Cubic Yards to Tons: How Many Yards in a Ton of Dirt?
A ton of fill dirt is about three quarters of a cubic yard, 0.74 to 0.87 yards, because a loose cubic yard of fill weighs about 1.15 to 1.35 tons. Topsoil is lighter, sand and crushed base are heavier, and the same yard weighs more wet than dry. Convert any amount below, either way, for the material you are moving.
Convert yards and tons
How many cubic yards do I need?
This is the volume in place. Dirt that gets compacted needs more loose yards on the truck; the soil calculator adds that for you. Open the soil calculator
Key takeaways
- A loose cubic yard of fill dirt weighs about 1.15 to 1.35 tons (2,300 to 2,700 pounds), so one ton is about 0.74 to 0.87 cubic yards.
- Topsoil is lighter, about 1.00 to 1.20 tons a yard. Sand and crushed base are heavier, up to about 1.5 tons a yard.
- Water is a big part of the range. The same yard weighs more after a rain than after a dry week.
- A yard in the ground is not a yard on a truck. Digging loosens dirt so it takes up 12 to 30 percent more room, depending on the soil.
- Heavy material runs a truck out of legal weight before it fills the bed: a tandem carries about 14 tons, which is 10 to 12 yards of fill dirt.
Cubic yards to tons chart
| Material | Tons per cubic yard | Cubic yards per ton | Pounds per cubic yard | 10 cubic yards weighs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fill dirt | 1.15 to 1.35 | 0.74 to 0.87 | 2,300 to 2,700 | 11.5 to 13.5 tons |
| Select fill | 1.20 to 1.40 | 0.71 to 0.83 | 2,400 to 2,800 | 12 to 14 tons |
| Topsoil | 1.00 to 1.20 | 0.83 to 1.00 | 2,000 to 2,400 | 10 to 12 tons |
| Sand | 1.30 to 1.50 | 0.67 to 0.77 | 2,600 to 3,000 | 13 to 15 tons |
| Crushed base (flex base) | 1.35 to 1.55 | 0.65 to 0.74 | 2,700 to 3,100 | 13.5 to 15.5 tons |
| Native clay, dug out | 1.15 to 1.40 | 0.71 to 0.87 | 2,300 to 2,800 | 11.5 to 14 tons |
Loose yards, the way dirt is delivered and hauled. The range runs from drier, lighter material to moist, heavier material. These are the same weights our calculators use.
How to convert cubic yards to tons
Multiply the cubic yards by the weight of one yard of that material. Ten yards of fill dirt at 1.15 to 1.35 tons a yard is 11.5 to 13.5 tons.
To go from tons to cubic yards, divide the tons by the weight of one yard. Twenty tons of fill dirt is 14.8 to 17.4 cubic yards. A ton of a heavier material is fewer yards, which is why the low number in the range comes from the heavy end.
If you do not know your yards yet, measure the area in feet, multiply length by width by depth in feet, and divide by 27. A 20 by 30 foot area at 4 inches deep is about 7.4 cubic yards.
Loose yards and yards in the ground
A cubic yard measured in the ground, a bank yard, holds more dirt than a cubic yard on a truck. Digging breaks the soil apart and it takes up more room: fill dirt swells about 25 percent, topsoil about 20, sand about 12 and Texas clay about 30. Every weight on this page is a loose yard, the way dirt is delivered and hauled.
If you are digging out a pond, a pad or a basement, multiply the hole’s volume by its swell to get the loose yards that will leave on trucks. The earthwork calculator works it out for a whole site.
Dirt you spread and compact goes the other way and shrinks, so a compacted fill needs more loose yards than its finished size: about 15 percent more for fill dirt and 20 percent more for select fill. The soil calculator adds it to your order.
How many yards and tons fit in a dump truck
A dump truck is limited by how much fits in the bed and by how much it can legally carry, whichever runs out first. With dirt, weight usually runs out first.
| Truck | Bed holds about | Legal load about | Fill dirt per load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tandem dump truck | 12 cubic yards | 14 tons | 10 to 12 cubic yards |
| End dump semi | 18 cubic yards | 22 tons | 16 to 18 cubic yards |
| Belly dump | 22 cubic yards | 24 tons | 18 to 21 cubic yards |
Questions
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