Cubic Yard
A cubic yard is a unit of volume equal to 27 cubic feet, a cube three feet on every side. It is the standard way bulk landscape materials like mulch, topsoil, compost, and decorative stone are measured, priced, and delivered, because loose material is easiest to quantify by the space it fills.
Why bulk yards sell by the cubic yard
Loose materials such as mulch and topsoil do not come in tidy bags or fixed weights, so suppliers measure them by volume. One cubic yard is what fits in a cube three feet wide, three feet deep, and three feet tall, 27 cubic feet in total. A pickup bed holds roughly one to two cubic yards of a light material like mulch, and less of heavier soil or gravel, because weight runs out before space does, while a tandem dump truck commonly carries 10 to 18. Pricing per cubic yard lets a yard quote consistently whether the customer wants half a yard or a full truckload.
How to calculate cubic yards for a project
Measure the area in feet, choose a depth, and convert. The formula most yards and customers use is:
cubic yards = (length ft × width ft × depth in) ÷ 324
The 324 folds together the 12 inches per foot and 27 cubic feet per yard. For example, a 20 ft × 10 ft bed at 3 inches deep needs (20 × 10 × 3) ÷ 324 ≈ 1.85 cubic yards. Our mulch calculator and topsoil calculator do this math for you.
Cubic yard vs. ton
A cubic yard measures volume; a ton measures weight. Light, fluffy materials such as bark mulch are almost always sold by the cubic yard, while dense materials such as gravel and crushed stone are often sold by the ton because weight is more consistent than a heaped volume. To move between the two you multiply cubic yards by the material’s bulk density (tons per cubic yard). A cubic yard of mulch weighs roughly 0.4 to 0.5 tons, while a cubic yard of gravel can weigh 1.4 to 1.5 tons.
Coverage: how far a cubic yard goes
A quick rule: one cubic yard covers about 324 square feet at 1 inch deep, 162 square feet at 2 inches, 108 square feet at 3 inches, or 81 square feet at 4 inches. Mulch is typically applied 2 to 3 inches deep, so one yard covers roughly a 10 ft × 12 ft bed. Because settling and uneven ground eat into coverage, most yards advise rounding up rather than ordering exactly to the calculation.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
How many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?+
Exactly 27 cubic feet. A cubic yard is a cube three feet on each side, and 3 × 3 × 3 = 27.
How much does a cubic yard weigh?+
It depends entirely on the material. A cubic yard of dry bark mulch weighs about 800 to 1,000 lbs, topsoil about 1,900 to 2,400 lbs, and gravel about 2,800 to 3,000 lbs. Convert using the material’s bulk density.
How many cubic yards fit in a pickup truck?+
A standard half-ton pickup bed holds about 1 cubic yard of mulch, and well under a yard of heavier soil or gravel, since weight, not volume, is the limiting factor for dense materials.