A cubic yard is a cube measuring 3 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet tall. That equals 27 cubic feet or 0.7646 cubic meters. Imagine a washing machine-sized box — that’s one cubic yard.

Cubic Yard Size Chart & Conversions

• 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet
• 1 cubic yard ≈ 0.7646 cubic meters
• 1 cubic yard ≈ 764.6 liters
• 1 cubic yard ≈ 202 U.S. gallons

For reference, see Wikipedia’s cubic yard article for official definitions.

How Much Area Does a Cubic Yard Cover?

Here’s what a cubic yard of material covers depending on depth:

• 3 inches deep → covers about 100 sq. ft.
• 2 inches deep → covers about 150 sq. ft.
• 6 inches deep → covers about 50 sq. ft.

Average Weight by Material

• Topsoil: 2,000–2,400 lb
• Gravel or stone: 2,700–3,000 lb
• Sand: 2,600–3,000 lb
• Mulch: 400–800 lb

Example of Yard Measurement

If your garden bed is 12 ft × 4 ft and 3 inches deep, the volume is (12 × 4 × 0.25) ÷ 27 = 0.44 cubic yards. This helps you plan exactly how much soil or mulch to buy.

Try Our Free Cubic Yard Calculator

If you want to use a free cubic yard calculator, click here to calculate soil, gravel, or mulch volume instantly.

Visualizing Yard Volume

To picture it simply, think of a waist-high cube roughly the size of a large home appliance. That’s your cubic yard — compact, but full of potential for any outdoor project.

For more details on measurement units, visit Britannica’s yard measurement guide.