The short answer
The published figures collected here run from 90.37 lb/ft³ to 105 lb/ft³. Applied to one measured job — 480 ft² at 3 inches, the worked example from our driveway cost guide — they order between 5.42 and 6.3 US short tons. That is a 16% difference in what arrives on the truck, before any allowance or rounding.
This is the spread of the collected reference values, not a universal gravel density range or an estimate of your order's error. The entries describe different products and conditions. Omni Calculator supplies a general starting estimate; the other entries are weights published by suppliers for their own products. None is a measurement made by Site Measure.
The ledger
| Supplier and material | As published | lb/ft³ | lb/yd³ | US tons/yd³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omni Calculator · General gravel, starting estimate | 105 lb/ft³ | 105 | 2,835 | 1.4175 |
| Lasalle Sand & Gravel · Pea gravel | 2,700 lb/yd³ | 100 | 2,700 | 1.35 |
| Lasalle Sand & Gravel · 3/4 inch crush minus | 2,600 lb/yd³ | 96.2963 | 2,600 | 1.3 |
| South Bay Materials · 3/8 inch pea gravel | 2,440 lb/yd³ | 90.3704 | 2,440 | 1.22 |
| Anchorage Sand & Gravel · 3/8 inch Minus Concrete Pea Gravel | 2,600 lb/yd³ | 96.2963 | 2,600 | 1.3 |
| Sutherland Landscape Center · Pea Gravel (3/8 inch minus) | 2,540 lb/yd³ | 94.0741 | 2,540 | 1.27 |
| Smokey Point Concrete · 3/8 Pea Gravel (#8) | 2,720 lb/yd³ | 100.7407 | 2,720 | 1.36 |
What each figure covers
Omni Calculator: General gravel, starting estimate
A general starting estimate, used as this calculator's default. It is not a product specification and not any supplier's published weight. Recorded from the published source.
Lasalle Sand & Gravel: Pea gravel
This supplier's published weight for its own pea gravel. Other yards publish different weights for the same product name; it is not a grading specification. Recorded from the published source.
Lasalle Sand & Gravel: 3/4 inch crush minus
This supplier's published weight for its own crush minus. It is not a #57 stone specification and not a compaction factor. Recorded from the published source.
South Bay Materials: 3/8 inch pea gravel
This supplier's published bulk weight for its 3/8 inch pea gravel. Product-specific, and not interchangeable with another yard's pea gravel. Recorded from the published source.
Anchorage Sand & Gravel: 3/8 inch Minus Concrete Pea Gravel
Approximate stockpile weight for this supplier's product. The supplier says weight varies with moisture, texture and gradation; this is not a measured delivery weight or a compaction factor. Recorded from the published source.
Sutherland Landscape Center: Pea Gravel (3/8 inch minus)
Published weight per yard for this supplier's small, rounded 3/8 inch minus product. The page does not specify moisture or a test method; do not treat the value as a dry-density measurement or a specification for other pea gravel. Recorded from the published source.
Smokey Point Concrete: 3/8 Pea Gravel (#8)
Published weight for this supplier's washed, rounded aggregate, also labelled #8. The page also gives 1.36 tons per cubic yard, but does not state moisture or a test method; the size label is not a universal density specification. Recorded from the published source.
What this table cannot tell you
A size label is not a density. Grading describes the particles. Bulk density also depends on particle shape, how tightly the grading packs and how wet the material is when it is loaded. Two yards selling the same nominal size can publish different weights.
None of these figures is a compaction factor. They describe loose material as delivered. If your specification is written as a compacted depth, ask the supplier or installer how their material behaves; our calculator applies no automatic compaction correction.
None of these figures is a specification. They are weights suppliers published for their own products, recorded on the dates shown. Stock changes, and so do published lists. Confirm the figure for the product you are actually buying.
Using a supplier’s figure
Volume does not depend on density, so measure and calculate the volume first, then ask for pounds per cubic yard when you request a quote. Enter that number as the custom density in the gravel calculator. To see how the same weight spreads over an area at different depths, read how much a ton of gravel covers.
Density questions
What is the bulk density of gravel?
There is no single value. The 7 published figures in this ledger run from 90.37 to 105 lb/ft³, which is 2,440 to 2,835 lb per cubic yard, and they describe different products from different suppliers. Use the figure your own supplier publishes for the product you are buying.
Is a cubic yard of gravel always 1.4 tons?
No. 1.42 US short tons per cubic yard follows only from the 105 lb/ft³ general starting estimate. At Lasalle’s published 2,700 lb per cubic yard the same conversion is 1.35 tons, and at South Bay’s 2,440 lb it is 1.22 tons. Convert using the weight your supplier publishes.
Does the stone size tell me the density?
No. A size or grading label describes the particles; bulk density also depends on particle shape, how tightly the grading packs and how wet the material is when it is loaded. A #57 or 3/4 inch label does not fix a density, which is why every row here names a supplier and a product rather than a size.
Which density should I enter in the calculator?
Your supplier’s published weight for the exact product you are ordering. If you do not have one yet, calculate the volume first, because volume does not depend on density, then ask for pounds per cubic yard when you request the quote. Our calculation methodology sets out how the weight is derived from volume.
Sources, method and corrections
A row is admitted only when a reader can find the figure in the cited source. Each entry records the value exactly as published, the unit the source used, the date we read it and what the figure must not be read as. Normalisation between pounds per cubic foot, pounds per cubic yard and US short tons uses the unit definitions below, and the conversions are checked by automated tests. A figure that resolves outside a plausible range for loose aggregate is rejected rather than published, because a per-yard weight pasted into a per-foot column is exactly the error this page exists to explain.
Download the ledger (CSV) — one row per figure, with its source URL and dates. You may reuse it with attribution to Site Measure and a link to this page. The cited documents remain under their owners’ terms.
NIST: SI conversion factors — Unit definitions used to normalise the ledger: the US short ton of 2,000 lb, the pound and the foot.
This is a document review, not laboratory measurement: we did not weigh any material. Automated calculation checks do not constitute independent engineering review. About the maintainer · Calculation methodology · Report a correction.