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How Much Does a Yard of Concrete Weigh?
A cubic yard of standard concrete weighs about 4,050 pounds — just over 2 tons. That's the quick answer. The useful answers depend on what you're doing: ordering a truck, hauling bags, sizing a dumpster for demolition, or checking whether a floor can carry a slab. Here are all of them.
Quick reference table
| Measure | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1 cubic yard, standard mix (wet) | ~4,050 lbs (2.02 tons) |
| 1 cubic yard, fully cured | ~3,900 lbs |
| 1 cubic foot | ~150 lbs |
| 1 cubic yard, broken rubble (loose) | ~2,000–2,400 lbs |
| 1 sq ft of 4" slab | ~50 lbs |
| 1 sq ft of 6" slab | ~75 lbs |
| 80 lb bag (mixed yield 0.6 cu ft) | ~90 lbs placed |
| Lightweight concrete, per cu yd | ~2,400–3,100 lbs |
Where 4,050 lbs comes from
Standard concrete — the normal mix of Portland cement, sand, gravel, and water — has a density of roughly 150 pounds per cubic foot. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet:
Real-world mixes range from about 140 to 155 lb/ft³ depending on the aggregate. Reinforced concrete with rebar runs slightly heavier (rebar is denser than the stone it displaces); lightweight structural mixes using expanded shale can drop to 90–115 lb/ft³.
Wet vs. cured: barely any difference
A common assumption is that concrete gets much lighter as it dries. It doesn't. Curing is a chemical reaction (hydration) that binds most of the mix water into the concrete permanently — only the excess evaporates. A yard placed at 4,050 lbs wet weighs roughly 3,900 lbs cured, a loss of just 3–5%.
Practical upshot: if a structure needs to hold a concrete slab or planter, design for the wet weight. It never meaningfully goes away.
What this means when ordering a truck
A standard ready-mix truck carries 8–10 cubic yards. Fully loaded, the truck weighs 66,000–70,000 lbs — around 35 tons. That's why:
- Trucks stay on the street, never on your driveway or lawn (a residential driveway is rated for cars, not 35-ton vehicles).
- Anything beyond chute reach (~16 ft) needs a pump, wheelbarrows, or a smaller trailer load.
- Know your yardage before calling — use the Concrete Cost & Yardage Calculator — because short-load fees apply under 3–4 yards.
Broken concrete: the demolition math
Tearing out a slab? Broken concrete takes up more space than solid concrete because of air gaps between chunks — figure 2,000–2,400 lbs per loose cubic yard of rubble, and about 1.4–1.5 loose yards per solid yard removed.
Example: removing a 10 × 20 ft, 4-inch patio. Solid volume = 200 × 0.333 ÷ 27 = 2.47 cu yd, weighing about 10,000 lbs (5 tons). That fills most of a 10-yard dumpster's weight limit while barely covering its floor — which is why dumpster companies sell "concrete-only" boxes with low fill lines.
Weight per square foot (for decks, floors & planters)
At 150 lb/ft³, concrete adds 12.5 lbs per square foot for every inch of thickness:
| Slab thickness | Weight per sq ft |
|---|---|
| 2 in (overlay/topping) | 25 lbs |
| 4 in (patio, sidewalk) | 50 lbs |
| 5 in (driveway) | 62.5 lbs |
| 6 in (garage, RV pad) | 75 lbs |
This is why you can't pour a "thin concrete floor" over a wood-framed deck without an engineer — 50 lbs/sq ft of dead load exceeds what typical residential framing is designed to carry. Check thickness standards in How Thick Should a Concrete Slab Be?
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cubic yard of concrete weigh?
About 4,050 lbs — just over 2 tons — at the standard density of 150 lbs per cubic foot.
Does concrete weigh less after it cures?
Only 3–5% less. Most mix water bonds chemically into the concrete during curing; a 4,050-lb wet yard cures to roughly 3,900 lbs.
How much does a fully loaded concrete truck weigh?
66,000–70,000 lbs for a 10-yard load — which is why trucks never drive on residential driveways or near septic fields.
How much does broken concrete weigh?
About 2,000–2,400 lbs per loose cubic yard of rubble. A solid yard of slab becomes roughly 1.4–1.5 loose yards when broken up.
How much does a 4-inch slab weigh per square foot?
About 50 lbs per square foot — 12.5 lbs per square foot per inch of thickness.