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Fill Dirt Cubic Yards to Tons Calculator

Convert a fill dirt volume in cubic yards into short tons for weight-based pricing and haulage.

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

12.5 short tons

High confidence

About 1.25 short tons per cubic yard for typical fill; heavily variable with clay content and moisture. A planning figure, not a specification. Confirm the actual density with your supplier before ordering by weight.

Conversion factor applied
1.25 short tons per cu yd

Fill is ordered to make ground up to level, and the conversion matters because it is usually bought by the ton and placed to a compacted specification. The gap between those two is larger for fill than for graded aggregate: loose fill placed and compacted in layers loses a substantial fraction of its delivered volume, and fill placed without compaction settles later on its own schedule, taking whatever is built on top with it. The density here is necessarily rough, because fill is by definition whatever came out of somewhere else.

Add the equipment this sizes

This result is a specification — 12.5 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 1.25 short tons per cubic yard
  • Density varies with moisture, compaction and composition — the supplier's ticket weight governs

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Frequently asked questions

How much does fill compact?
Enough to matter. Placed in thin layers and properly compacted, loose fill loses a significant fraction of its delivered volume. That loss is the point — uncompacted fill settles later and takes the structure above with it.
Is all fill dirt the same?
Not remotely. It is a catch-all term for excavated material, so clay content, stone content and organic matter all vary. Granular fill compacts predictably; clay-rich fill holds water and moves with the seasons.
Can fill go under a slab?
Only if it is suitable and properly compacted, and that is a design decision rather than a site one. Unsuitable or poorly compacted fill under a slab is a common cause of cracking and settlement.