How Many Square Feet Does a Cubic Yard Cover?
A cubic yard covers 324 square feet at 1 inch deep, 108 square feet at 3 inches, and 81 square feet at 4 inches. The deeper you spread it, the less it covers.
Coverage by depth
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. To find how far it spreads, divide 27 by the depth in feet. This works for any loose material sold by the cubic yard, including mulch, topsoil, gravel, sand and compost.
| Depth | Square feet covered by 1 cubic yard |
|---|---|
| 1 inches | 324 |
| 2 inches | 162 |
| 3 inches | 108 |
| 4 inches | 81 |
| 6 inches | 54 |
| 8 inches | 40 |
| 12 inches | 27 |
The same in metric
One cubic meter covers an area in square meters equal to 1 divided by the depth in meters:
| Depth | Square meters covered by 1 cubic meter |
|---|---|
| 2 cm | 50.0 |
| 5 cm | 20.0 |
| 8 cm | 12.5 |
| 10 cm | 10.0 |
| 15 cm | 6.7 |
Going the other way: how many yards for my area
Divide your area in square feet by the coverage for your depth. Then add an allowance for settling and waste, usually 5 to 10 percent.
- 500 square feet at 3 inches: 500 ÷ 108 = 4.63 cubic yards, or 4.86 with 5 percent extra.
- 1,000 square feet at 4 inches: 1,000 ÷ 81 = 12.35 cubic yards, or 13.58 with 10 percent extra.
These figures are volumes, so they hold for any material. What changes between materials is the weight, and the depth you should use.
Typical depths for common jobs
- Mulch: extension guides commonly suggest 2 to 3 inches for fine mulch and 3 to 4 inches for coarse mulch.
- Topsoil for a new lawn: about 4 to 6 inches is common guidance.
- Pea gravel path: about 2 to 3 inches.
- Crushed stone base under pavers: about 4 to 6 inches compacted.
These are common starting points. Your ground and the product guidance matter more.
A common slip
Square yards and cubic yards are different. A square yard measures area (9 square feet). A cubic yard measures volume (27 cubic feet), and it is what loose materials are sold by. If a quote mixes them up, ask which is meant.
Related
Questions
How many square feet does a yard of mulch cover?
A cubic yard covers 108 square feet at 3 inches deep and 162 square feet at 2 inches deep. Coarse mulch is usually spread deeper, so it covers less.
How many square feet does a yard of gravel cover?
At 4 inches deep a cubic yard covers 81 square feet, and at 6 inches deep it covers 54. Gravel is often sold by weight, so see the guide to gravel weight for the conversion.
How many cubic yards do I need for 1,000 square feet at 2 inches?
1,000 divided by 162 is about 6.2 cubic yards. Add 5 to 10 percent for settling and waste.
Does the material change how far a yard goes?
A cubic yard is a measure of volume, so it covers the same area at the same depth whatever the material. Materials differ in weight and in how much they settle, not in volume.