If you're prepping a driveway, building a French drain, or laying a paver patio sub-base, knowing what a cubic yard of gravel actually weighs determines your delivery truck capacity, driveway load limit, and equipment plan. This guide breaks down gravel weight by type and how to calculate it.
What Is Gravel?
Gravel is loose, granular rock fragments — either crushed stone (angular, mechanically broken from bedrock) or river-tumbled stone (rounded, naturally weathered). Common landscape gravel types include crushed stone (⅜" to 1.5"), pea gravel (¼"), riverbed/river rock (¼" to 2"+), and dense pack base material.
What Affects the Weight of Gravel?
1. Stone Type
Granite-based gravel is the densest at ~2,800-3,000 lbs/cy. Limestone is slightly lighter at 2,500-2,700 lbs/cy. River-tumbled gravel weighs slightly less than crushed gravel because the rounded shape leaves more air gap between stones.
2. Stone Size & Gradation
Smaller gravel (⅜" or pea gravel) packs tighter and weighs more per cubic yard than larger gravel (1.5"+) of the same source rock. Smaller fragments fill more of the volume with rock instead of air.
3. Moisture & Compaction
Wet gravel weighs ~5-10% more than dry. Plate-compacted gravel weighs more per cubic yard than freshly delivered loose gravel because there's less air gap between stones.
Average Gravel Weight Per Cubic Yard
On average, a yard of gravel weighs about 2,500 to 2,800 pounds. The full range runs from 2,400 lbs (large-format river-tumbled limestone) to 3,000+ lbs (small-format compacted granite).
Quick reference for our most popular Boston-area gravel:
- Gray Crushed Rock ¾": ~2,700 lbs/cy
- Blue Stone Rock ¾": ~2,800 lbs/cy
- Dense Pack: ~2,900 lbs/cy
- Riverbed Rock 1.5": ~2,500 lbs/cy
For reference, a full Ottr dump truck load (6 cubic yards) of average gravel weighs about 16,200 lbs (8.1 tons).
How to Calculate Gravel Weight
To estimate the total weight of gravel for your project:
- Volume needed (in cubic yards)
- Estimated weight per yard (~2,700 lbs as a working average)
Then multiply:Cubic Yards x Weight per Cubic Yard = Total Weight (lbs)
Example:
For a 16' x 40' driveway with 4" of ¾" gravel, you need about 8 cubic yards. At ~2,700 lbs/yard:8 x 2,700 = 21,600 lbs (about 10.8 tons)
Coverage: 1 cubic yard of gravel covers about 100 sq ft at 3" depth, or 80 sq ft at 4" driveway depth.
Where to Buy Gravel in Greater Boston
For fast bulk gravel delivery across the Greater Boston area, Ottr Landscape Supply carries the full lineup — crushed stone in ⅜", ¾", and 1.5", dense pack base, river rock, decorative gravel.
Order online, pick a delivery date, dump-truck loaded straight to your driveway. No minimum order, same-day and next-day delivery across Suffolk, Middlesex, Norfolk, and Plymouth County.
Get a Quote or Order Gravel Online Today
Browse our driveway gravel and base collection for the full lineup of bulk gravel options.
