Cubic yards to tons
The whole answer rides on the density you enter, and that varies with material and moisture. Use the figure your supplier bills against, and treat this as an ordering estimate — the scale ticket is the number that settles the bill.
Enter a volume in cubic yards and the density of your material and you get the weight in tons, with the metric tonne and cubic metre alongside. Enter tons instead and it works back to the volume — handy when a load is sold by weight but you are filling a set space.
Worked example
You need 10 cubic yards of 3/4″ crushed gravel and the pit quotes 1.4 tons per yard. 10 × 1.4 = 14 tons. In metric that is about 12.7 tonnes of material filling roughly 7.6 m³. Drop the density to 1.3 for a lighter sand and the same 10 yards is 13 tons.
The formula
tons = cubic yards × density (tons/yd³) · yards = tons ÷ density
Weight is volume times density — there is no shortcut around the material's own weight per unit. Cubic yards convert to cubic metres by the cube of the yard-to-metre ratio (0.9144³), and a short ton is 0.907 tonnes, which is how the metric figures are found.
Questions
- How many tons are in a cubic yard?
- It depends entirely on the material, because tons measure weight and cubic yards measure volume. Dry sand runs around 1.3 tons per cubic yard, crushed gravel closer to 1.4, and wet material heavier again. Enter the density your supplier quotes and this tool does the multiplication.
- Why do I have to type a density?
- Because there is no single right answer, and baking one in would give a confidently wrong figure. A yard of mulch and a yard of gravel weigh very different amounts. The density field is the honest part of the tool — put in the number for your material and the conversion follows.
- Is this a short ton or a metric tonne?
- The tons box is the US short ton of 2000 pounds, which is what pit tickets in North America use. The tool also shows the metric tonne (1000 kg) beside it, so you can hand over whichever the scale house wants. One short ton is about 0.907 tonnes.
- Where do I find the density for my material?
- Your quarry or landscape supplier will quote it, often as pounds per cubic foot or tons per yard, and it is the figure they bill against. If you only have a rough idea, use a conservative number and confirm the tally at the scale — a yard here or there adds up on a big order.
Related tools
New tools, now and then
We add calculators most weeks. Drop your email and get a short note when a new one lands — nothing else, no selling your address, one-click out.