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Asphalt Cubic Yards to Tons Calculator

Convert a asphalt volume in cubic yards into short tons for suppliers who price by weight.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Figures are presented for United States against IRC 2024, and every formula is cited under regulatory standards below.

Last verified 2026-08-26 · v1.0.0

Market
Imperial · sales tax

Approximate weight

20 short tons

High confidence

About 2.0 short tons per cubic yard for compacted hot-mix asphalt at roughly 145 lb/cu ft. This is a planning figure, not a specification. Confirm the density with your supplier before ordering by weight.

Conversion factor applied
2 short tons per cu yd

Asphalt is almost universally sold by the ton, while a driveway or car park is set out as an area and a compacted thickness, so a volume figure has to be converted before anything can be ordered. The density here is for compacted material. That distinction is the whole game with asphalt: hot mix leaves the plant loose and is rolled to its final density, so the volume that arrives is greater than the volume in place. Ordering against the compacted volume without allowing for that shortfall leaves a job short of the specified thickness, which shows up as premature failure rather than as a visible gap.

Add the equipment this sizes

This result is a specification — 20 short tons — not a quantity. Put the thing it sizes into your project: how many, what you call it, and your supplier’s price.

Preliminary estimate, not certified engineering. This tool produces an indicative quantity calculation for planning purposes only — it is not a certified structural analysis, a guaranteed material takeoff, or a substitute for building department approval. Always verify measurements on-site and have a licensed contractor or structural engineer review any load-bearing, code-sensitive, or safety-critical work before purchasing materials or starting construction. Spotted an arithmetic or standards error? Report it to contact@craftquantities.com with your inputs — confirmed fixes become pinned regression tests.

[Schema Verified] Computed in alignment with American Concrete Institute (ACI 318-19) formulas and International Residential Code (IRC 2024) spatial boundaries.

Regulatory standards & verification citations

  • Typical bulk density used here: approximately 2 short tons per cubic yard
  • Bulk density varies with moisture, compaction and grading — the supplier's weighbridge ticket governs

Your workspace

Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.

Frequently asked questions

Loose or compacted density?
This uses compacted density, which is what a finished thickness specification refers to. Asphalt arrives loose and is rolled down, so the delivered volume exceeds the in-place volume — order against the compacted requirement plus an allowance.
How thick should a driveway be?
It depends on the sub-base and the traffic. A domestic driveway and a commercial yard have very different requirements, and the sub-base matters at least as much as the asphalt thickness. Take the specification from the design rather than a rule of thumb.
Why must asphalt be laid hot?
Because it has to be compacted while workable. Once it cools below the compaction window it cannot be brought to density, and material that has not reached density fails early regardless of how thick it is.