How much does a cubic yard of gravel weigh?

Around 2,800 lb dry, so about 1.4 tons. Wet it runs to 3,000 lb or more. This is loose bulk weight as delivered, not the density of the rock itself, which is roughly twice as much before it was crushed and the air got in.

How many cubic yards is a ton of gravel?

About 0.71, since a yard weighs 2,800 lb and a ton is 2,000. Fourteen tons is therefore 10 cubic yards. Switch the direction at the top and the same density answers it, rather than a second figure from somewhere else.

Why is my delivery quoted in tons when I measured in yards?

Because a lorry is limited by weight and a hole is measured by volume. The two are related only through the density of the material. Order by the ton without converting and you will be out by whatever the material happens to weigh.

Does rain really change the weight?

Yes, by five to fifteen per cent on aggregate and much more on topsoil, which holds water like a sponge. It adds nothing useful and you are billed for it, which is why yards from a covered stockpile are worth asking about.

Can my pickup carry a yard?

A yard of mulch weighs about 600 lb and a half-ton pickup will take it. A yard of gravel is 2,800 lb, nearly three times the rated payload of that same truck. The bed will hold the volume; the springs and the brakes are the limit.

Material Weight Calculator

With amount 5, allowance for water 0 %, material weight comes to 7 — answer. It is reached in 10 steps, the last of which is 1 * (14000 / 2000) + 0 * (5 / 1), and each one is printed on the page with its numbers filled in. The formula is the one published by US Federal Highway Administration, not an approximation fitted to it.

What a volume of gravel, sand, topsoil or mulch weighs, and what a weight takes up, so tons quoted by a supplier can be checked against yards measured on site.

Formula and sources checked 19 August 2026 · How we check

What you know The volume — find the weight, Amount 5, Measured in Cubic yards, Answer in US tons (2,000 lb)

Answer for the example below. Editing a field recomputes the calculator below; this figure holds the answer the page was loaded with.

It is written into the HTML rather than drawn by a script, so a search engine reading this page without running JavaScript still finds an answer.

What you knowAmountVolume as ordered. Loose material settles, so a delivered yard covers less than a yard of it in place.Measured inAnswer inMaterialLoose bulk weight as delivered, not the density of the solid rock it was crushed from.Allowance for water%Aggregate stockpiled in the rain runs heavier. Ten per cent is a wet yard, and you pay for it by the ton.

Answer

Dry weight of a cubic yard: 2,800 lb/cu yd
Weight as delivered: 2800 * (1 + 0 / 100)2,800 lb/cu yd
Volume: 1 * 5 + 0 * 0 / 28005 cu yd
Total weight: 5 * 280014,000 lb
In US tons: 14000 / 20007 tons
In metric tonnes: 14000 / 2204.62266.35 t
In cubic feet: 5 * 27135 cu ft
Answer: 1 * (14000 / 2000) + 0 * (5 / 1)7
Loads on a 15-ton tandem: ceil(7 / 15)1 loads
Half-ton pickup loads, by weight: ceil(7 / 0.5)14 loads

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Worked example

Five cubic yards of loose gravel is 7 tons, which is a tandem load with room to spare. Turned around, 14 tons of the same gravel is 10 cubic yards. The same figure answers both, which is the point: one density, not two.

How to work it out yourself

1.Say which end you know. A hole is measured in yards and a lorry is billed in tons, and the conversion between them is the density of whatever is in it.
2.Pick the material. Mulch is about a fifth the weight of gravel for the same volume, so a yard is not a yard when the invoice is by the ton.
3.Add a moisture allowance if the stockpile has been rained on. It changes what you pay and nothing about what you get.
4.Check the answer against the truck. A tandem carries roughly 15 tons and a half-ton pickup carries half a ton, whatever fits in the bed.

The formula

Dry weight of a cubic yard
Weight as delivered2800 * (1 + 0 / 100)
Volume1 * 5 + 0 * 0 / 2800
Total weight5 * 2800
In US tons14000 / 2000
In metric tonnes14000 / 2204.6226
In cubic feet5 * 27
Answer1 * (14000 / 2000) + 0 * (5 / 1)
Loads on a 15-ton tandemceil(7 / 15)
Half-ton pickup loads, by weightceil(7 / 0.5)

Source: US Federal Highway Administration — aggregate properties and gradation, AASHTO M 147 — aggregate and soil-aggregate materials

Questions people actually ask

How much does a cubic yard of gravel weigh?: Around 2,800 lb dry, so about 1.4 tons. Wet it runs to 3,000 lb or more. This is loose bulk weight as delivered, not the density of the rock itself, which is roughly twice as much before it was crushed and the air got in.
How many cubic yards is a ton of gravel?: About 0.71, since a yard weighs 2,800 lb and a ton is 2,000. Fourteen tons is therefore 10 cubic yards. Switch the direction at the top and the same density answers it, rather than a second figure from somewhere else.
Why is my delivery quoted in tons when I measured in yards?: Because a lorry is limited by weight and a hole is measured by volume. The two are related only through the density of the material. Order by the ton without converting and you will be out by whatever the material happens to weigh.
Does rain really change the weight?: Yes, by five to fifteen per cent on aggregate and much more on topsoil, which holds water like a sponge. It adds nothing useful and you are billed for it, which is why yards from a covered stockpile are worth asking about.
Can my pickup carry a yard?: A yard of mulch weighs about 600 lb and a half-ton pickup will take it. A yard of gravel is 2,800 lb, nearly three times the rated payload of that same truck. The bed will hold the volume; the springs and the brakes are the limit.

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