Cubic Yard Calculator
Enter the area and how deep you want it. You get cubic yards to order, the weight in tons for the materials that are sold that way, and the same volume in bags if the job is small.
Take this list to the store
We'll email the quantities above, what you typed in, and a link that reopens this calculator already filled in — so you can adjust it on your phone in the aisle.
How to work it out
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Measure the area
Length and width of the ground you are covering. Odd shape? Add a section for each rectangle and they are totalled together.
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Decide the depth
Depth is what people get wrong, and it costs the most. Mulch is usually 2–3 in, gravel paths 2–3 in, a gravel driveway 4 in over a base, new topsoil 4–6 in, and a garden bed 8–12 in.
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Order in the unit your supplier uses
Bulk suppliers sell soil and mulch by the cubic yard and stone by the ton. Both figures are above, so you can order either way without doing the sum twice.
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Check what the truck can deliver
A standard dump truck carries about 10 cubic yards, and a pickup bed holds roughly 2 to 2.5. Two small deliveries usually cost more than one larger one.
Cubic yards by area and depth
Cubic yards needed, rounded up to the next quarter yard.
| Area | 2 in deep | 3 in deep | 4 in deep | 6 in deep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 sq ft | 0.75 | 1.00 | 1.25 | 2.00 |
| 200 sq ft | 1.25 | 2.00 | 2.50 | 3.75 |
| 300 sq ft | 2.00 | 3.00 | 3.75 | 5.75 |
| 500 sq ft | 3.25 | 4.75 | 6.25 | 9.50 |
| 1,000 sq ft | 6.25 | 9.50 | 12.50 | 18.75 |
What a cubic yard weighs
Typical bulk weights. Wet material can be half as heavy again.
| Material | Pounds per cu yd | Tons per cu yd |
|---|---|---|
| Bark mulch | 800 | 0.4 |
| Compost | 1,300 | 0.65 |
| Topsoil, screened | 2,200 | 1.1 |
| Sand | 2,700 | 1.35 |
| Gravel or crushed stone | 2,800 | 1.4 |
| Concrete | 4,050 | 2.0 |
How many cubic feet in a cubic yard?
27. A cubic yard is a box three feet long, three feet wide and three feet deep, and 3 × 3 × 3 is 27 cubic feet.
That is why bagged material looks so expensive next to bulk: a 2 cubic foot bag of mulch is one fourteenth of a yard, so it takes fourteen bags to match one yard from the truck.
How to work out cubic yards
Multiply length by width to get square feet, multiply by the depth in feet, then divide by 27.
The step people skip is turning inches into feet. Three inches is 0.25 ft, not 3. A 20 × 10 ft bed at 3 in deep is 200 × 0.25 = 50 cubic feet, which is 1.85 cubic yards — so you order two.
Yards or tons?
Soil, mulch and compost are normally sold by the cubic yard. Sand, gravel and crushed stone are usually sold by the ton, because weight is what the truck scale reads.
Converting between them is where the error creeps in, since the weight of a yard depends on the material and how wet it is. The figures above are typical, but ask your supplier for theirs before ordering by weight.
Always round up
Most yards sell in half or quarter yard steps. Round up to the next step: running short means a second delivery charge that is often more than the extra material.
Leftover soil or mulch is easy to use — top up beds, fill low spots — and leftover gravel keeps indefinitely.
How this is worked out
No black box — here is the arithmetic the calculator runs, so you can check it against your own numbers.
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area = length × width, summed over every sectionSquare feet of ground to cover. -
depth in feet = inches ÷ 12Everything has to be in the same unit before it is multiplied. -
cubic feet = area × depth in feetThe volume the material has to fill. -
cubic yards = cubic feet ÷ 2727 cubic feet make one cubic yard. -
tons = cubic yards × pounds per yard ÷ 2,000Only for materials sold by weight.
Common questions
How many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?
27 cubic feet. A cubic yard is 3 ft × 3 ft × 3 ft.
How much does a cubic yard weigh?
It depends on the material: bark mulch about 800 lb, screened topsoil about 2,200 lb, sand about 2,700 lb, gravel about 2,800 lb, and concrete about 4,050 lb. Wet material is heavier, sometimes by half again.
How many cubic yards do I need for 1,000 square feet?
At 2 in deep, about 6.2 cubic yards. At 4 in deep, about 12.3. At 6 in, about 18.5.
How many bags is a cubic yard?
Fourteen 2-cubic-foot bags, eighteen 1.5-cubic-foot bags, or thirty-six 0.75-cubic-foot bags. Bulk delivery is cheaper above about half a yard.
How many cubic yards fit in a pickup truck?
A half-ton pickup holds roughly 2 cubic yards of mulch, but only about 1 cubic yard of soil or gravel — weight, not space, is the limit. A standard dump truck carries about 10.
How deep should mulch or topsoil be?
Mulch 2–3 in, kept clear of stems. New topsoil over an existing bed 4–6 in. A raised bed is filled to its full depth, usually 8–12 in.
How do I convert cubic yards to cubic meters?
Multiply by 0.7646. So 5 cubic yards is 3.82 cubic meters. The metric figure is shown above as well.
Should I order by volume or by weight?
Order in whatever unit your supplier quotes, and give them both numbers to check. If their tons and your yards disagree by more than about 10%, ask which density they used before the truck is loaded.
Where these figures come from
Every figure below is traceable. How we check the numbers explains how they are verified, and the coverage reference collects them all in one place.
- Quarry and landscape supply published bulk density tables — typical pounds per cubic yard for soil, sand, stone and mulch
- Portland Cement Association — 150 lb per cubic foot for normal-weight concrete
- NIST Special Publication 811 — the cubic yard to cubic meter conversion
Think a number here is wrong? Tell us — we check every report, correct the page, and date the change. Last checked September 27, 2026.