Cubic Yard Calculator
Convert any area and depth into cubic yards, cubic feet and tons, using the actual density of the material you are ordering rather than a generic average.
How to calculate cubic yards
A cubic yard is a cube three feet on every side, which works out to 27 cubic feet. That single number is the whole conversion. Everything else is getting your measurements into feet first.
The formula is length in feet, times width in feet, times depth in feet, divided by 27. Depth is the part people trip on, because it is almost always given in inches. Divide inches by 12 before you multiply, or you will be out by a factor of twelve.
Worked example. A patio base 20 feet long, 12 feet wide, 4 inches deep. That is 20 times 12 which is 240 square feet. Four inches is 0.333 feet. 240 times 0.333 is 80 cubic feet. Divided by 27 gives 2.96 cubic yards, so you order 3.
| If you know | Multiply by | To get |
|---|---|---|
| Cubic feet | 0.037 | Cubic yards |
| Cubic yards | 27 | Cubic feet |
| Square feet at 1 in deep | 0.00309 | Cubic yards |
| Square feet at 3 in deep | 0.00926 | Cubic yards |
| Square feet at 6 in deep | 0.0185 | Cubic yards |
| Cubic yards of gravel | 1.4 | Tons (approximate) |
| Cubic yards of topsoil | 1.0 | Tons (approximate) |
| Cubic yards of mulch | 0.4 | Tons (approximate) |
Yards to tons depends entirely on the material
This is where generic calculators mislead people. A cubic yard is a measure of volume. A ton is a measure of weight. Converting between them requires knowing what is filling the space, and the spread is enormous.
| Material | lb per cubic yard | Tons per cubic yard |
|---|---|---|
| Pine bark mulch | 400 to 600 | about 0.25 |
| Hardwood mulch | 700 to 1,000 | about 0.43 |
| Lava rock | 1,000 to 1,400 | about 0.60 |
| Rubber mulch | 1,100 to 1,400 | about 0.63 |
| Compost | 1,000 to 1,300 | about 0.58 |
| Garden mix | 1,600 to 2,000 | about 0.90 |
| Screened topsoil | 1,800 to 2,200 | about 1.00 |
| Dry sand | 2,600 to 2,900 | about 1.35 |
| Crushed stone | 2,600 to 3,000 | about 1.40 |
| Crusher run | 2,800 to 3,200 | about 1.50 |
| Concrete | 4,050 | about 2.03 |
A cubic yard of pine bark and a cubic yard of concrete differ by a factor of eight. If your supplier quotes tons and you calculated yards using a generic figure, you can be off by hundreds of dollars in either direction.
How much fits in a truck
Volume is rarely the real limit. Weight is.
| Vehicle | Volume capacity | Realistic load |
|---|---|---|
| Half ton pickup (F150, Silverado 1500) | about 2 cu yd level | 1 yd of stone, 2 to 3 yd of mulch |
| Three quarter or one ton pickup | about 2.5 cu yd level | 1.5 to 2 yd of stone |
| Single axle dump truck | 5 to 7 cu yd | 5 to 7 tons |
| Tandem axle dump truck | 10 to 14 cu yd | 10 to 14 tons |
The pattern is simple. Mulch is limited by how much fits in the bed. Stone and soil are limited by what the suspension can carry, and you will hit that long before the bed is full.
Measuring an irregular area
Break it into shapes you can measure and add the results. The calculator above takes as many sections as you need. Rectangles for beds and paths, circles for tree rings and islands, triangles for corners, and the ring option when you are covering a donut shape and want the middle excluded.
For a curving border, lay a tape along the curve for the length and take the width at several points to average it. At the depths involved in landscaping, that approximation is well inside the margin you should be rounding up by anyway.
Common questions
How many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?
27. A cubic yard is a cube 3 feet on each side, and 3 times 3 times 3 is 27.
How do I convert square feet to cubic yards?
Multiply the square footage by the depth in feet, then divide by 27. For depth given in inches, divide the inches by 12 first. As a shortcut, square feet at 3 inches deep times 0.00926 gives cubic yards.
How many tons is a cubic yard?
It depends entirely on the material. Gravel is about 1.4 tons per yard, topsoil about 1.0, mulch about 0.4 and concrete about 2.0. There is no single conversion, which is why this calculator asks what you are ordering.
How many cubic yards fit in a pickup truck?
A full size pickup bed holds about 2 cubic yards level with the rails, but weight limits you first. That is 2 to 3 yards of light mulch but only about 1 yard of stone or soil, which already weighs over a ton.
How do I calculate cubic yards for a circle?
Area of a circle is pi times the radius squared, so measure straight across at the widest point, halve it for the radius, square that and multiply by 3.1416. Then multiply by depth in feet and divide by 27. The calculator above does this if you pick the circle shape.
These figures are planning estimates. Bulk material weight shifts with moisture and screen size, and suppliers round differently, so confirm the final quantity with your yard before you order.