Dirt weight chart
Typical weights for loose, delivered material. Real loads vary, so treat these as starting points and use your supplier’s figure when they have one.
| Material | About lb per cubic yard | About tons per cubic yard | About lb per cubic foot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry loose dirt | 2,000 | 1.0 | 74 |
| Fill dirt, typical (slightly damp) | 2,200 | 1.1 | 81 |
| Sandy fill | 2,500 | 1.25 | 93 |
| Clay fill | 2,600 | 1.3 | 96 |
| Wet fill dirt | 2,800 | 1.4 | 104 |
| Dry sand, for comparison | 2,700 | 1.35 | 100 |
Why dirt weight varies so much
- Water. Water weighs about 62 lb per cubic foot, and soil can hold a lot of it. The same pile can gain hundreds of pounds per yard after a week of rain.
- What the soil is made of. Sand and gravel particles are heavy and pack tightly. Soil rich in organic matter is lighter. Clay is light when bone dry but heavy and sticky when wet.
- Loose or in the ground. Undisturbed soil in the ground (what excavators call “bank” soil) is denser than the same soil after it is dug and loaded. A yard of bank dirt becomes roughly 1.2 to 1.4 yards once it is loose. The weights on this page are for loose, delivered dirt. See the excavation calculator for swell.
- Rocks and debris. Unscreened fill with stones weighs more per yard than screened dirt.
How to calculate tons of dirt
tons = cubic yards × lb per cubic yard ÷ 2,000
Example. You need 8 cubic yards of fill dirt and the supplier sells by the ton. With typical fill at about 2,200 lb per yard: 8 × 2,200 = 17,600 lb ÷ 2,000 = 8.8 tons.
Going the other way:
cubic yards = tons × 2,000 ÷ lb per cubic yard
Example. A quote for 10 tons of wet fill at about 2,800 lb per yard is 10 × 2,000 ÷ 2,800 = 7.1 cubic yards. The same 10 tons of dry dirt at 2,000 lb would be 10 yards. This is why a ton price on wet material buys you fewer yards.
Dirt weight by quantity
Using 2,200 lb per yard for typical fill and 2,800 lb for wet fill:
| Cubic yards | Typical fill, tons | Wet fill, tons |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.1 | 1.4 |
| 2 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| 5 | 5.5 | 7.0 |
| 10 | 11.0 | 14.0 |
| 14 | 15.4 | 19.6 |
| 20 | 22.0 | 28.0 |
What weight means for hauling
The weight per yard decides how much a vehicle can safely carry:
- Pickups. The payload printed on the door-jamb sticker covers passengers and cargo together. Many half-ton pickups are rated for less than a yard of wet fill.
- Trailers. A trailer has its own weight rating, and the truck towing it must be rated for the total.
- Dump trucks. A full body of wet dirt can exceed the legal weight for the truck before it is full to the top. Haulers then carry fewer yards per load. The dump truck load calculator shows the weight of a full load for each truck size.
These are typical weights, not guarantees. If you are buying by the ton, ask the yard what one of their yards weighs today, and if you are hauling it yourself, stay inside your vehicle's rated payload.
Questions people ask
- How much does a cubic yard of dirt weigh?
- About 2,000 to 2,800 pounds. Dry, loose dirt is close to 2,000 lb (1 ton); typical damp fill is around 2,200 lb; wet dirt or clay can be 2,800 lb or more.
- How many tons is a yard of dirt?
- About 1 to 1.4 tons. Use 1.1 tons per yard for typical fill dirt if your supplier does not give you a figure.
- How much does a cubic foot of dirt weigh?
- Roughly 75 to 105 pounds. Divide the weight per cubic yard by 27: 2,200 lb per yard is about 81 lb per cubic foot.
- How do I convert cubic yards of dirt to tons?
- Multiply cubic yards by the weight per yard in pounds, then divide by 2,000. For example, 8 yards × 2,200 lb ÷ 2,000 = 8.8 tons.
- Can a pickup truck carry a yard of dirt?
- Often only just. A yard of damp fill is about 2,200 lb, which is at or over the payload of many half-ton pickups. Check the payload on the sticker in the driver's door jamb before loading.