5 cubic yards of mulch at 3 inches
A typical bulk delivery for the beds around a house.
5 yd³ × 324 ÷ 3 in = 540 ft²
That is enough for a bed 4 feet wide and 135 feet long.
Cubic Yards to Square Feet Converter
Multiply the cubic yards by 324, then divide by the depth in inches. One cubic yard covers 108 square feet at 3 inches deep.
How to Convert Cubic Yards to Square Feet
A cubic yard is a fixed amount of material. Spread it thin and it covers a lot of ground; pile it deep and it covers much less. That is why coverage always needs a depth.
Square feet = cubic yards × 324 ÷ depth (in)
Square yards = square feet ÷ 9
Square meters = square feet × 0.0929
One cubic yard, the unit at the heart of CY Calculator, is 27 cubic feet. Laid 1 inch deep, which is one twelfth of a foot, it covers 27 × 12 = 324 square feet. Every extra inch of depth divides that coverage again: half as much at 2 inches, a third at 3.
Cubic Yard Coverage Chart
How far one cubic yard goes at common depths.
| Depth | Square feet | Square yards | Square meters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 in | 324 ft² | 36 yd² | 30.1 m² |
| 2 in | 162 ft² | 18 yd² | 15.05 m² |
| 3 in | 108 ft² | 12 yd² | 10.03 m² |
| 4 in | 81 ft² | 9 yd² | 7.53 m² |
| 6 in | 54 ft² | 6 yd² | 5.02 m² |
| 12 in | 27 ft² | 3 yd² | 2.51 m² |
Coverage for Common Delivery Sizes
| Cubic yards | 2 in deep | 3 in deep | 4 in deep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 162 ft² | 108 ft² | 81 ft² |
| 2 | 324 ft² | 216 ft² | 162 ft² |
| 3 | 486 ft² | 324 ft² | 243 ft² |
| 5 | 810 ft² | 540 ft² | 405 ft² |
| 10 | 1,620 ft² | 1,080 ft² | 810 ft² |
| 15 | 2,430 ft² | 1,620 ft² | 1,215 ft² |
The guide on how much area a cubic yard covers has the same figures by material, with tips on depth for each one.
Cubic Yards to Square Feet Examples
2 cubic yards of topsoil at 6 inches
Building up a low patch of lawn before seeding.
2 yd³ × 324 ÷ 6 in = 108 ft²
About a 10 by 10.8 foot patch.
Already know the area and need the yards instead? Use the square feet to cubic yards converter, or the mulch calculator for bag counts too.
Cubic Yards to Square Feet FAQ
How deep will my delivery be if I spread it over a known area?
Multiply the cubic yards by 324 and divide by the square feet. Three cubic yards spread over 400 square feet comes to 3 × 324 ÷ 400 = 2.43 inches deep.
How many square yards does a cubic yard cover?
36 square yards at 1 inch deep, 12 at 3 inches and 9 at 4 inches. Sod is often priced by the square yard, so this helps when you buy soil and sod together.
How many square feet is 10 cubic yards?
At 3 inches deep, 10 cubic yards covers 1,080 square feet. At 4 inches it covers 810, and at 6 inches 540.
Is coverage the same for every material?
The arithmetic is, because it only uses volume and depth. On the ground, gravel and soil settle once they are raked and packed, so the finished layer can come out a little thinner than planned. Order slightly more if the depth matters.
More Converters
Need it the other way round? Use the square feet to cubic yards converter. To work out the volume of a whole bed, slab or trench first, the cubic yard calculator handles nine shapes and any mix of units.
- Cubic Yards to Tonsyd³ → tonsWeight of gravel, sand, soil, mulch or concrete from its volume.
- Tons to Cubic Yardstons → yd³How much space a weight of material fills, by material.
- Square Feet to Cubic Yardsft² → yd³Cubic yards to order for an area spread at a chosen depth.
- Cubic Feet to Cubic Yardsft³ → yd³Divide by 27: bag sizes and small volumes in yards.
- Cubic Yards to Cubic Feetyd³ → ft³Multiply by 27: a delivery in cubic feet or bags.
- Cubic Yards to Cubic Metersyd³ → m³US yards to metric volume, with liters.
- Cubic Meters to Cubic Yardsm³ → yd³Metric volume to US yards, for quotes and plans.