Fill Dirt Calculator for Leveling
Fill dirt is what to use when a level has to come up more than a few inches, at about 1,800–2,200 lb per cubic yard.
Work out what you need
Measure the area, set the depth, and this converts it to cubic yards, what it weighs on the truck, how many bags that replaces, and roughly what it should cost delivered.
Weight is quoted as a band because moisture moves it more than grade does — fill dirt after heavy rain runs to about 130% of its dry weight. The delivered range starts from a published $5–25 per cubic yard and is scaled by how your region's material prices compare with the national average, so treat it as a sanity check and not a quote.
Get a real price from yards near youNot leveling low spots? The fill dirt guide covers every other job.
Why 1–3 inches for leveling low spots
Fill is cheaper than topsoil and it compacts rather than settling unevenly, which is what you want under a level you intend to keep.
What goes wrong
Cap it. Nothing grows in fill dirt, so finish with four to six inches of topsoil anywhere that has to be planted or seeded.
Nothing grows in it. Use it to bring a level up, then cap it with topsoil for anything that has to be planted.
Fill Dirt by the numbers
| Weight per cubic yard | 1,800–2,200 lb dry |
|---|---|
| Tons per cubic yard | about 1 |
| Bags in a cubic yard | 54 × 0.5 cu ft bags |
| Half-ton pickup, one trip | about 0.5 cubic yards |
| Usually priced by the | cubic yard |
| Typical delivered price | $5–25 per cubic yard |
Fill dirt is the unprocessed subsoil under topsoil — heavier, denser and with no organic matter to speak of.