Cubic Yard Calculator

Multiply length × width × depth in feet, then divide by 27. Depth is usually measured in inches, so divide it by 12 before you multiply. A 10x10 ft bed at 3 inches deep is 10 × 10 × 0.25 = 25 cubic feet, and 25 ÷ 27 = 0.93 cubic yards.

To find the area one cubic yard covers, divide 324 by the depth in inches:

Common jobs, worked the same way, with the 5% allowance this calculator starts at:

Weights use 1.35 tons per yard for topsoil, 1.4 for general gravel and 2 for concrete. Mulch is sold by volume, so it is shown in 2 cu ft bags. Put your own dimensions in the calculator above.

How many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?

27. A yard is 3 feet, so a cubic yard is a box 3 ft long, 3 ft wide and 3 ft tall: 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 cubic feet. Picture it as three layers of nine 1-foot cubes. To turn cubic feet into cubic yards, divide by 27; to go back, multiply by 27. In inches the same box is 36 × 36 × 36 = 46,656 cubic inches, and NIST puts one cubic yard at 0.7645549 cubic meters.

Three different "yards" get mixed up. A linear yard is a length: 3 feet. A square yard is an area: 3 ft × 3 ft = 9 square feet, used for carpet and sod. A cubic yard is a volume: 27 cubic feet, used for soil, gravel, mulch and concrete. Mulch, soil and ready-mix are usually sold by the cubic yard, while gravel, stone and asphalt are often sold by the ton, so this calculator gives both. A supplier quoting "a yard of mulch" means 27 cubic feet.

How to estimate dirt yardage

First decide which way the dirt is moving. If you are bringing it in, measure the area and depth to fill and order cubic yards plus an allowance, the same as any other material. Fill dirt is figured at 1.18 tons per yard. If you are digging it out, the hole has one volume and the pile has another. Soil in the ground (bank yards) is packed tight. Once it is dug it loosens and takes more room (loose yards). That increase is called swell, and it sets how many truckloads you need to haul away.

Swell depends on the soil and how wet it is. The Federal Highway Administration's table of shrink and swell factors gives these figures, and notes they are subject to about ±33% variation. Use them as rough starting figures and adjust for your own site:

The range is wide: dry sand swells 11% and damp clay 67%. The calculator starts at 43% for damp common earth. If your excavator or a soil report gives a different figure, type it into the Swell field.

For example, a 10x12 ft area dug 8 inches deep in damp common earth is 10 × 12 × (8 ÷ 12) = 80 cubic feet, and 80 ÷ 27 = 2.96 cubic yards in the ground. With 43% swell that is 2.96 × 1.43 = 4.24 loose yards to haul. At 3,370 lb per yard in place it weighs about 2.96 × 3,370 ÷ 2,000 = 4.99 tons.

On sloped ground, take depth readings at several points and use the average. For an odd shape, split it into rectangles, circles and triangles and add the yards. Post holes and footings use the cylinder shape: diameter in inches, depth in feet and the number of holes.

Every shape works the same way: find the area in square feet, multiply by the depth in feet to get cubic feet, then divide by 27 to get cubic yards. Only the area formula changes.

• Rectangle: area = length × width.
• Circle: area = π × (diameter ÷ 2)², or about 0.785 × diameter².
• Triangle: area = ½ × base × height, with the height measured square to the base.
• Known area: the square feet you enter.
• Post holes (cylinder): volume = number of holes × π × (diameter in inches ÷ 24)² × depth in feet.

Then: cubic feet = area × (depth in inches ÷ 12). Cubic yards = cubic feet ÷ 27. Order quantity = cubic yards × (1 + allowance ÷ 100). Tons = order quantity × the material's tons per cubic yard. Bags = order quantity in cubic feet ÷ cubic feet per bag, rounded up.

The densities match the rest of this site: 1.35 tons per cubic yard for topsoil, 1.4 for general gravel, 1.35 for crushed stone, 1.4 for dry sand and 2 for concrete (about 4,000 lb). Bag sizes are 2 cu ft for mulch, 0.75 cu ft for topsoil and 0.6 cu ft per 80 lb bag of concrete. The 5% default allowance covers settling and an uneven base; raise it to 10% for loose fill you plan to compact. Fill dirt uses 1.18 tons per yard, from FHWA's loose weight for damp earth, 2,360 lb.

In dig-out mode there is no allowance. Yards in the ground = cubic feet ÷ 27. Loose yards to haul = yards in the ground × (1 + swell ÷ 100). Weight = yards in the ground × the soil's in-place weight in lb ÷ 2,000. Swell and weights come from the FHWA table listed under Sources.

For a single material with its own options, use the Gravel Calculator for pea gravel and other stone types, the Mulch Calculator for beds, the Topsoil Calculator for any bag size, or the Concrete Calculator for 60 lb and 80 lb bag counts. Before hauling concrete yourself, check how much a yard of concrete weighs first.

For paver bedding or a sandbox, the Sand Calculator gives tons and bags of sand. To turf the area afterward, the Sod Calculator counts slabs, rolls and pallets, and current gravel prices per ton and per yard are on their own page.