Gravel reference
How many tons of gravel in a cubic yard?
Updated June 2026 11 min read
A cubic yard of gravel weighs about 1.4 tons (2,400–3,000 lb), so 1 ton of gravel ≈ 0.7 cubic yards. The exact number depends on the stone: lightweight #57 crushed stone runs ~1.25 t/yd³, while dense river rock and sand-gravel mixes reach ~1.5 t/yd³. Use the converter below to switch between tons and cubic yards for the stone you are actually ordering — then check coverage before you buy.
Gravel tons ↔ cubic yards calculator
Assumes 1.25 t/yd³5 cubic yards of #57 stone
6.25 tons
at 2,500 lb/yd³ (1.25 tons per cubic yard)
Need a specific bed shape? The gravel calculator turns length × width × depth straight into yards, tons, and bag count for six shapes.
What a cubic yard of gravel weighs, by stone type
"Gravel" is not one material. The weight of a cubic yard swings by roughly 700 lb between the lightest and heaviest common stones, and that 25%+ spread is exactly why a generic gravel tonnage calculator can hand you the wrong order. Rounded, angular crushed stone traps air; smooth, dense river rock and bank-run mixes pack tighter and weigh more. Here is how the common landscape stones compare per cubic yard:
Figures are dry-weight planning averages; each stone varies with moisture, gradation, and source quarry. See our methodology for the density ranges and sources, or the USGS crushed-stone data for national aggregate figures.
Two things move these numbers more than the stone label does. Moisture is the big one: stone stored uncovered in a rainy week can carry 100–250 extra pounds of water per cubic yard, which inflates a by-the-ton order without adding a single usable stone. Gradation — the mix of sizes — is the other. A well-graded stone with fines packing the gaps between larger pieces weighs more per cubic yard than a uniform single-size stone of the same rock, because there is simply less air in the pile. That is why crusher run outweighs clean #57 even though both start as crushed limestone.
Does your supplier sell gravel by the ton or the cubic yard?
It depends on who you call, and the split is fairly predictable. Quarries, gravel pits, and aggregate suppliers sell by the ton — their trucks cross a certified scale on the way out, and weight is the number the law lets them bill against. Garden centers and landscape supply yards more often sell by the cubic yard, because they load your trailer with a measured loader bucket and volume is what they can see. Big-box stores sell bagged stone by weight (usually 0.5 cu ft / ~50 lb bags), which is a third unit again.
The practical rule: convert your project volume into the unit your chosen supplier bills in before you call, not after. If you measured a 4.5-cubic-yard driveway and your quarry quotes per ton, walk in asking for "about 6 tons of #57," not "4.5 yards" — you will get an accurate weight ticket and avoid the dispatcher converting it loosely on the spot. When you are price-shopping two suppliers that quote in different units, convert both to cost per cubic yard delivered; it is the only apples-to-apples figure once delivery fees and density are folded in.
Why the tons-vs-yards gap trips up so many orders
Cubic yards measure volume — the space gravel fills in your driveway or bed. Tons measure weight — what a truck scale reads. The two are linked by density, and density is the variable nobody quotes you. A landscape yard might price #57 stone at "$48 a yard" while the quarry down the road sells the same stone at "$36 a ton." Those are not comparable numbers until you convert: at ~1.25 t/yd³, that $36 ton is about $45 per cubic yard delivered to the same volume — so the quarry is barely cheaper, not the 25% bargain it looks like.
The error compounds on bigger jobs. A 30 ft × 12 ft driveway at 4 inches of gravel is about 4.4 cubic yards. Order that as "4.4 tons" by mistake and you are short by nearly a third — roughly 1.5 cubic yards, or enough to leave a 100-square-foot bald patch. Order 4.4 yards as tons and you overspend on a ton and a half of stone you have to find a home for. Getting the conversion right is the difference between one delivery and an awkward second trip.
How much area does a ton (or yard) of gravel cover?
Tonnage only matters once it is spread. Coverage depends entirely on depth: the same ton that blankets 120 sq ft at a 2-inch path depth covers only 60 sq ft at the 4-inch depth a driveway needs. Drag the depth slider to see coverage per ton and per cubic yard of #57 stone:
1 ton covers
86 ft²
of #57 stone at 3"
1 cubic yard covers
108 ft²
at 3" (any stone)
Cubic-yard coverage is the same for every stone (it is pure volume); per-ton coverage shifts with density because a ton of heavier rock is a smaller pile.
Worked example — a two-car driveway. Say the drive is 24 ft long by 18 ft wide = 432 sq ft, and you want 4 inches of #57 stone on top of an existing base. Volume is 432 ÷ 81 (the sq ft one cubic yard covers at 4 inches) = about 5.3 cubic yards. Convert to the quarry's unit at 1.25 t/yd³ and that is roughly 6.6 tons. Add the standard 10% buffer for spread, ruts, and a slightly uneven sub-grade and you would order 7 tons. Skip the conversion, ask for "5.3 tons," and you finish three-quarters of the way down the drive and make a second trip — the exact failure the tons-vs-yards mix-up produces.
What the tonnage number leaves out
A clean tons-to-yards conversion gets you the volume right. It does not get the order right, because several real-world line items never show up in the calculator:
- Compaction. Road base and crusher run lose 15–20% of loose volume once plate-compacted. Order loose-volume tonnage and your finished depth comes up short.
- Delivery minimums and tonnage tiers. Many yards charge a flat delivery fee and price per-ton lower above 5–10 tons. A 3-ton order can cost nearly as much as a 5-ton one.
- Spillage and waste. Add 5–10% for stone that scatters off the tarp, sinks into soft soil, or fills ruts you did not measure.
- Moisture weight. If you are billed by the ton off a scale, wet stone means you pay for water — up to 250 lb/yd³ of it after rain.
- Edging and base fabric. Not gravel, but the same project: a bound edge and woven fabric underneath are what keep the stone where you put it.
Tons per cubic yard for every common gravel
Six stones cover the vast majority of residential gravel orders. Each lists its planning density, the tons in a cubic yard, and the one gotcha that catches people out.
#57 crushed stone (¾")
The default drainage and driveway stone: ~2,400–2,500 lb/yd³, about 1.2–1.25 tons per cubic yard. Its angular ¾-inch pieces lock loosely and drain fast, which is also why it is the lightest common stone — all those air gaps. Gotcha: it does not compact into a hard surface, so it migrates without an edge.
Crushed limestone
Angular fines plus stone, ~2,500–2,900 lb/yd³, roughly 1.3–1.45 tons per cubic yard. The fines let it pack into a firm base for pavers and driveways. Gotcha: that same dust turns to a pale slurry in heavy rain and tracks indoors on shoes and tires.
Pea gravel (⅜")
Smooth, rounded ⅜-inch stone, ~2,700–2,900 lb/yd³, about 1.35–1.45 tons per cubic yard. Comfortable underfoot and popular for patios and paths. Gotcha: because it is rounded it never locks — it rolls and spreads, so it needs a deep, well-edged border to stay put.
Road base / crusher run
A graded mix of stone and fines, ~2,800–3,000 lb/yd³, about 1.4–1.5 tons per cubic yard loose. Engineered to compact into a load-bearing sub-base. Gotcha: order against compacted depth, not loose — it shrinks 15–20% under a plate compactor.
River rock (1–2")
Smooth decorative stone, ~2,800–3,200 lb/yd³, roughly 1.4–1.6 tons per cubic yard. Heavier per yard than crushed stone and usually the priciest per ton. Gotcha: the smooth surface is hard to walk or wheelbarrow across, so keep it out of main traffic paths.
Sand & gravel (bank-run) mix
Unscreened fill straight from the bank, ~2,900–3,300 lb/yd³, about 1.45–1.65 tons per cubic yard — the densest common mix. Cheap bulk fill for raising grade. Gotcha: gradation is inconsistent load to load, so it is a fill material, not a finish surface.
How to convert gravel tons to cubic yards by hand
You do not need the calculator if you remember one number — 2,000 lb per ton — and look up the stone's density. The whole conversion is three steps:
- 1. Find the density in pounds per cubic yard. For most landscape gravel use ~2,700 lb/yd³; for #57 stone use ~2,500; for river rock use ~3,000. (The chart above has the rest.)
- 2. Tons → yards: multiply tons by 2,000, then divide by the density. Example: 6 tons of #57 stone = 6 × 2,000 ÷ 2,500 = 4.8 cubic yards.
- 3. Yards → tons: multiply yards by the density, then divide by 2,000. Example: 5 yd³ of river rock = 5 × 3,000 ÷ 2,000 = 7.5 tons.
For the depth-to-volume half of the math — turning a driveway's length, width, and depth into cubic yards in the first place — see bed shapes explained, which covers circles, rings, and L-shapes alongside plain rectangles.
Five gravel-ordering mistakes that cost real money
1. Treating "tons" and "yards" as interchangeable
The single most common error. A ton is about 0.7 of a cubic yard, so swapping the units blind leaves you ~30% short or ~40% over. Always convert before comparing two quotes or placing an order.
2. Using one density for every stone
Plugging 1.5 t/yd³ into a job that is actually #57 stone (1.25 t/yd³) overstates tonnage by 20%. Match the density to the stone you are buying, not a generic default.
3. Ignoring compaction on a base layer
Road base settles 15–20% when compacted. If you order for loose volume and then compact, your finished surface sits low and you are back to the yard for more.
4. Forgetting depth drives everything
A ton covers twice the area at 2 inches as it does at 4. People price a "ton of gravel" without fixing the depth, then run out halfway across the driveway.
5. Buying bagged stone for a bulk-sized job
Bagged gravel can cost 3–5× bulk per ton. Past about one cubic yard (~1.4 tons, or ~54 half-cubic-foot bags), bulk delivery is almost always cheaper even after the delivery fee.
Depth and stone by project type
- Driveways: 4–6 inches total over a compacted base — road base below, #57 or ¾" crushed on top.
- Walkways & patios: 2–3 inches of pea gravel or ⅜" stone over compacted base and fabric.
- French drains: #57 stone, full trench depth — its open gaps are what move the water.
- Decorative beds: 2–3 inches of river rock over woven fabric; deeper looks heavy and wastes stone.
- Raising grade / fill: bank-run sand & gravel, depth as needed; compact in 6-inch lifts.
- Paver base: see the paver base calculator — it sizes the road-base sub-layer and bedding sand together.
What the suppliers actually do
Ask any quarry dispatcher and they will tell you the same thing: they quote in tons because that is what the truck scale reads, and they keep a density sheet taped to the desk to convert your "I need 5 yards" into a weight ticket. They also pad every order — a good yard quietly rounds up 5–10% because they would rather you have a little extra than make a second trip on their delivery schedule. Copy both habits: convert to the unit your supplier bills in, then add a 10% buffer.
Gravel tons & yards: common questions
How many tons of gravel are in a cubic yard?
About 1.4 tons. Most landscape gravel weighs 2,400–3,000 lb per cubic yard, and there are 2,000 lb in a ton — so one cubic yard is roughly 1.2–1.5 tons. Use 1.4 t/yd³ as a safe planning average.
How many cubic yards are in a ton of gravel?
About 0.7 cubic yards. At 1.4 tons per cubic yard, one ton equals 1 ÷ 1.4 ≈ 0.71 yd³. A ton of #57 stone — which is a touch lighter — is closer to 0.8 yd³.
How much does a cubic yard of #57 stone weigh?
#57 stone runs about 2,400–2,500 lb per cubic yard, or roughly 1.2–1.25 tons. It is lighter than river rock because the angular ¾-inch pieces leave more air gaps.
How many square feet does a ton of gravel cover?
At 2 inches deep, one ton covers about 120 sq ft; at 3 inches, about 80 sq ft; at 4 inches, about 60 sq ft. Coverage halves roughly every time you double the depth.
Is gravel sold by the ton or the yard?
Both. Quarries and bulk suppliers usually sell by the ton (weight off a scale), while landscape yards often sell by the cubic yard (volume off a loader bucket). Convert before you compare prices or you will misjudge the quote.
Why do gravel tonnage calculators give different answers?
Because they assume different densities. A calculator using 1.5 t/yd³ will quote ~12% more tonnage than one using 1.35 t/yd³ for the same volume. Always check which density a tool assumes — ours shows it.
Does wet gravel weigh more per cubic yard?
Yes. Saturated gravel can weigh 100–250 lb more per cubic yard than dry stone because water fills the voids. Order against dry weight and the extra is a small free buffer.
How do I convert a tonnage quote into bags?
A 0.5 cu ft bag holds about 50 lb of gravel, so one ton is roughly 40 bags and one cubic yard is about 54 bags. Bagged stone costs far more per ton than bulk — past ~1 cubic yard, order bulk.