You need
- 10.0cu ft
- 0.28m³
- 18bags of 50 lb
- You need 0.37 cubic yards of concrete sand to cover 120 sq ft, 1 in deep.
- Damp sand weighs about 0.5 tons. Dry to wet, it is 0.4 to 0.6.
- It costs about $14 to $27 at the yard. Delivery is extra. Call a sand yard for the real price.
- In bags, get 18 bags of 50 lb.
Text this to a sand and gravel yard
Hi! I need about 0.5 tons (0.37 cubic yards) of concrete sand, delivered. What would it cost, with delivery?
Sand for each job
- Under paversConcrete sand, 1 in2.5 cm deep, smoothed flat. Source: Unilock Basic Tech Guide, January 2024
- SandboxPlay sand is washed and fine. Pick the depth your kids need.
- Filling and levelingFill sand is the cheapest. Turn on I will pack it down if you pack it.
- Mortar and fine levelingMason sand is fine and even. It costs more.
Polymeric sand for paver joints
Polymeric sand fills the cracks between pavers and gets hard when wet. You buy it by the bag, by how many square feet of pavers you have.
For your 120 sq ft: 2 to 2 bags of 50 lb.
Alliance Gator, G2 Maxx: a 50 lb bag covers 65 to 85 sq ft with narrow joints, 22 to 42 sq ft with wide joints. Other brands differ. Check the bag.
Sand prices by state
At the pit, sand and gravel costs the most in Hawaii and the least in North Dakota. Hawaii pays about 5 times as much.
| Hawaii$49 to $75 a ton | $36.57 | +162% | $49 to $75 |
| Maryland$34 to $60 a ton | $21.54 | +54% | $34 to $60 |
| Tennessee$33 to $59 a ton | $21.37 | +53% | $33 to $59 |
| Rhode Island$32 to $58 a ton | $19.98 | +43% | $32 to $58 |
| Florida$30 to $56 a ton | $18.45 | +32% | $30 to $56 |
| California$30 to $56 a ton | $18.27 | +31% | $30 to $56 |
| Virginia$30 to $56 a ton | $18.17 | +30% | $30 to $56 |
| Arizona$29 to $55 a ton | $17.35 | +24% | $29 to $55 |
| New York$29 to $55 a ton | $17.18 | +23% | $29 to $55 |
| New Mexico$29 to $55 a ton | $17.00 | +22% | $29 to $55 |
| Connecticut$29 to $55 a ton | $16.68 | +19% | $29 to $55 |
| Utah$28 to $54 a ton | $16.33 | +17% | $28 to $54 |
| Oregon$28 to $54 a ton | $16.23 | +16% | $28 to $54 |
| Texas$28 to $54 a ton | $15.89 | +14% | $28 to $54 |
| Massachusetts$28 to $54 a ton | $15.58 | +11% | $28 to $54 |
| Washington$28 to $54 a ton | $15.50 | +11% | $28 to $54 |
| New Hampshire$27 to $53 a ton | $15.34 | +10% | $27 to $53 |
| Louisiana$27 to $53 a ton | $14.68 | +5% | $27 to $53 |
| Colorado$27 to $53 a ton | $14.63 | +5% | $27 to $53 |
| Alabama$26 to $52 a ton | $14.13 | +1% | $26 to $52 |
| Nebraska$26 to $52 a ton | $14.10 | +1% | $26 to $52 |
| Montana$26 to $52 a ton | $13.74 | -2% | $26 to $52 |
| Ohio$26 to $52 a ton | $13.71 | -2% | $26 to $52 |
| Arkansas$26 to $52 a ton | $13.57 | -3% | $26 to $52 |
| Indiana$25 to $51 a ton | $13.32 | -5% | $25 to $51 |
| Vermont$25 to $51 a ton | $13.20 | -6% | $25 to $51 |
| Pennsylvania$25 to $51 a ton | $13.13 | -6% | $25 to $51 |
| Alaska$25 to $51 a ton | $12.75 | -9% | $25 to $51 |
| Oklahoma$25 to $51 a ton | $12.75 | -9% | $25 to $51 |
| New Jersey$24 to $50 a ton | $12.40 | -11% | $24 to $50 |
| Missouri$24 to $50 a ton | $11.96 | -14% | $24 to $50 |
| Illinois$24 to $50 a ton | $11.95 | -15% | $24 to $50 |
| Georgia$24 to $50 a ton | $11.80 | -16% | $24 to $50 |
| West Virginia$24 to $50 a ton | $11.70 | -16% | $24 to $50 |
| Kentucky$24 to $50 a ton | $11.53 | -18% | $24 to $50 |
| Mississippi$23 to $49 a ton | $11.32 | -19% | $23 to $49 |
| Kansas$23 to $49 a ton | $11.29 | -19% | $23 to $49 |
| Wyoming$23 to $49 a ton | $11.23 | -20% | $23 to $49 |
| South Carolina$23 to $49 a ton | $11.08 | -21% | $23 to $49 |
| Iowa$23 to $49 a ton | $11.02 | -21% | $23 to $49 |
| Maine$23 to $49 a ton | $10.95 | -22% | $23 to $49 |
| Nevada$23 to $49 a ton | $10.85 | -22% | $23 to $49 |
| North Carolina$22 to $48 a ton | $10.27 | -27% | $22 to $48 |
| Delaware$22 to $48 a ton | $9.87 | -29% | $22 to $48 |
| Michigan$21 to $47 a ton | $8.75 | -37% | $21 to $47 |
| Wisconsin$21 to $47 a ton | $8.69 | -38% | $21 to $47 |
| Idaho$21 to $47 a ton | $8.66 | -38% | $21 to $47 |
| South Dakota$21 to $47 a ton | $8.57 | -39% | $21 to $47 |
| Minnesota$20 to $46 a ton | $7.83 | -44% | $20 to $46 |
| North Dakota$19 to $45 a ton | $7.36 | -47% | $19 to $45 |
Pit prices are for construction sand and gravel, from the US Geological Survey for 2023, brought up to September 2026 with the producer price index. The price is the US price that yards post for this sand, moved up or down by the state's pit price. Delivery is extra.
How much a yard of sand weighs
Water makes sand heavier. Sand from a yard is usually damp.
| Sand | 1 cubic yard1 cubic meter | TonsMetric tons |
|---|---|---|
| Dry | 2,400 lb1,424 kg | 1.201.42 |
| Damp | 2,850 lb1,691 kg | 1.431.69 |
| Wet | 3,100 lb1,839 kg | 1.551.84 |
A 50 lb bag of dry sand holds about 0.56 cu ft16 liters. So a cubic yard is about 48 bags.
Caterpillar earthwork tables, January 2025, loose sand.
How the math works
- Area. Length times width. For a circle, half the width times itself, times 3.1416. One meter is 3.28084 feet.
- Size of the pile. Area in sq ft times depth in inches, divided by 12, gives cubic feet. Cubic feet divided by 27 gives cubic yards.
- Packing it down. Caterpillar says sand packs to 0.89 of its loose size. So you buy 1.124 times as much.
- Weight. Cubic yards times Caterpillar's weight: 2,400 lb dry, 2,850 lb damp, 3,100 lb wet. The big number is damp.
- Bags. Bagged sand is dry, so we count bags by dry weight. Pounds divided by the bag weight, rounded up.
- Price. We looked at prices that landscape yards post on their own sites, in October 2026. We leave out the cheapest and dearest tenth. Some yards price by the cubic yard, so we turn that into tons with damp sand. Then we move the price up or down by your state's pit price for sand and gravel (USGS). Too few yards post a price for play sand, so type yours. Delivery is extra.
Questions
How much does a cubic yard of sand weigh?
About 2,850 lb (1.43 tons) when damp. Dry sand is 2,400 lb. Wet sand is 3,100 lb. These are from Caterpillar.
How many cubic yards are in a ton of sand?
About 0.70 cubic yards of damp sand. Dry sand is lighter, so a ton of it is 0.83 cubic yards.
How many bags of play sand do I need?
Find the cubic feet, then count about 0.56 cu ft per 50 lb bag. A cubic yard of sand is about 48 bags.
How much is a ton of sand?
Fill sand is about $18 to $45 a ton. Concrete sand is $26 to $52. Mason sand is $43 to $68. These are what landscape yards post (October 2026). Too few yards post a play sand price. Delivery adds about $40 to $140.
How much sand goes under pavers?
A 1 inch layer of coarse concrete sand, says Unilock. For 100 sq ft, that is about 8.3 cu ft, or 0.31 cubic yards.
How much polymeric sand do I need?
One 50 lb bag of Alliance Gator G2 Maxx covers 65 to 85 sq ft of pavers with narrow joints. With wide joints, it covers 22 to 42 sq ft.
Sources
- Caterpillar earthwork tablesJan 2025Weight of dry, damp and wet sand, and how much it packs down
- US Geological Survey, aggregates2023 dataSand and gravel price at the pit in each state
- BLS producer price index WPU1321to September 2026How pit prices changed since 2023
- Unilock Basic Tech GuideJan 20241 inch of sand under pavers
- Alliance Gator, polymeric sand jobread Oct 2026How far a bag of polymeric sand goes