SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
Different bulk materials have very different densities per volume.
Useful when a supplier quotes a delivery by the ton and you need to know how much volume that translates to.
The weight from a delivery quote or truck scale ticket — switch the unit to match how it is written.
A US short ton is 2,000 lb; a tonne is 1,000 kg, about 10% heavier. Pick the one your ticket actually uses.
Estimated volume
7.41 yd³
Actual density varies with moisture content and compaction — a supplier's actual yield per ton may differ somewhat from this average-density estimate.
- Weight
- 20,000 lb
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Weight to Volume Material Calculator: 7.41 yd³ — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
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How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- Commonly cited average bulk densities: gravel/sand ~2,700 lb/yd³, topsoil ~2,200 lb/yd³, mulch ~600 lb/yd³ — the inverse of the Material Volume to Weight Calculator; actual density varies with moisture content and composition, and the supplier's ticket weight governs
Inputs used
- Material Type
- Gravel / crushed stone
- Weight
- 10 ton
Intermediate steps
- Weight
- 20,000 lb
Confidence note: Actual density varies with moisture content and compaction — a supplier's actual yield per ton may differ somewhat from this average-density estimate.
What this calculation does not cover
- The four densities are single averages, and moisture shifts them further than anything else on this page. Sand or topsoil that has stood through a wet week runs several hundred pounds a cubic yard heavier than the figure used here, and because a scale weight is being divided by that figure, a wet load comes back as fewer yards than shown — you pay for the water and take delivery of less material.
- The answer is loose volume as it arrives on the truck, not volume in place. Base gravel loses roughly 20 to 25% under a plate compactor and topsoil settles as it is watered in, so a yardage that matches your depth times area on paper falls short of it once the material is spread and consolidated. Order against the compacted requirement rather than this number.
- Each option stands for a whole family of products. 'Gravel' runs from washed pea gravel to crushed limestone road base across roughly 2,400 to 3,000 lb/yd³, and mulch varies more again between bark, shredded hardwood and compost blends — a spread wider than the difference this page is being asked to resolve. Where the yardage governs the order, ask the supplier for their yield per ton on the specific product; every pit knows it for what they actually sell.
Estimated cost — your price
This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-09-06 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.1.1
Regulatory standards & verification citations1
- Commonly cited average bulk densities: gravel/sand ~2,700 lb/yd³, topsoil ~2,200 lb/yd³, mulch ~600 lb/yd³ — the inverse of the Material Volume to Weight Calculator; actual density varies with moisture content and composition, and the supplier's ticket weight governs
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