[Free tools](https://rebulk.com/tools)

# Bulk Material Density Chart

Loose bulk densities for 18 common bulk materials in lb/yd³, tons/yd³, and kg/m³, plus typical angles of repose. Bulk density is the weight of material per unit volume as it sits in a pile, voids included, and it's the number that turns a measured volume into tonnage.

| Material | lb/yd³ (loose) | tons/yd³ | kg/m³ | Angle of repose |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gravel | 2,800 | 1.40 | 1,661 | ~34° |
| Pea gravel | 2,600 | 1.30 | 1,543 | ~30° |
| Crushed stone | 2,700 | 1.35 | 1,602 | ~37° |
| Limestone (crushed) | 2,600 | 1.30 | 1,543 | ~38° |
| Sand (dry) | 2,700 | 1.35 | 1,602 | ~34° |
| Sand (wet) | 3,200 | 1.60 | 1,899 | ~25° |
| Topsoil | 2,000 | 1.00 | 1,187 | ~35° |
| Fill dirt | 2,200 | 1.10 | 1,305 | ~35° |
| Asphalt millings | 2,400 | 1.20 | 1,424 | ~35° |
| Concrete (crushed) | 2,400 | 1.20 | 1,424 | ~37° |
| Road salt | 2,000 | 1.00 | 1,187 | ~32° |
| Coal (bituminous) | 1,500 | 0.75 | 890 | ~35° |
| Corn (shelled) | 1,215 | 0.61 | 721 | ~23° |
| Wheat | 1,300 | 0.65 | 771 | ~27° |
| Soybeans | 1,250 | 0.63 | 742 | ~26° |
| Wood chips | 550 | 0.28 | 326 | ~45° |
| Mulch | 700 | 0.35 | 415 | ~40° |
| Compost | 1,000 | 0.50 | 593 | ~40° |

## How to use bulk density

tonnage = volume (yd³) × density (lb/yd³) ÷ 2,000 · kg/m³ = lb/yd³ × 0.5933

Every inventory conversion between volume and weight runs through bulk density, which is why the same 1,000 yd³ pile can be 1,400 tons of gravel or 275 tons of wood chips. Values here are loose, uncompacted planning figures: moisture, gradation, and compaction can move them 20% or more, so use your own scale-ticket densities when precision matters. To run the conversion directly, use the [cubic yards to tons calculator](https://rebulk.com/tools/cubic-yards-to-tons), or start from pile dimensions with the [stockpile volume calculator](https://rebulk.com/tools/stockpile-calculator).

## Angle of repose, briefly

The angle of repose is the steepest slope a loose material naturally holds. It sets the shape of freestanding piles (and therefore their volume for a given footprint), sizes hopper and chute walls, and explains why wood chips stack tall and narrow while wet sand slumps wide. Most aggregates and grains fall between 25° and 40°.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is bulk density?

Bulk density is the mass of a granular material per unit of volume as it actually sits, including the air between particles. It's always lower than the solid particle density: crushed limestone rock is ~2,600 kg/m³ solid, but a loose pile of it runs ~1,550 kg/m³ because roughly 40% of the pile is void space.

### What is the difference between loose and compacted bulk density?

Loose bulk density describes freshly dumped, uncompacted material; compacted (or tapped) density describes the same material after vibration, traffic, or settling, and typically runs 10–25% higher. Inventory measurements of stockpiles should use loose density unless the pile is old and trafficked.

### How do you convert bulk density between lb/yd³ and kg/m³?

Multiply lb/yd³ by 0.5933 to get kg/m³, or multiply kg/m³ by 1.686 to get lb/yd³. To get US tons per cubic yard, divide lb/yd³ by 2,000.

### Why does measured tonnage differ from the density chart?

Moisture is the usual culprit: wet sand weighs roughly 20% more than dry. Gradation, compaction, and material source move values too. Chart densities are planning figures; scale tickets from your own material are the ground truth, and Rebulk uses your ticket-derived densities when converting measured volumes to tonnage.

## More free tools

Cubic Yards ↔ Tons Converter

Run the density conversion both directions.

[Read more](https://rebulk.com/tools/cubic-yards-to-tons)

Stockpile Volume Calculator

Volume and tonnage from pile dimensions.

[Read more](https://rebulk.com/tools/stockpile-calculator)

GSD Calculator

Ground sample distance for drone mapping flights.

[Read more](https://rebulk.com/tools/gsd-calculator)

## A chart guesses your density. Rebulk learns it.

Rebulk converts measured volume through your real, ticket-derived densities instead of chart averages, and goes a level deeper with packing-factor and void-fraction analysis: how much of the pile is material and how much is air. For irregular materials like logs, chips, and baled biomass, that's the difference between a number and the truth.

[See how Rebulk measures](https://rebulk.com/products/inventory) [How Charm measures biomass](https://rebulk.com/customer-stories/charm-industrial)

---

Source: https://rebulk.com/tools/bulk-density-chart