How Much Does a Yard of Sand Weigh? Dry vs. Wet Tons

How much does a yard of sand weigh? A cubic yard of dry, loose sand usually lands somewhere around 2,500 pounds, or about 1.25 tons. Sand straight from an outdoor pile is rarely bone dry, and damp sand often runs closer to 1.4 tons per yard. Soaked sand can push past 1.5 tons. Those are planning figures, not a guarantee, so ask the yard what conversion it uses for the exact sand on its scale before you set the order.

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Sand weight per cubic yard at a glance

Use the column that matches the condition of the sand you are buying. Every figure is rounded and assumes loose, uncompacted material.

Cubic yards	Dry (~1.25 t/yd³)	Damp (~1.4 t/yd³)	Wet (~1.6 t/yd³)
1 yd³	~2,500 lb / 1.25 tons	~2,800 lb / 1.4 tons	~3,200 lb / 1.6 tons
2 yd³	~5,000 lb / 2.5 tons	~5,600 lb / 2.8 tons	~6,400 lb / 3.2 tons
3 yd³	~7,500 lb / 3.75 tons	~8,400 lb / 4.2 tons	~9,600 lb / 4.8 tons
5 yd³	~12,500 lb / 6.25 tons	~14,000 lb / 7 tons	~16,000 lb / 8 tons
10 yd³	~25,000 lb / 12.5 tons	~28,000 lb / 14 tons	~32,000 lb / 16 tons

Broken down to a single cubic foot, those columns work out to roughly 93, 104, and 119 pounds. That smaller unit is handy for bags and small jobs.

Why one yard of sand does not have one weight

Water. Moisture adds weight, and it is the biggest swing on most orders. Sand that sat through a rainstorm weighs noticeably more than sand stored under cover.
Bulking. Slightly damp sand can fluff up and take more room than the same sand dry, so a loose yard of it may hold fewer grains. That is one reason weight and volume do not convert perfectly.
Grain size and grading. A mix of coarse and fine grains packs tighter than sand where every grain is the same size, and tighter packing means more weight per yard.
Loose versus packed. The table is for loose sand in a pile or truck bed. Once it is screeded and compacted, the same tonnage fills less space.
The rock it came from. Most construction sand is mostly quartz, but local deposits vary, and so does the supplier’s published weight.

Common types of sand and where they go

Concrete sand. A coarser washed sand used in concrete and often as a bedding layer under pavers.
Masonry sand. Finer and smoother, used in mortar and for finish work.
Fill sand. Usually unwashed and less uniform, used to bring up grade or backfill around pipes and footings where looks do not matter.
Play sand. Washed and screened fine sand, commonly sold in bags for sandboxes.

Weights between these overlap a lot, so the condition of the pile matters more than the name on the ticket. If you are comparing sand with stone for the same job, our gravel weight per yard guide uses the same tons-per-yard approach.

How to turn yards into tons, and tons back into yards

Find the volume. Length × width × depth in feet gives cubic feet. Divide by 27 for cubic yards.
Pick a weight. Use the supplier’s figure if you have it. If not, 1.4 tons per yard is a reasonable middle number for damp sand from an open pile.
Multiply for tons. Cubic yards × tons per yard = tons to order.
Divide to go the other way. If a yard quotes by the ton, tons ÷ tons per yard tells you how much space it will fill. Ten tons at 1.4 tons per yard is about 7.1 cubic yards.

The base calculator handles the volume step for any rectangle, and the same math sits behind how much a ton of gravel covers.

Two worked examples

Paver bedding layer. A 12 by 16 foot patio is 192 square feet. A 1-inch sand bed is 192 × (1 ÷ 12) = 16 cubic feet, or about 0.59 cubic yards. At 1.4 tons per yard, that is about 0.83 tons. Some yards sell sand in set increments, so you may round up to a half or full yard and keep the extra for joints and touch-ups.

Backyard sandbox. A 4 by 4 foot box filled 10 inches deep holds about 13.3 cubic feet, or roughly half a cubic yard. Play sand is usually bagged, and a 50-pound bag holds roughly half a cubic foot, so plan on about 27 bags. Check the bag label, since stated volumes differ by brand.

Hauling sand yourself

Sand looks harmless in a pile, but it is heavy for its size. A single damp cubic yard can approach or exceed what many light pickups are rated to carry, so read the payload figure on the door-jamb sticker before the loader drops a full bucket in the bed. Ask the yard to load by weight if your truck is close to its limit. For bigger orders, delivery is usually simpler; ask how many tons or yards their truck carries in one trip, and see how many tons of gravel fit in a dump truck for how truck size and road limits affect a load.

Sand under a driveway or slab

Sand shows up under pavement too, either as the native soil or as a thin leveling layer. Loose sand does not hold an edge well on its own, so driveways built on it usually need a well-compacted stone base above it. Paving asphalt on sandy soil covers how that base is planned, and the main asphalt tonnage calculator handles the blacktop on top.

Questions people ask

How much does a yard of sand weigh in tons?

Roughly 1.25 tons when dry and loose, about 1.4 tons when damp from an open pile, and around 1.5 to 1.6 tons or more when soaked. Ask your supplier for the figure they use.

How much does a yard of sand weigh in pounds?

About 2,500 pounds dry, around 2,800 pounds damp, and 3,000 pounds or more wet. That is roughly 93 to 119 pounds per cubic foot.

How many cubic yards are in a ton of sand?

At about 1.4 tons per cubic yard, one ton of sand is roughly 0.7 cubic yards. Dry sand gives a little more volume per ton and wet sand a little less.

Is sand heavier than gravel?

They are close. Both commonly fall in the 1.25 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard range, and moisture and grading often matter more than whether the material is sand or stone.

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