Gravel Calculator: Cubic Yards, Tons and Bags

Depth	1 cubic yard covers	One 0.5 cu ft bag covers
2 in	162 sq ft	3 sq ft
3 in	108 sq ft	2 sq ft
4 in	81 sq ft	1.5 sq ft
6 in	54 sq ft	1 sq ft

Depth

1 cubic yard covers

One 0.5 cu ft bag covers

2 in

162 sq ft

3 sq ft

3 in

108 sq ft

2 sq ft

4 in

81 sq ft

1.5 sq ft

6 in

54 sq ft

1 sq ft

Gravel for common area sizes

At 3 inches deep, including 10% extra for settling.

Area	Cubic yards	0.5 cu ft bags	Tons
4 × 8 ft (32 sq ft)	0.33	18	0.46
10 × 10 ft (100 sq ft)	1.02	55	1.43
10 × 20 ft (200 sq ft)	2.04	110	2.85
12 × 24 ft (288 sq ft)	2.93	159	4.11
20 × 20 ft (400 sq ft)	4.07	220	5.7
20 × 40 ft (800 sq ft)	8.15	440	11.41
30 × 50 ft (1,500 sq ft)	15.28	825	21.39

How deep should gravel be?

2–3 inches for walkways and decorative areas, over landscape fabric.
4 inches for a patio or shed base, compacted.
4–6 inches or more for a new driveway, usually in layers: larger crushed stone below, finer gravel on top. See the driveway gravel calculator.

Yards or tons?

A cubic yard of gravel weighs roughly 1.4 tons (about 2,800 lb), though it varies with the stone and how wet it is. If your supplier sells by the ton, ask for their conversion: some use 1.3, others 1.5. We add 10% by default because gravel compacts and ground is rarely perfectly level.

Using rounded stone? See the pea gravel calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How many tons are in a yard of gravel?

About 1.4 tons (2,800 pounds) per cubic yard for typical crushed gravel. It ranges from about 1.2 to 1.5 tons depending on the stone and moisture.

How much does a yard of gravel cover?

One cubic yard covers 162 square feet at 2 inches deep, 108 square feet at 3 inches and 81 square feet at 4 inches.

How many bags of gravel make a yard?

Bagged gravel is usually 0.5 cubic feet (about 50 pounds), so a cubic yard is 54 bags. Bags only make sense for very small areas.