The number that anchors every topsoil order: one cubic yard covers 100 square feet about 3 inches deep, and it weighs somewhere north of a ton when it lands in your driveway. Measure the area, decide on a depth, and the volume falls right out of one short formula. The weight is what trips people up — folks order three yards thinking they'll wheelbarrow it before lunch, then meet six thousand pounds of damp soil at 8 a.m. and reconsider their life choices.
I've filled sunken lawns, built up beds, and graded more low spots than I'd like to admit, and the two mistakes I see again and again are under-ordering depth and underestimating weight. Both are avoidable with five minutes of arithmetic. Let's get your number right the first time so you're not making a second delivery call or paying for soil that sits in a heap going to weeds.
The volume formula you actually need
Topsoil sells by the cubic yard (bulk) or the bag (cubic feet), but you measure your yard in square feet. Depth is the bridge between area and volume. The formula is the same one that runs every soil, mulch, and gravel job:
Cubic yards = (length ft × width ft × depth in inches) ÷ 324
That 324 is just how many square feet a single cubic yard spreads at one inch deep. Want 4 inches over a 300-square-foot area? That's (300 × 4) ÷ 324 = 3.7 cubic yards. If you prefer to think in depth-feet rather than inches, the other version is area × depth-in-feet ÷ 27, since a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. Same answer, pick whichever keeps your head straight. The Soil & Topsoil Calculator runs it both ways and converts to bags, but seeing the math once takes the mystery out of the delivery ticket.
How much does a yard of topsoil weigh?
This is the part that catches people. A cubic yard of dry, screened topsoil runs about 2,000 to 2,200 pounds — right around a U.S. ton. Let it soak up rain and that same yard climbs to 2,500 or even 3,000 pounds. Add clay or sand content and it gets heavier still. So when a calculator tells you to order 3 yards, you're staging roughly 6,000 to 9,000 pounds of material, and every cubic foot you lift in a shovel is 75 to 110 pounds before it's on the wheelbarrow.
Two practical consequences. First, half-ton pickup beds max out around a single cubic yard of soil, despite the empty volume looking like it'd hold more — a yard of wet topsoil can overload light-duty suspension, so most yards will only load what your truck can legally carry. Second, plan your dump spot. Have it placed as close to the work as the truck can reach, because moving a ton of soil 60 feet by barrow is an afternoon, not a chore.
Bags or bulk? Bags per yard and the break-even
Bagged topsoil is sold mostly in 0.75-cubic-foot and 1-cubic-foot bags, with some 1.5-cubic-foot bags around. Since a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, it takes 36 of the 0.75-cu-ft bags, or 27 of the 1-cu-ft bags, to equal one yard. That's a lot of plastic to haul, stack, and slit open. Bulk delivery is dramatically cheaper per unit but adds a delivery fee and a shovel afternoon.
| Product | Typical price | Per cubic yard equivalent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bagged topsoil (0.75 cu ft) | $2–$5 / bag | ~$72–$180 | 36 bags per yard; convenient, priciest per unit. |
| Bagged garden soil (1 cu ft) | $6–$10 / bag | ~$160–$270 | Amended & bagged; for beds, not grading. |
| Bulk unscreened topsoil | $12–$25 / yd | $12–$25 | Cheapest; expect rocks, roots, clods. |
| Bulk screened topsoil | $20–$45 / yd | $20–$45 | Most common bulk choice for lawns & beds. |
| Bulk premium / blended | $40–$70 / yd | $40–$70 | Compost-blended; best for planting beds. |
Delivery typically runs $50 to $120 per trip depending on distance, and many suppliers have a minimum load. The break-even is clear: below about one cubic yard (roughly 27 to 36 bags), bags usually win once you factor the delivery fee — you can haul a few in a trunk. Above two yards, bulk pulls ahead fast and the gap only widens. A screened yard at $35 delivered beats 27 bags of $3 garden-store topsoil ($81) before you've even loaded the car.
Common uses and the right depth for each
Depth depends entirely on the job, and ordering the wrong depth is the most common reason people come up short. A topdressing skim and a bed fill differ by a factor of ten in volume. Here's what actually works:
| Job | Depth | Coverage per yard | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topdressing / leveling a lawn | ¼–½ in | 650–1,300 sq ft | Thin skim; rake in, don't bury the grass. |
| Filling minor low spots | 1–3 in | 100–325 sq ft | Build up gradually if over existing turf. |
| New lawn / seedbed | 4–6 in | 55–80 sq ft | Enough root zone for grass to establish. |
| Garden & planting beds | 6–8 in | 40–55 sq ft | Mix with native soil where you can. |
| Raised beds | 8–12 in | 27–40 sq ft | Blend topsoil with compost for vegetables. |
One caution on lawns: you can't dump 4 inches of topsoil over living grass and expect it to survive — more than about a half inch at a time smothers turf. For real leveling over an existing lawn, build up in thin layers across a few mowings, or strip the turf, regrade, and reseed. For a brand-new lawn on bare ground, 4 to 6 inches of decent topsoil gives roots the room they need, which the soil scientists at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service back up in their guidance on building healthy soil.
Screened vs unscreened — and what "topsoil" even means
Topsoil isn't a regulated term, so what shows up on the truck varies wildly by supplier. The big quality split is screening. Screened topsoil has been run through a mesh to pull out rocks, roots, and clods, leaving a uniform, workable material — this is what you want for lawns, seedbeds, and anywhere you'll be raking to grade. Unscreened topsoil is cheaper and fine for bulk fill where appearance and fine grading don't matter, but you'll be picking out stones and the odd brick.
Don't confuse any of it with fill dirt, which is subsoil with little or no organic matter — it's for building up grade, backfilling, or raising low areas under a structure, not for growing anything. And garden soil or "raised bed mix" is topsoil already blended with compost and sold at a premium for planting. The cheat sheet: fill dirt to build elevation, topsoil to grow grass, garden soil or a topsoil-compost blend to grow vegetables. Buying fill dirt and expecting tomatoes is a classic and expensive mix-up.
Topsoil quick facts to remember
- 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet and weighs ~2,000–2,200 lb dry, up to 3,000 lb wet.
- 1 yard covers ~100 sq ft at 3″, ~55 sq ft at 6″.
- 27 one-cu-ft bags (or 36 of the 0.75-cu-ft bags) equal one yard.
- Bulk wins above ~2 yards; bags win below ~1 yard once delivery is counted.
- Never bury living turf under more than ~½″ at a time.
A worked example: leveling a lawn
You've got a bumpy 500-square-foot patch of backyard you want to smooth with a quarter-inch topdressing of screened topsoil, raked into the existing grass.
- Area: 500 sq ft
- Depth: 0.25 in
- Cubic yards: (500 × 0.25) ÷ 324 = 0.39 cubic yards
- Round up to half a yard; in 1-cu-ft bags that's about 14 bags
Half a yard is squarely bag territory — no point paying a delivery fee for it. If the low spots are deeper than a topdressing fixes, don't pile it on in one go; build up a half inch per pass over two or three mowings so the grass keeps growing through. For bigger regrades, measure the whole area first with the Square Footage Calculator, then drop the total in.
A worked example: filling a raised bed
Now a 4-by-8-foot raised bed, 10 inches deep, that you want to fill with a topsoil-and-compost blend.
- Area: 4 × 8 = 32 sq ft
- Depth: 10 in
- Cubic yards: (32 × 10) ÷ 324 = 0.99 cubic yards
- Call it 1 yard total — split it roughly 60% topsoil, 40% compost
So about 0.6 yard of topsoil and 0.4 yard of compost, which fills the box with a mix that drains well and feeds plants. Right at one yard, you're at the bag-vs-bulk crossover — if you've got several beds, order bulk and save; if it's a single box, bags are simpler. Figure the compost half with the Compost Calculator, and remember the mix settles an inch or two in the first season, so slightly overfilling is smart.
That halving is the whole story of why deep jobs eat soil so fast. A skim topdressing stretches a single yard across a third of a small yard; a raised bed fill burns a yard on 30-odd square feet. Decide the depth honestly before you price anything, because guessing low is how people end up two yards short with the truck already gone.
Don't forget what goes on top
Topsoil builds the growing layer; it doesn't finish the job. New planting beds want a 2-to-3-inch mulch cap once they're filled and planted, to hold moisture and block weeds while everything settles. That's the same area-times-depth math — our Mulch Calculator turns your square footage and depth into yards and bags. Planning the soil and mulch orders together often means one delivery fee instead of two, which on bulk material is real money saved.
Common questions about topsoil
How many bags of topsoil are in a cubic yard?
It depends on bag size. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so it's 27 of the 1-cubic-foot bags, or 36 of the common 0.75-cubic-foot bags, or 18 of the 1.5-cubic-foot bags. Check the bag — the volume is printed on the front. Once you're past about a yard, bulk delivery is almost always cheaper than buying that many bags, even with a delivery fee.
How much does a cubic yard of topsoil weigh?
Roughly 2,000 to 2,200 pounds dry — about a ton — and up to 2,500 to 3,000 pounds when it's wet or has clay in it. That's why a half-ton pickup tops out around one cubic yard of soil despite the bed looking like it could hold more. Plan your dump spot close to the work, because moving a ton of soil by wheelbarrow is genuine labor.
What's the difference between topsoil and fill dirt?
Topsoil is the upper, organic-rich layer that supports plant growth; fill dirt is subsoil with little organic matter, used to build up grade or backfill. Use fill dirt to raise elevation or fill deep voids, and topsoil where you actually want grass or plants to grow. For vegetables, go a step further and use a topsoil-compost blend or bagged garden soil.
Can I put topsoil over my existing lawn to level it?
Only in thin layers. More than about a half inch at once smothers living grass. To level over turf, topdress a quarter to half inch, rake it into the grass, let the lawn grow through, and repeat over a few mowings. For deeper corrections, strip the sod, regrade with topsoil, and reseed or re-sod rather than burying the existing lawn.
The bottom line
Topsoil comes down to one formula and one honest depth: area times depth divided by 324 gives cubic yards, and the depth depends on whether you're topdressing a lawn or filling a raised bed. Order screened soil for anything you'll grow in, keep fill dirt for raising grade, and remember a yard weighs a ton so stage it close to the work. Above a couple of yards, go bulk and save; below one, bags are simpler. Run your numbers through the soil & topsoil calculator and you'll buy the right amount once.