Cubic Yards to Tons Converter
Pick the material, choose which way you are converting and enter the amount. You get the answer, the density it was calculated from, the published range around that density and where the number comes from. If your supplier quotes a different density, put theirs in — the tool takes a custom figure.
Converted
—
Results are estimates for planning purposes. Verify with your supplier, engineer, or a qualified professional before ordering material or performing work.
Every density on this page, and where it comes from
| Material | tons/yd³ | Published range | lb/ft³ | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crushed stone base, ¾ in — compacted in place | 1.83 | 1.80–1.86 | 135.6 | WHRP G22-05, Table 4.11 (WisDOT guideline 1.75–2.10) |
| Crushed stone base, 1¼ in — compacted | 1.88 | 1.79–1.98 | 139.3 | WHRP G22-05, Table 4.11 |
| Crushed stone base, 3 in — compacted | 1.82 | 1.78–1.87 | 134.8 | WHRP G22-05, Table 4.11 |
| Breaker run — compacted | 1.85 | 1.82–1.87 | 137.0 | WHRP G22-05, Table 4.11 |
| Select crushed material — compacted | 1.79 | 1.77–1.81 | 132.6 | WHRP G22-05, Table 4.11 |
| Granular backfill, Grade 1 or 2 — compacted | 1.64 | 1.62–1.66 | 121.5 | WHRP G22-05, Table 4.11 |
| Structure backfill, Grade A or B — compacted | 1.61 | 1.50–1.72 | 119.3 | WHRP G22-05, Table 4.11 |
| RAP base (asphalt millings) — compacted | 1.68 | 1.64–1.71 | 124.4 | WHRP G22-05, Table 4.11 |
| RCA base (recycled concrete) — compacted | 1.70 | 1.65–1.75 | 125.9 | WHRP G22-05, Table 4.11 |
| Crushed stone base — loose, in the truck | 1.35 | 1.25–1.50 | 100.0 | derived from the same report two ways: measured loose unit weights (Table 4.8) and compacted ÷ (1 + expansion factor) (Table 4.11) |
| Concrete, normalweight | 1.96 | 1.89–2.03 | 145 | NRMCA CIP 36 (140–150 lb/ft³) |
| Concrete, reinforced | 2.03 | — | 150 | FHWA NHI-04-041, citing AASHTO LRFD Table 3.5.1-1 |
| Compacted earth fill | 1.62 | — | 120 | FHWA NHI-04-041, citing AASHTO LRFD Table 3.5.1-1 |
| Fresh water | 0.84 | — | 62.4 | FHWA NHI-04-041 |
The aggregate figures were measured on Wisconsin materials for a WisDOT research project, and they are among the very few conversion factors any state DOT publishes at all — the same study found only about 23% of the DOTs it surveyed use published conversion factors. Treat them as good engineering numbers for dense-graded crushed stone, not as the law of your quarry. Where your supplier gives you a figure, theirs wins.
Loose or compacted? The yard you buy is not the yard you place
Compaction changes the volume, not the weight. The same study measured how much the aggregates expanded going from compacted in place to a loose stockpile:
- Dense-graded base, ¾ in: 36% to 47%
- Dense-graded base, 1¼ in: 34% to 52%
- Breaker run: 27% to 30%
- Select crushed material: 27% to 29%
- RAP base: 35% to 46% · RCA base: 37% to 60%
Read that from either end. If you need 10 compacted cubic yards of ¾ in base in the ground, that is about 14 loose cubic yards on the trucks — but still the same 18 or 19 tons, because tons do not compact. This is why ordering by the ton is safer than ordering by the yard: the ton is the same number at the quarry, on the scale ticket and in the trench.
Why sand, topsoil, mulch and asphalt are not in the list
- Sand, topsoil, mulch, river rock. No primary source publishes a usable single figure. FHWA's own soils manual puts the dry unit weight of a clean fine-to-coarse sand anywhere between 85 and 138 lb/ft³ depending purely on how densely it is packed — a spread of 1.15 to 1.86 tons per cubic yard, which is no answer at all. Screened topsoil and mulch swing further still with moisture and organic content. Publishing a midpoint would look authoritative and be worthless.
- Hot mix asphalt. Asphalt does not have a typical density in any useful sense. Its density is the bulk specific gravity, Gmb, of the specific mix design, and that number is on the mix design sheet for your job. Multiply Gmb by 62.4 for lb/ft³, or by 0.8424 for tons per cubic yard, and enter it as a custom density.
- What to do instead. Read the density off a delivery ticket: tons billed × 2,000 ÷ (cubic yards ordered × 27) gives lb/ft³ for that material from that supplier. Eighteen and a half tons against ten yards is 137 lb/ft³, or 1.85 tons per cubic yard. Save it, and every conversion after that is exact rather than typical.
How it's calculated
- Cubic yards to tons
tons = yd³ × density (lb/ft³) × 27 / 2,000A short ton is 2,000 lb and a cubic yard is 27 ft³, so tons per cubic yard = density (lb/ft³) × 0.0135.- Tons to cubic yards
yd³ = tons × 2,000 / (density (lb/ft³) × 27)- Metric
tonnes = m³ × density (kg/m³) / 1,0001 lb/ft³ = 16.018463 kg/m³. A metric tonne is 1,000 kg, which is 2,204.6 lb — not the same as a short ton.- Compacted to loose
loose volume = compacted volume × (1 + expansion %)Aggregates measured in the WisDOT study expanded 27% to 52% going from compacted in place to loose in a stockpile. A cubic yard of base you place is more than a cubic yard of base you hauled, and the tons stay the same.- Density from a delivery ticket
density (lb/ft³) = tons delivered × 2,000 / (cubic yards ordered × 27)The most accurate number you can get for your own material. If a supplier bills 18.5 tons against 10 yards, that is 137 lb/ft³, or 1.85 tons per cubic yard.
Frequently asked questions
For dense-graded crushed stone base measured compacted in place, the WisDOT study found 1.80 to 1.86 tons per cubic yard for ¾ in material and 1.79 to 1.98 for 1¼ in. Loose in the truck the same rock is nearer 1.3 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard, because a loose yard holds less rock than a compacted one. Which figure you want depends on which yard you are counting.
No. A ton is a weight and a cubic yard is a volume, and the conversion between them is the density of that particular material in that particular state. Crushed stone base runs around 1.85 tons per compacted cubic yard, concrete about 1.96, water 0.84. Anyone quoting a single number for every material is guessing.
Because compaction changes the volume, not the weight. The WisDOT study measured aggregates expanding 27% to 52% between the compacted state and a loose stockpile. If you order by the ton and place compacted, you place fewer yards than you hauled; if you order by the loose yard, you get fewer tons than the compacted figure suggests. Ask your supplier which state their number is quoted in.
Off the delivery ticket. Divide the tons billed by the cubic yards ordered: 18.5 tons against 10 yards is 1.85 tons per cubic yard, or 137 lb/ft³. Put that in the custom density field and every later conversion for that material and that supplier is exact rather than typical.
Because no primary source publishes a usable single figure for them. FHWA's own manual puts the dry unit weight of a clean fine-to-coarse sand anywhere from 85 to 138 lb/ft³ depending on how densely it is packed, and screened topsoil and mulch vary even more with moisture and organic content. A number in that range would look authoritative and be worthless. Weigh a load, or take the density off your supplier's ticket and use the custom field.
Hot mix asphalt does not have a typical density in any useful sense: its density is the bulk specific gravity, Gmb, of the specific mix design, and it is printed on the mix design sheet for the job. Multiply Gmb by 62.4 to get lb/ft³, or by 0.8424 to get tons per cubic yard, and put that in the custom density field. A mix at Gmb 2.35 is 146.6 lb/ft³, or 1.98 tons per cubic yard.
A short ton is 2,000 lb, the ton used for materials and haul tickets in the United States. A metric tonne is 1,000 kg, which is 2,204.6 lb — about 10% heavier. A long ton, still used in a few marine contexts, is 2,240 lb. This calculator reports short tons in imperial mode and metric tonnes in metric mode.
About 3,915 lb, or 1.96 short tons, at the 145 lb/ft³ midpoint of the 140 to 150 lb/ft³ range NRMCA CIP 36 gives for normalweight concrete. Reinforced concrete is usually taken at 150 lb/ft³, which is 4,050 lb or 2.03 tons per cubic yard.
Sources & references
- WHRP G22-05 — Weight-Volume Relationships and Conversion Factors for Soils and Aggregates of Wisconsin (WisDOT, December 2023): Table 4.11 measured conversion factors and expansion factors, Table 1.2 WisDOT statewide values, Table 4.8 loose and compacted unit weights
- FHWA NHI-04-041 — LRFD Design Example for Steel Girder Superstructure Bridge: reinforced concrete 0.150 kcf, fresh water 62.4 pcf, compacted soil 0.120 kcf (citing AASHTO LRFD Table 3.5.1-1)
- NRMCA CIP 36 — Structural Lightweight Concrete: normalweight concrete density 140 to 150 lb/ft³
- FHWA NHI-06-088 — Soils and Foundations Reference Manual, Volume I, Table 5-4: dry unit weight of a clean fine-to-coarse sand ranges from 85 to 138 lb/ft³ depending on how densely it is packed
Content checked against these sources — last reviewed August 28, 2026.