Material Weight Chart — lb per Cubic Yard
Weights in ranges with the state labeled — because a weight without a state label (bank vs loose) is a guess — the same yard of dirt weighs ~25% less in the truck than in the ground. Values compile the Caterpillar handbook and DOT research lineages; moisture swings any soil row by hundreds of pounds, and your scale tickets are the site truth.
Weights by material and state
| Material | Loose (lb/LCY) | Bank (lb/BCY) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sand, dry | 2,400–2,620 | 2,700–3,080 | — |
| Sand, wet | 3,100–3,190 | ~3,500 | The state-label trap: circulating "3,200–3,400" mixes loose and bank |
| Gravel, dry | 2,550–2,970 | 2,850–3,200 | — |
| Gravel, wet | 3,350–3,400 | 3,530–3,800 | — |
| Sand & gravel, dry | ~2,900 | ~3,250 | Thin data — single primary lineage |
| Common earth | 1,900–2,550 | 2,600–3,400 | Moisture moves this more than any soil property |
| Loam | 2,100–2,250 | ~2,600 | — |
| Topsoil | ~1,600 | 2,300–2,430 | — |
| Clay, dry | 2,380–2,500 | 3,100–3,220 | — |
| Clay, wet | 2,800–2,970 | 3,350–3,500 | — |
| Silt / silty clay | 2,130–2,380 | 2,890–3,240 | — |
| Rock, blasted — limestone | 2,600–2,700 | 4,370–4,400 | Tightest agreement in the dataset |
| Rock, blasted — granite/basalt | 2,640–3,300 | 4,500–5,000 | — |
| Sandstone | 2,520–2,550 | 4,070–4,250 | — |
| Crushed stone | ~2,700 | ~4,500 (ledge) | — |
| Asphalt pavement | ~1,940 broken (single lineage) | 3,240–4,050 (120–150 pcf by era) | Unlabeled "asphalt 2,700" figures are the classic state-mislabel |
| Concrete, solid (demo) | ~2,350–2,600 broken (derived) | 3,900–4,200 | — |
| Water | — | 1,685 (62.4 pcf × 27) | — |
Weights are the other half of every haul
Volume math says how many yards; weight math says whether they're legal. The two meet on the truck capacity chart (where payload governs before the box fills) and convert through the swell factors — the loose and bank columns here differ by exactly that factor. For demo work, the concrete and asphalt rows price the dumpsters; for dewatering, the water row (1,685 lb/CY) is why a full trench is heavier than it looks.
Common questions
How much does a cubic yard of dirt weigh?
In the truck (loose): common earth runs 1,900–2,550 lb dry, clay 2,400–3,000, wet sand over 3,100. In the ground (bank), add roughly a quarter — the same earth is 2,600–3,400 lb per bank yard. Any answer without the state label is a guess, and moisture moves the number more than the material type does.
How much does a yard of gravel weigh?
Loose and dry: 2,550–2,970 lb — call it 1.4 tons. Wet gravel jumps to ~3,400, which is why the same tandem hauls fewer yards after rain. Crushed stone runs ~2,700 loose, and the numbers convert straight into truckloads on the truck capacity chart: a 14-ton payload carries about 10 loose yards of dry gravel.
How much does blasted rock weigh?
By rock type — the one-number answer fails here. Loose blasted limestone runs ~2,600–2,700 lb/CY against a 4,400 lb bank yard; granite and basalt bank at 4,500–5,000. The gap between those columns is the swell factor wearing pounds, and it is why rock hauls price so differently from earth.