and yards per ton
| Material | Tons per cu yd | Cu yd per ton | Starting figure from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crushed stone base (crusher run) | 1.475 | 0.68 | WSDOT crushed surfacing base course, truck measure |
| Clean crushed stone (3/4 in, #57 type) | 1.32 | 0.76 | Martin Marietta coarse, limestone |
| Pea gravel or river rock | 1.36 | 0.74 | Martin Marietta coarse, sand and gravel |
| Drain rock | 1.418 | 0.71 | Graniterock drain rock |
| Screenings or stone dust | 1.47 | 0.68 | Martin Marietta fine, limestone |
| Sand (bedding or fill) | 1.44 | 0.69 | Martin Marietta fine sand and gravel, loose |
| Topsoil | 1.35 | 0.74 | Martin Marietta topsoil, test load |
| Mulch (type your own weight) | Not in our data | Type your own | Type the weight from your supplier |
For the same kind of stone, producers’ figures can differ by about a quarter or more. A yard ordered loose from a truck and a yard measured in place are different weights; the disagreements below say which figure the form starts from and why.
Where sources disagree
Weight of a cubic yard of crushed stone base
- 1.475 tons per cu yd, WSDOT crushed surfacing base course, truck measureWSDOT Design Manual, Exhibit 620-1 (Sep 2024)
- 1.85 tons per cu yd, WSDOT crushed surfacing base course, compacted on the roadwayWSDOT Design Manual, Exhibit 620-1 (Sep 2024)
- 1.9 tons per cu yd, Martin Marietta base, limestoneMartin Marietta aggregates calculator
- 1.863 tons per cu yd, Vulcan crusher run, limestoneVulcan Materials aggregate tonnage estimator
- 2.025 tons per cu yd, Graniterock base rockGraniterock construction materials calculator
- 1.9 tons per cu yd, Ohio DOT crushed stone, Item 411Ohio DOT Item 411, Table 411.04-1 (2013)
The form starts at WSDOT’s truck-measure weight, 1.475 tons, because a yard is ordered as the loose volume a truck carries. WSDOT’s compacted-on-roadway figure is 1.85 tons for the same stone once it is in place, and the quarry calculators print heavier figures. Enter the weight on your ticket.
Weight of a cubic yard of clean crushed stone
- 1.32 tons per cu yd, Martin Marietta coarse, limestoneMartin Marietta aggregates calculator
- 1.296 tons per cu yd, Vulcan coarse aggregates, limestoneVulcan Materials aggregate tonnage estimator
- 1.32 tons per cu yd, Martin Marietta coarse, graniteMartin Marietta aggregates calculator
- 1.4 tons per cu yd, Martin Marietta coarse, traprockMartin Marietta aggregates calculator
- 1.55 tons per cu yd, WSDOT ballast, truck measureWSDOT Design Manual, Exhibit 620-1 (Sep 2024)
- 1.4 tons per cu yd, MoDOT loose aggregate surface, 2007 archiveMoDOT Estimate Factors (2007, archived copy)
The form starts at Martin Marietta coarse, limestone, 1.32 tons. Stone type changes the weight across the producer tables, so the other rows are the range to check against your supplier.
Weight of a cubic yard of pea gravel or round rock
- 1.36 tons per cu yd, Martin Marietta coarse, sand and gravelMartin Marietta aggregates calculator
- 1.323 tons per cu yd, Vulcan coarse aggregates, sand and gravelVulcan Materials aggregate tonnage estimator
- 1.216 tons per cu yd, Graniterock 1 1/2 in round rock, looseGraniterock, Southside 1 1/2 in round rock product page
- 1.355 tons per cu yd, Graniterock 1 1/2 in round rock, roddedGraniterock, Southside 1 1/2 in round rock product page
No document in our data weighs pea gravel by name. The form starts at the nearest listed product, Martin Marietta coarse, sand and gravel, 1.36 tons. Graniterock’s round rock is lighter loose than rodded, so the supplier’s figure matters more here than for crushed stone.
Weight of a cubic yard of topsoil
- 1.35 tons per cu yd, Martin Marietta topsoil, test loadMartin Marietta aggregates calculator
- 0.465 tons per cu yd, EPA construction debris, dirt and sandEPA Volume-to-Weight Conversion Factors (Apr 2016)
- 0.47 tons per cu yd, San Diego County construction debris, dirt and sandCounty of San Diego, C&D materials conversion table (2020)
The form starts at Martin Marietta’s 1.35 tons, the only topsoil weight in our data. It comes from one supplier’s 15-ton load on an 11.11 cu yd test volume. The two construction-debris figures for “dirt and sand”, 0.46 and 0.47 tons, measure waste in a container, not soil, so they show the spread and are not a substitute.
Weight of a cubic yard of sand
- 1.44 tons per cu yd, Martin Marietta fine sand and gravel, looseMartin Marietta aggregates calculator
- 1.431 tons per cu yd, Vulcan sand, limestoneVulcan Materials aggregate tonnage estimator
The form starts at Martin Marietta’s fine sand and gravel, 1.44 tons, the same reference the paver sand calculator uses. Vulcan’s sand is 1.431 tons. Bedding sand is not weighed on its own in any document we have.
Mulch: why the form starts blank
Our data has no weight for landscape mulch. The EPA table has wood chip and sawdust rows, but those are construction waste, not the shredded bark or wood mulch in a bed, so the form does not use them. Type the weight from your bag or supplier; the form works out the tons from it.
Volume first, then weight
Start from the volume: the cubic yard calculator turns length, width and depth into cubic yards, and then this page turns the yards into tons.
For stone, the gravel calculator works from depth and area. Soil and planting beds go to the topsoil calculator and the mulch calculator. Under a patio, the paver base calculator counts the compacted crushed stone in tons.
The form starts at 5 cu yd of crushed stone base. Change the material, the direction and the weight for the job in front of you.
Cubic yards to tons questions
How many tons is a cubic yard of gravel?
It depends on the stone. For crushed stone base, the form starts at 1.475 tons per cu yd (WSDOT truck measure). Coarse crushed stone in the producer tables runs from 1.3 to 1.4 tons per cu yd.
The truck-measure weight is the one to use for an order by the yard. The weight on your ticket is the one to pay by.
How many cubic yards are in a ton?
For crushed stone base, one short ton is 0.68 cu yd (1 ÷ 1.475). Clean coarse stone, which weighs less per yard, gives more yards per ton; a dense base gives fewer. The table on this page shows each material.
How much does a yard of topsoil weigh?
The starting figure is 1.35 tons per cu yd, or about 2,700.27 lb, from Martin Marietta’s topsoil load. Moisture changes the weight, so a wet yard weighs more than a dry one. Use the ticket from your supplier for the bill.
How many tons of rock are in a yard?
For clean crushed stone the form starts at 1.32 tons per cu yd, so one ton is 0.76 cu yd. Screenings, drain rock and pea gravel have their own starting weights in the table.
How much does 2 cubic feet of mulch weigh?
Two cubic feet is 0.074 cu yd (2 ÷ 27). Our data prints no weight for landscape mulch, so the weight cannot be given from our sources. Multiply 0.074 by your mulch’s weight per cubic yard; type that weight in the box, or use the bag’s printed weight.
Why do two suppliers give different tons for the same yard?
Two things change the number: the stone and whether the weight is loose or compacted. A truck-measure figure is loose; a figure for stone in place is compacted and heavier. Producers’ calculators also use different test volumes and densities. Ask for the weight the yard uses on the ticket.
A planning aid, not an engineering calculation: your local code and building inspector have the final word. Terms