⚖️How many tons is that many cubic yards?

✓ Tested & verified Updated: Aug 6, 2026 How we calculate this

Cubic yards to tons calculator

Cubic yards

Material

Hauling it yourself?

5.4 US tons

= 10,800 lb at 2,700 lb per cubic yard

Tons per cubic yard: 1.35
Cubic yards per ton: 0.74
Loads in a half-ton pickup: 6 (limited by payload)

That is more than one legal load. Overloading a half-ton pickup with wet soil is the most common way a DIY delivery ends at a tyre shop.

Change the vehicle to see whether the limit is payload or bed space — on stone and soil it is always payload.

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How do you convert cubic yards to tons?

Multiply the cubic yards by the material’s weight per cubic yard, then divide by 2,000. There is no universal conversion, because a yard of mulch and a yard of crushed stone differ by a factor of four — four cubic yards of #57 stone at 2,700 lb a yard is 10,800 lb, or 5.4 US tons, while the same four yards of shredded mulch is 2,800 lb, or 1.4 tons.

The working range is worth knowing by heart: mulch 700 lb a cubic yard, compost 1,300, garden soil 1,600, topsoil 2,200, fill dirt and pea gravel 2,500, crushed stone and sand 2,700, river rock 2,800. Wet material adds 10 to 40 percent on top, and organic material adds the most.

Then check the vehicle, because this is where the conversion earns its keep. A half-ton pickup is rated at roughly 1,800 lb of payload — less than one cubic yard of topsoil. Those four yards of stone are six legal trips, which is the moment most people call for a delivery instead.

Volume and weight are two different transactions on the same pile. Mulch is sold by the cubic yard, stone is sold by the ton, and soil is sold either way depending on the yard — so the conversion is not optional, it is how you check that two quotes are for the same material.

The table is the whole density set this site calculates with, and it is the reason a “yard” means nothing until you say a yard of what.

Material	lb per cubic yard	Tons per cubic yard	Cubic yards per ton
Shredded hardwood mulch	700	0.35	2.86
Pine bark mulch	500	0.25	4.00
Finished compost	1,300	0.65	1.54
Garden soil / bed mix	1,600	0.80	1.25
Screened topsoil	2,200	1.10	0.91
Fill dirt	2,500	1.25	0.80
Crushed stone #57	2,700	1.35	0.74
River rock 1–3 in	2,800	1.40	0.71

One line to take away: a cubic yard of topsoil weighs more than three cubic yards of mulch. Plan the trips before you plan the Saturday.

Frequently asked questions

How many tons is a cubic yard of gravel?

1.25 to 1.45 tons depending on the stone: pea gravel 1.25, crushed stone and sand 1.35, river rock 1.40, decomposed granite 1.45. Inverted, a ton is 0.69 to 0.80 cubic yards. Suppliers weigh on a truck scale, so buying by the ton is more accurate than buying by the heaped bucket.

How much does a cubic yard of mulch weigh?

About 700 lb dry for shredded hardwood, in a published range of 400 to 800 lb depending on species and how finely it is shredded. Pine bark is lighter at around 500 lb. Rain matters more than species: soaked mulch can weigh 20 to 40 percent more, which is what puts a load over payload on the drive home.

Can my pickup carry a cubic yard?

One yard of mulch, comfortably. One yard of compost at 1,300 lb, yes. One yard of topsoil at 2,200 lb, no — a half-ton pickup is rated near 1,800 lb of payload and that is already over. A 3/4-ton at 3,000 lb handles a single yard of anything but not two of soil or stone.

What is the difference between a ton and a tonne?

A US short ton is 2,000 lb; a metric tonne is 1,000 kg, or 2,205 lb — about 10 percent more. US landscape suppliers quote short tons. The distinction only bites on imported spec sheets and on machinery ratings, where the 10 percent can be the difference between a legal load and an overloaded one.

Why is my delivery lighter than I ordered?

Usually moisture, in the direction you would not expect. Material is often weighed wet at the quarry and delivered after draining, or quoted at a nominal dry density and loaded damp. Reputable yards give you a weighbridge ticket — ask for it, and compare it against the density figures on this page.

Does the volume change when material is compacted?

The weight does not, the volume does. A ton is a ton whether it is loose in a pile or rolled flat, but the same ton occupies 15 to 25 percent less space once compacted. That is why aggregate for a driveway is ordered loose and specified compacted, and why fill dirt needs a 20 to 25 percent allowance.

How we calculate this

Tons are cubic yards × pounds per cubic yard ÷ 2,000, using US short tons. Densities are the loose, dry, as-delivered figures in our density table, each the working value inside a published range: shredded hardwood mulch 700 lb (400–800), pine bark 500, compost 1,300 (1,000–1,600), garden soil 1,600, potting mix 700, screened topsoil 2,200 (2,000–2,700), fill dirt 2,500 (2,200–2,900), pea gravel 2,500, crushed stone 2,700, sand 2,700, river rock 2,800 and decomposed granite 2,900. Truck loads take the greater of the weight limit and the volume limit for each vehicle: 700 lb for a sedan boot, 1,000 for an SUV, 1,800 for a half-ton pickup, 2,500 for a single-axle trailer and 3,000 for a 3/4-ton. Payload ratings vary by trim — check the door jamb sticker on your own vehicle before treating any of these as permission.

Worked example

With Cubic yards 4, Material Crushed stone (#57, 3/4 in), Hauling it yourself? Half-ton pickup (F-150 class) — 1800 lb payload, this page works out 5.4 US tons. = 10,800 lb at 2,700 lb per cubic yard

Tons per cubic yard1.35
Cubic yards per ton0.74
Loads in a half-ton pickup6 (limited by payload )

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