How to use the tons to yards calculator
- Choose the direction. Pick tons to yards to turn a weight into a volume, or yards to tons to turn a volume into a weight.
- Enter the quantity and the material. Type the tons, pounds or metric tonnes, or the cubic yards, cubic feet or cubic metres. Then choose the material, or enter your supplier's tons per cubic yard.
- Read the result. The result shows the cubic yards or the tons, with cubic feet, cubic metres, pounds and metric tonnes next to it.
What is a tons to yards calculator?
A tons to yards calculator is a tool that converts a weight of bulk material into a volume, or a volume into a weight. A ton measures weight and a cubic yard measures volume, so the conversion needs one more number: how much a cubic yard of that material weighs.
Quarries usually sell by the ton, because trucks are weighed on a scale. Plans and calculators usually give cubic yards, because they start from length, width and depth. This tool moves between the two.
Features
- Tons to cubic yards and cubic yards to tons
- Nine material weights from named sources: gravel, crushed stone, ballast, sand and hot mix asphalt
- Separate weights for material loose in the truck and compacted in place
- A field for your supplier's own tons per cubic yard
- Input in short tons, pounds or metric tonnes, and in cubic yards, cubic feet or cubic metres
- A cost from your own price per ton or per cubic yard
- A PDF of the result and a WhatsApp share button
What you can use it for
- Turning a quarry's price per ton into an order in cubic yards
- Checking how much a truckload of a given weight will cover
- Comparing a quote by the ton with one by the cubic yard
- Gravel, crushed stone, sand and asphalt
The tons to yards formula
Cubic yards = tons ÷ tons per cubic yard.
Tons = cubic yards × tons per cubic yard.
Worked examples
- 5 tons of compacted gravel at 1.85 tons per cubic yard: 5 ÷ 1.85 = 2.7 cubic yards. This is what the calculator shows when the page opens.
- 5 cubic yards of compacted gravel: 5 × 1.85 = 9.25 tons.
- 5 tons of loose sand at 1.4 tons per cubic yard: 5 ÷ 1.4 = 3.57 cubic yards.
- 10 tons of hot mix asphalt at 2.05 tons per cubic yard: 10 ÷ 2.05 = 4.88 cubic yards.
A ton here is a short ton of 2,000 pounds. A metric tonne is 1,000 kilograms, which is about 2,204.6 pounds. For gravel by type, see the guide to yards in a ton.
Tons per cubic yard and yards per ton, by material
| Material | Tons per cubic yard | Cubic yards per ton |
|---|---|---|
| Gravel base or crushed stone surfacing, compacted | 1.85 | 0.54 |
| Crushed stone top course, loose in the truck | 1.43 | 0.70 |
| Crushed stone base course, loose in the truck | 1.48 | 0.68 |
| Ballast (coarse stone), compacted | 1.95 | 0.51 |
| Ballast (coarse stone), loose in the truck | 1.55 | 0.65 |
| Permeable ballast | 1.40 | 0.71 |
| Sand, loose | 1.40 | 0.71 |
| Sand or sandy gravel, compacted | 1.70 | 0.59 |
| Hot mix asphalt, compacted | 2.05 | 0.49 |
The gravel, stone and asphalt figures are from the Washington State Department of Transportation Design Manual (M 22-01, September 2024, Exhibits 620-1 and 620-2). They are dry weights. The loose sand figure is from the Minnesota Stormwater Manual, published by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The last column is 1 divided by the tons per cubic yard.
Loose or compacted
Use a loose weight for material measured in a truck or a pile. Use a compacted weight when the cubic yards come from the finished layer on the ground. The same ton of crushed stone fills about 0.70 cubic yards in the truck and about 0.54 cubic yards once it is compacted.
Concrete, topsoil, mulch and other materials
Choose your own figure and enter the tons per cubic yard. For normal-weight concrete, the Federal Highway Administration report FHWA-HRT-05-057 gives 145 pounds per cubic foot, which is 3,915 pounds or 1.96 tons per cubic yard. For topsoil, mulch and river rock, enter the figure on your supplier's ticket; for pea gravel, use the pea gravel calculator.
What the calculator includes
- The tool only converts. To get cubic yards from a length, width and depth, use the gravel, sand or asphalt calculator.
- A weight or a volume can be up to 1,000,000, and your own figure up to 5 tons per cubic yard.
Is it private?
Yes. The calculation and the PDF are made in your browser. The numbers you type are not sent to our server and are not saved.
Tips for an accurate estimate
- Pick the material that matches your load; gravel, sand and asphalt weigh different amounts.
- Use your supplier's weight per yard if it prints one on the ticket.
- Convert before you order, so a quote in tons and a plan in yards can be compared.
- Remember that wet material weighs more than dry material.
- Check the delivery ticket against the converted figure when the truck arrives.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
- How many yards are in a ton?
- It depends on the material. A ton of gravel compacted in place is about 0.54 cubic yards, a ton of crushed stone loose in the truck is about 0.70 cubic yards, and a ton of loose sand is about 0.71 cubic yards.
- How do I convert tons to cubic yards?
- Divide the tons by the tons per cubic yard of the material. For example, 5 tons of compacted gravel at 1.85 tons per cubic yard is 2.7 cubic yards.
- How do I convert cubic yards to tons?
- Multiply the cubic yards by the tons per cubic yard of the material. For example, 5 cubic yards of compacted gravel at 1.85 tons per cubic yard is 9.25 tons.
- How many tons are in a yard of gravel?
- The Washington State DOT Design Manual gives 1.85 tons per cubic yard for gravel base compacted in place, and 1.43 to 1.55 tons per cubic yard for crushed stone and ballast loose in the truck. These are dry weights.
- How many yards are in a ton of asphalt?
- About 0.49 cubic yards. The Washington State DOT Design Manual gives 2.05 tons per cubic yard for compacted hot mix asphalt.
- Is a ton the same as a cubic yard?
- No. A ton is a weight of 2,000 pounds and a cubic yard is a volume of 27 cubic feet. A cubic yard of gravel weighs more than a ton, so one ton is less than one cubic yard.
Sources
Every figure this calculator uses comes from the published sources below. The formulas are on this page, so any result can be checked by hand.
- Washington State Department of Transportation, Design Manual M 22-01, Exhibits 620-1 and 620-2. Dry weights in tons per cubic yard of gravel, crushed stone, ballast, sand and hot mix asphalt.
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Stormwater Manual. Loose sand: 1.4 tons per cubic yard.
- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Report FHWA-HRT-05-057. Normal-weight concrete: 145 lb per cubic foot (1.96 tons per cubic yard).