Asphalt Calculator

1. Pick US or metric units and the shape. Enter length and width, a diameter, or a total area you already know.
2. Enter the compacted thickness and the compacted density of the mix. Keep 147 lb per cubic foot unless your plant gives another figure.
3. Set a waste allowance. Add a truck load, a base depth or a mix price to see truckloads, base volume and material cost.

Here is what each result means:

An asphalt calculator is a quantity tool that converts the size of a paved area into the weight of hot mix asphalt needed to cover it. Hot mix asphalt is a blend of stone, sand and asphalt binder. Plants sell it by weight, so the answer has to be in tons.

The tool links three things: area, compacted thickness and density. Area times thickness gives volume. Volume times density gives weight. Contractors, estimators, road crews and homeowners use that chain to place an order, check a delivery ticket or review a quote.

It is a quantity tool, not a pricing tool. It holds no built-in prices and no regional cost data. For a full budget with prep and labour rates, use the asphalt driveway cost calculator.

The formula multiplies compacted volume by compacted density, then divides by the weight of one ton.

1. Area. A rectangle is length times width. A circle is 3.1416 times the diameter squared, divided by 4.
2. Volume. Dividing inches by 12 turns thickness into feet. Area times that thickness gives cubic feet. Dividing by 27 gives cubic yards.
3. Weight. Cubic feet times density gives pounds. A Penn State paving course treats 110 pounds per square yard per inch and 147 pounds per cubic foot as the same planning value.
4. Tons. Dividing pounds by 2,000 gives short tons. In metric mode, kilograms divided by 1,000 give tonnes.

Density and yield are two views of one number. A square yard one inch thick holds 0.75 cubic feet, so yield in pounds per square yard per inch equals density times 0.75. At 147 pounds per cubic foot, the yield is 110.25.

An access road. Take a road 100 ft long and 24 ft wide, paved 3 inches thick. Area is 2,400 sq ft. Volume is 2,400 x 3 / 12 = 600 cubic feet, or 22.22 cubic yards. Weight is 600 x 147 = 88,200 lb, which is 44.1 tons. With 5 percent waste, order 46.31 tons, or 3 truckloads of 20 tons.

A parking lot, checked against a published answer. The Penn State handout works a 150 x 300 ft lot at 3 inches and gets 825 tons from 110 pounds per square yard per inch. This formula gives 45,000 x 3 / 12 x 147 / 2,000 = 826.88 tons. The two agree within 0.3 percent, because 147 is the rounded form of 146.67.

A small patch. A 10 x 12 ft patch at 2 inches is 20 cubic feet. 20 x 147 = 2,940 lb, or 1.47 tons.

A metric lane. A 30 x 6 m lane at 5 cm is 9 cubic metres. At 2,355 kg per cubic metre that is 21.2 tonnes.

Thickness and density move the answer in direct proportion. Three other points change the amount you should order.

Compacted Thickness

Tonnage rises in step with thickness. Going from 2 to 3 inches adds 50 percent more mix. Enter the finished thickness after rolling, because the loose mat behind the paver is thicker.

Mix Density

Density depends on the mix design and on how well the mat is compacted. The Penn State example starts from a maximum density of 156 pounds per cubic foot and 94 percent compaction, which gives 146.64. Illinois DOT plans use 112 pounds per square yard per inch, equal to 149.33 pounds per cubic foot. That is 1.6 percent more mix than the 147 default.

Uneven Base

Low spots in the base fill with asphalt. The formula assumes one even thickness, so a rough base needs a larger waste allowance.

Shape and Edges

Curves, flares and tapered edges add area that a simple rectangle misses. Split an odd shape into parts, add the areas and use the Known area option.

Short Tons Versus Tonnes

A US short ton is 2,000 lb and a tonne is 1,000 kg. One tonne equals about 1.1023 short tons. The 44.1 tons in the road example is 40.01 tonnes. The tons to pounds converter helps when a plant ticket is in pounds.

A tonnage tool answers how much mix to order. A cost tool answers what the finished job will cost. This table shows which page fits each task.

Tonnage also depends on thickness more than anything else. At 147 pounds per cubic foot, one ton covers these areas:

Ordering Mix from a Plant

Plants load by the ton. Enter the area and thickness, add waste, and give the plant the order figure and the number of truckloads.

Checking a Contractor Quote

A quote lists tons. Enter the same size and thickness. A quoted tonnage far above or below the result is a reason to ask which thickness and density the contractor used.

Checking Yield During Paving

Crews compare tons placed with area covered. The spread rate result shows the target in pounds per square yard for your thickness.

Planning the Base

Add a base depth to get the stone volume under the same area. The sand and aggregate calculator turns that volume into tons of stone. For a concrete slab over the same area, the concrete calculator gives cubic yards.

1. Using 2.4 Tons per Cubic Yard

The figure 2.4 is close to tonnes per cubic metre, not tons per cubic yard. At 147 pounds per cubic foot, a cubic yard weighs 1.98 short tons. Using 2.4 overstates the order by about 21 percent.

2. Entering Loose Depth

Asphalt is rolled down after it is placed. Loose depth overstates the tonnage.

3. Leaving Thickness in Inches Inside a Feet Formula

Three inches is 0.25 ft. Forgetting to divide by 12 makes the answer 12 times too large.

4. Mixing Unit Systems

A density of 147 in metric mode, or 2,355 in US mode, gives a wild result. The verdict band flags both cases.

5. Confusing Tons with Tonnes

A tonne is about 10 percent heavier than a short ton. Check which unit the plant ticket uses.

6. Skipping the Waste Allowance

The net figure covers a perfect mat on a perfect base. Real jobs lose mix at edges, joints and low spots.

The arithmetic is exact for the numbers entered. The result is only as good as the density and thickness you supply.

About 1.98 short tons, or 3,969 lb, at a compacted density of 147 lb per cubic foot. The exact weight depends on the mix.

At 147 lb per cubic foot, one ton covers about 81.6 square feet at 2 inches thick and about 54.4 square feet at 3 inches.

Use the figure from your asphalt plant when you have it. Without one, 147 lb per cubic foot, or 2,355 kg per cubic metre, is a common planning value.

Divide by 0.75. A yield of 110 lb per square yard per inch equals 146.67 lb per cubic foot, and 112 equals 149.33.

It depends on the truck and on state load limits, so ask the plant. A Penn State course example uses 20 tons per truck, which is why 20 is the example value here.

Pick the circle shape and enter the diameter. The area is 3.1416 x diameter squared / 4. A 40 ft circle is 1,256.64 sq ft.

It gives the base volume when you enter a base depth. It does not convert that volume to tons, because stone density varies by material.

There is no fixed standard. The waste field is your choice, and your contractor or plant can suggest an allowance for the job.

Most differences come from the density. A tool that assumes a heavier mix, or mixes up tonnes per cubic metre with tons per cubic yard, returns a larger number.

No. The calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is sent to our servers, and anything you Save stays in this browser only.

• Superpave field course handout: 110 lb per square yard per inch or 147 lb per cubic foot, with worked tonnage examples (Penn State, Northeast Center of Excellence for Pavement Technology, 2025).
• Illinois DOT plan notes: hot-mix asphalt quantities at 112 lb per square yard per inch (Illinois Department of Transportation, 2019 letting).
• NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C: units of mass, area and volume (National Institute of Standards and Technology).