A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet: a cube 3 ft long, 3 ft wide and 3 ft high. For cubic yards, multiply length × width × depth, all in feet, and divide by 27. A 10 × 10 ft area 4 in deep is 33.3 cu ft, or 1.23 cu yd. One cubic yard spread 3 in deep covers 108 sq ft.
How to measure for cubic yards
- Measure the length and width of the bed, trench, hole or area in feet, and pick Circle for anything round.
- Measure the depth you will fill in inches. A bed topped up from 2 to 5 in needs 3 in, not 5.
- Odd shapes: split them into rectangles and circles and add the results, or set How many for repeats such as several equal beds.
- Already have cubic feet? Pick “I know the cubic feet” to convert a volume printed on a bag, a box or a plan.
The math, with your numbers
These lines follow whatever you typed into the calculator above.
Inches become feet by dividing by 12, so 4 in is 0.333 ft. A circle is 3.1416 × radius² × depth.
How many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?
Twenty-seven. A yard is exactly 3 ft, so a cubic yard is 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 cu ft. NIST, the US standards agency, puts it at 0.7645549 cubic meters.
| 1 cubic yard | equals |
|---|---|
| Cubic feet | 27 |
| Cubic inches | 46,656 |
| Cubic meters | 0.7646 |
| Liters | 764.6 |
Going the other way, 1 cubic meter is 1.308 cubic yards, or 35.3 cubic feet. Conversion factor: NIST SP 811, Appendix B.9.
How much does a cubic yard cover?
Divide 27 by the depth in feet. Spread thinner, the same yard covers more ground:
| Depth | 1 cu yd covers | For example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 in | 324 sq ft | 18 × 18 ft |
| 2 in | 162 sq ft | 9 × 18 ft |
| 3 in | 108 sq ft | 9 × 12 ft |
| 4 in | 81 sq ft | 9 × 9 ft |
| 6 in | 54 sq ft | 6 × 9 ft |
| 12 in | 27 sq ft | 3 × 9 ft |
Cubic yards to tons
A cubic yard is a volume, a ton is a weight, and how many tons are in a yard depends on what fills it and how tightly it is packed. These are the figures road agencies and the concrete industry use to estimate:
| Material | Pounds per cu ft | Tons per cu yd | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel, loose | 104 | 1.4 | FEMA |
| Soil, compacted in place | 110 | 1.49 | Nebraska DOT |
| Crushed stone, placed | 140 | 1.89 | Iowa DOT |
| Normal concrete | 140 to 150 | 1.89 to 2.03 | NRMCA |
Tons per cubic yard = pounds per cubic foot × 27 ÷ 2,000. The calculator uses 145 lb for concrete, the middle of the range.
So tons = cubic yards × the figure for your material, and cubic yards = tons ÷ that figure. A ton of loose gravel is about 0.7 cu yd. Loose, freshly dug soil takes up more room than the same soil packed down, so a yard of it weighs less than the compacted figure; ask the supplier what theirs weighs. For gravel by the ton, the gravel calculator goes further, and concrete has its own page on concrete weight.
How many bags make a cubic yard?
Bagged soil, mulch and compost show their volume on the label, usually in cubic feet. Divide 27 by the bag size:
| Bag size | Bags per cu yd | One bag covers at 3 in |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cu ft | 27 | 4 sq ft |
| 1.5 cu ft | 18 | 6 sq ft |
| 2 cu ft | 13.5 | 8 sq ft |
| 3 cu ft | 9 | 12 sq ft |
For more than a yard or two, price the bags against a bulk load from a landscape supplier, including the delivery fee and any minimum order.
Questions people ask
How many cubic feet are in a yard?
27 cubic feet are in a cubic yard, because a yard is 3 ft and 3 × 3 × 3 = 27.
How do I calculate cubic yards?
Multiply length × width × depth in feet and divide by 27. With the depth in inches: length × width × inches ÷ 324.
How much is a cubic yard?
A cube 3 ft on each side: 27 cu ft, or about three-quarters of a cubic meter. Spread 3 in deep it covers 108 sq ft, an area of 9 × 12 ft.
How many square feet does a cubic yard cover?
324 sq ft at 1 in deep, 162 at 2 in, 108 at 3 in, 81 at 4 in and 54 at 6 in.
How many bags of mulch or soil are in a yard?
13.5 bags of 2 cu ft, 18 of 1.5 cu ft, or 27 of 1 cu ft.
How much does a cubic yard of dirt weigh?
Compacted in place, about 2,970 lb, or 1.5 tons: Nebraska DOT estimates soil at 110 lb per cubic foot. Loose soil weighs less per yard.
How many tons are in a cubic yard of gravel?
About 1.4 tons loose, and closer to 1.9 tons once crushed stone is packed into a base.
Sources
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST SP 811, Appendix B.9, conversion factors
- FEMA, Appeal decision, Road Repair, Appanoose County, Iowa (1930-DR-IA)
- Nebraska Department of Transportation, Estimating Quantities in English & Metric (June 2024)
- Iowa Department of Transportation, Design Manual 1B-4, Densities for Use in Estimating Quantities
- National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, CIP 36, Structural lightweight concrete (copy hosted by Prairie Materials)
Checked October 12, 2026. Coverage, bag counts and tons are our arithmetic from the figures above.