Sprucing up your landscaping is an exciting project for most homeowners. It’s a chance to get one step closer to your dream yard, giving you the ideal place for resting, relaxing, or entertaining. If you’re the do-it-yourself type like me, then ensuring you can get the supplies to your home yourself is essential. As a result, if you need to haul a lot of gravel to your property, you might find yourself asking, “How much does a yard of gravel weigh?”
Generally, a yard of gravel weighs between 2,400 and 3,400 pounds. The weight isn’t consistent since there are multiple types of gravel, and the different sizes can lead to variances. Plus, moisture levels play a role, as the presence of water means more weight.
However, regardless of the size of the pieces and the moisture levels, gravel is inherently heavy. Additionally, a yard of gravel is a substantial amount of volume. If you need to make sure that you can safely transport a yard of gravel, here’s what you need to know.
Quick Navigation
- What Is a Yard of Gravel?
- How Much Does a Yard of Gravel Weigh?
- What Does a Yard of Gravel Look Like?
- How Much Does 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15 Yards of Gravel Weigh?
- What Impacts How Much a Yard of Gravel Weighs?
- Gravel Weight Per Cubic Foot
- How Many Yards Are in a Ton of Gravel?
- How Much Does a Yard of Pea Gravel Weigh?
- How Many Bags of Gravel Are in a Yard?
- How Many Wheelbarrow Loads Are in a Yard of Gravel?
- How Much Does a Bag of Gravel Weigh?
- How Many Yards of Gravel Can a Truck Haul?
- How Much Area Does One Yard of Crushed Gravel Cover?
- How to Calculate How Much Gravel Your Project Needs
- Gravel Calculator
- Conclusion
What Is a Yard of Gravel?
A yard of gravel is a specific volume. A yard refers to a cubic yard, a volume represented by a cube that’s 1 yard high, 1 yard deep, and 1 yard wide. Since a yard is 3 feet long, that same square would also measure out as 3 feet high, 3 feet deep, and 3 feet wide, leading to a volume of 27 cubic feet.
How Much Does a Yard of Gravel Weigh?
A yard of gravel may weigh different amounts, usually falling in the 2,400-to-3,400-pound range. If you convert that to tons, it creates a range of 1.2-to-1.7 tons.
There are a few reasons why a yard of gravel doesn’t always weigh the same amount. First, the size of the gravel is a factor, as that can alter how much air is present in the yard. Second, whether the gravel is wet or dry matters, as water takes up the space usually held by the air, and water weighs more than air.
What Does a Yard of Gravel Look Like?
As mentioned above, a yard is a volume represented by a cube that’s 1 yard high by 1 yard deep by 1 yard wide or 3 feet high by 3 feet deep by 3 feet wide. However, a yard of gravel isn’t sold in a packaged cube. Instead, suppliers make sure that the buyers are getting the right total volume, but the measurements of the height, width, and depth may vary.
Essentially, a yard of gravel can also be measured out with a rectangle, for example, a rectangle 1 foot high, 6.75 feet deep, and 4 feet wide also has a volume of 27 cubic square feet.
How Much Does 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15 Yards of Gravel Weigh?
Yards | Pounds | Tons |
2 | 4,800 to 6,800 | 2.4 to 3.4 |
3 | 7,200 to 10,200 | 3.6 to 5.1 |
4 | 9,600 to 13,600 | 4.8 to 6.8 |
5 | 12,000 to 17,000 | 5.0 to 8.5 |
10 | 24,000 to 34,000 | 12 to 17 |
15 | 36,000 to 51,000 | 18 to 25.5 |
What Impacts How Much a Yard of Gravel Weighs?
When you’re trying to estimate how much a yard of gravel weighs to ensure you can transport it safely, understanding what impacts the total weight is helpful. It allows you to determine if the yard of gravel will skew toward the higher or lower end, making it easier to choose the right transportation option.
Generally, two main factors influence how much a yard of gravel weighs: gravel size and moisture level. Here’s an overview of how those impact the weight of a yard of gravel.
Gravel Size
The size of the gravel plays a role as it determines how much rock is in the yard versus air. When pieces are smaller and smoother, they fit more closely together than larger, rougher stones. As a result, you’ll typically have more gravel and less air with finer gravel, leading to a heavier total weight.
Moisture
Whether gravel is wet or dry and the degree of saturation when wet alters how much a yard of gravel weighs. When wet, water sits in spaces that would hold air if the gravel was dry. Since water is heavier than air, it leads to a higher total weight for the yard.
Gravel Weight Per Cubic Foot
Just as the weight of a yard of gravel can vary, the same is true for a cubic foot. Since there are 27 cubic feet in a yard and a yard of gravel can weigh between 2,400 and 3,400 pounds, a cubic foot of gravel may weigh between about 89 and 126 pounds.
Generally, finer and wetter gravel will be at the heavier end of the spectrum. Coarser, larger, and drier gravel tends to be toward the lighter side of the range.
How Many Yards Are in a Ton of Gravel?
A US ton is equal to 2,000 pounds, and as a result, a ton of gravel is typically less than a full yard, as a yard of gravel usually weighs between 2,400 and 3,400 pounds.
Precisely how many yards of gravel are present in a ton does vary based on gravel size and moisture content. However, you usually get around 0.59 to 0.83 yards in a ton.
When the gravel is finer or wetter, it will sit at the higher end of the range. If the gravel is coarser or drier, it will lean toward the lighter end of the spectrum.
How Much Does a Yard of Pea Gravel Weigh?
Pea gravel is a specific size and shape of gravel. Typically, pea gravel is smooth and rounded, similar to the peas that people eat. When it comes to size, a piece of pea gravel is usually close to 3/8 inches in diameter.
As with other types of gravel, how much pea gravel weighs if you’re getting a yard often varies. Moisture levels play a role, as well as the exact size and shape of the pieces. However, it usually falls in the 2,400-to-2,900-pound or 1.2-to-1.45-ton range.
How Many Bags of Gravel Are in a Yard?
How many bags of gravel it takes to get the same volume as a yard can vary. Bags of gravel come in different sizes, so there’s a bit of variance.
Usually, a 30-pound bag of gravel is about 0.4 cubic feet. If you need a full yard, it will take 67.5 bags to get the required 27 cubic feet to equal a yard.
In most cases, a 50-pound bag of gravel is approximately 0.5 cubic feet. Since there are 27 cubic feet in a yard, it would take 54 bags to get a yard.
There are also bags of gravel that come in different weights, and they may contain more or less cubic feet than those listed above. Additionally, since gravel can come in various sizes, the number of cubic feet in two bags that weigh the same but contain different types of gravel can vary.
Typically, the product bags list the estimated cubic area they’re designed to handle. As a result, it’s best to check the packaging to get the exact figure. Then, divide 27 by the cubic feet listed on the bag, as that tells you how many bags of gravel you’ll need to bring the total volume to a yard.
How Many Wheelbarrow Loads Are in a Yard of Gravel?
Generally, the number of wheelbarrow loads in a yard of gravel depends on the carrying capacity or size of the wheelbarrow in use. Most smaller wheelbarrows can carry about 2 cubic feet of material. As a result, there’d be about 14 loads in a yard of gravel.
Full-size wheelbarrows can classically carry 3 cubic feet of material. At that size, you’d have 9 wheelbarrow loads in a yard.
However, those estimates are based on filling the wheelbarrow to its maximum capacity. If you don’t carry the maximum amount in every load, then you’d have to make additional trips with the wheelbarrow to move the entire yard of gravel.
How Much Does a Bag of Gravel Weigh?
Bags of gravel come in several sizes and may contain different types of gravel, and the weight of a bag of gravel does vary.
Usually, the lightest bag of gravel is 30 pounds. Larger bags of gravel may weigh 100 pounds or more. However, most pre-packaged bags of gravel fall in the 30-to-60-pound range.
How Many Yards of Gravel Can a Truck Haul?
A typical truck bed has enough space to haul 1 to 2 cubic yards of gravel. Typically, it takes a full-size truck to hold 2 yards, and smaller trucks are often limited to about 1 yard.
However, the volume of the truck bed isn’t the only factor in the equation. Instead, you need to consider the weight of the gravel.
Trucks are rated for specific maximum payloads, which represent the total carrying capacity of the vehicle, including passengers and any items in the cab or bed. Those figures are different from the labels commonly given to trucks. For example, a 1-ton truck can usually handle far more than 1-ton of payload.
When transporting gravel, you need to ensure that the weight doesn’t cause the payload to exceed the recommended maximum. Since those can vary by make, model, and year, it’s best to check the vehicle’s documentation to find the limit.
By reviewing the specifications, you can figure out how much gravel the truck could reasonably handle and compare that to the volume of the bed. Then, you can make sure that you don’t overload the pickup truck while transporting as much of what you need for your project in a single trip as possible.
How Much Area Does One Yard of Crushed Gravel Cover?
Since a yard is a metric based on volume, you can easily determine how much area a yard of crushed gravel covers. However, the area it will handle does vary depending on the desired depth.
For example, if you’re planning a depth of 4 inches, then a yard of gravel will cover approximately 81 square feet. If the depth is 2 inches, the area the gravel can cover is closer to 162 square feet.
Since it’s more common to have a depth measured in inches instead of feet, the easiest way to calculate how much a yard will cover is to do the following calculations. Start by dividing 12 (the number of inches in a foot) by the desired depth in inches. Then, multiply that by 27 (the total cubic feet in a yard). That figure is the amount of area the crushed gravel will cover based on your desired depth.
How to Calculate How Much Gravel Your Project Needs
If you need to figure out how much gravel you need for your project, you’ll need to do a little math. Measure the width and length (in feet) of the space you want to cover, and multiply those two numbers. Then, multiply that number by the desired depth (in feet), and divide the result by 27 to get the number of cubic yards of gravel you’ll require.
Gravel Calculator
If you prefer not to do any of the math yourself, you can use a gravel calculator to make that part of the process easier. Input the length, width, and depth that you want to cover. Then, hit calculate to see the total number of cubic yards required.
Within the calculator, you can enter the price per ton or cost per cubic yard. By doing so, you can also estimate the price of the gravel for your project, allowing you to anticipate what you’ll need to spend. Just remember to factor in sales tax, as that plays a role in how much you’ll pay.
Conclusion
Generally, a yard of gravel weighs between 2,400 and 3,400 pounds or 1.2 to 1.7 tons. The exact weight depends on the gravel size and moisture content. By measuring the height and width of the area you want to cover, multiplying that by the desired depth, and dividing that figure by 27, you can estimate the number of yards you’ll need for your project. Using some of the information above, you can also determine if a pickup truck can carry all the material safely.
Did you learn everything you wanted about how much a yard of gravel weighs? If so, let us know in the comments. Also, if you know someone asking, “How much does a yard of gravel weigh?” make sure to share this article.

Eugene has been a DIY enthusiast for most of his life and loves being creative while inspiring creativity in others. He is passionately interested in home improvement, renovation and woodworking.