Gravel Calculator
Calculate gravel tonnage and delivery costs for driveways, walkways, and landscaping projects. Regional pricing for all 50 states. Free, no signup.
What a gravel driveway costs: worked national example
A 40 × 20 ft driveway (800 sq ft) in Crushed Stone at 4" deep, delivered, at national baseline pricing — not adjusted for any region. Enter your own dimensions below for a figure matched to your project and ZIP code.
That is 10.86 cubic yards once the standard waste factor is added — 15.21 tons, arriving on 2 truckloads — and roughly 17 hours of spreading and raking if you do it yourself. The free estimate prices the stone and its delivery; it does not price a crew to spread it.
Delivered cost by driveway size and stone type
| Area | Pea Gravel | Crushed Stone | River Rock | Decomposed Granite | Limestone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 × 10 ft200 sq ft | $197 | $184 | $252 | $211 | $189 |
| 30 × 12 ft360 sq ft | $295 | $271 | $393 | $319 | $280 |
| 40 × 20 ft800 sq ft | $639 | $585 | $856 | $693 | $606 |
| 50 × 20 ft1,000 sq ft | $761 | $693 | $1,033 | $829 | $720 |
| 60 × 24 ft1,440 sq ft | $1,030 | $932 | $1,421 | $1,128 | $971 |
| 100 × 12 ft1,200 sq ft | $883 | $802 | $1,209 | $965 | $834 |
For Homeowners: Get a quick cost range with just a few measurements. Perfect for budgeting and comparing contractor quotes.
Assumptions & Sources
Assumptions
- Gravel weight: Varies by type — crushed stone ~2,800 lbs/cu yd, pea gravel ~2,700 lbs/cu yd, river rock ~2,600 lbs/cu yd. Weight affects delivery cost and tonnage calculations.
- Waste factor: 10% added to volume calculations for spreading loss, edge trimming, and settling. Driveway applications may settle 10-15% in the first year.
- Delivery: Based on $75.00 per load for a 10 cu yd dump truck within 20 miles. Long-distance or small-load surcharges may apply.
- Labor: The free estimate prices delivered stone only — no spreading crew. Professional mode adds placement labor as a flat rate per square foot, alongside base prep and compaction, which are quoted as separate lines.
- Regional multiplier: ZIP-code-based adjustment using BLS regional wage data and published construction cost indices applied to both materials and labor.
Last updated: August 2026
Pro Tips from the Field
- Compact in lifts, not all at once: For a 6" base, put down 3", wet it, compact, then add the next 3" and repeat. Compacting the full depth only packs the surface — the bottom stays loose and settles unevenly.
- Geotextile fabric prevents sinking: Without fabric under gravel, it migrates into soft soil over 1-2 years and you're buying another load. The estimate lists fabric as an optional extra rather than folding it into the total — at the roll price it carries, it costs a small fraction of the stone and saves you the full material cost in round two.
- Grade for drainage first: A 2% slope (1/4" per foot) away from structures prevents water pooling. Flat gravel areas become puddle collectors that destroy base compaction.
- Delivery minimums matter: Most suppliers have a 5-10 ton minimum order. If you're under that, you pay the same delivery fee regardless — coordinate with neighbors or order extra for top-dressing.
- Order 10% extra and stash it: Gravel settles 10-15% in the first year, especially in traffic areas. Having a couple of yards on hand for top-dressing beats paying a second delivery fee for a half-load — the estimate charges the same per load whether the truck is full or not.
Related Calculators
- Excavation Calculator — Calculate excavation costs if you need to remove soil before laying your gravel base.
- Asphalt Calculator — Compare asphalt paving costs — many driveways start with a gravel base before paving.
- Concrete Calculator — Estimate concrete costs for borders, curbing, or if you're deciding between concrete and gravel surfaces.
How Gravel Is Priced
Gravel is sold by the cubic yard and delivered by the ton, and the two units are not interchangeable — a cubic yard of river rock and a cubic yard of decomposed granite differ by hundreds of pounds. This calculator works in cubic yards, adds a 10% waste factor, then converts to tons using the density of the stone you picked. On the 40 x 20 ft reference driveway at 4" that is 10.86 cubic yards and 15.21 tons of Crushed Stone.
Be clear about what the free estimate covers: stone plus delivery, and nothing else. It does not price a crew to spread and rake it, base excavation, fabric, edging or compaction — those are Professional-mode lines. That is why the number looks low next to a contractor's driveway quote. On the reference driveway the delivered figure is $585, which is $38.46 per ton or $0.73 per square foot at 4".
Delivery is charged per truckload, not per ton, and that is the single biggest thing people get wrong when they budget a small job. The estimate bills $75.00 for each 10-cubic-yard load or part of a load, so ordering 10.86 yards and ordering a full 20 cost the same in freight. If you are close to a load boundary, order up to it.
Gravel Cost by Stone Type
Stone type is a free input, so every row here is a figure you can reproduce in the calculator above. The material column is the engine's own delivered stone line, read out of the estimate rather than restated from a rate table. The per-ton column is the whole delivered cost divided by the tonnage the engine computed for that stone, which is why it does not track the per-cubic-yard column exactly: heavier stone puts more tons in the same yard.
| Stone type | Stone $/cu yd | Tons needed | Delivered $/ton | Per sq ft | 40 x 20 ft delivered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crushed Stone | $40.06 | 15.21 | $38.46 | $0.73 | $585 |
| Limestone | $41.99 | 15.75 | $38.48 | $0.76 | $606 |
| Pea Gravel | $45.03 | 14.67 | $43.56 | $0.80 | $639 |
| Decomposed Granite | $50.00 | 16.30 | $42.52 | $0.87 | $693 |
| River Rock | $65.01 | 14.12 | $60.62 | $1.07 | $856 |
River rock is the outlier for a reason that has nothing to do with the rock: it is screened, washed and graded for looks, and it is the one product on the list nobody buys by the truckload for a base course. Crushed stone and limestone are the cheapest per ton because they are quarry run through a crusher, and their angular faces are also what makes them lock together under traffic. Pea gravel and river rock are round, which is why they roll out from under tyres and migrate to the edges of a driveway.
Gravel Cost by Depth
Depth is the other free input, and it scales the volume linearly while the delivery fee steps up in whole truckloads. That is why the per-square-foot figure does not rise smoothly: it jumps at each load boundary. Every row is the 40 x 20 ft reference area in Crushed Stone.
| Depth | Cubic yards (with waste) | Tons | Truckloads | Delivered cost | Per sq ft | Spread time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2" | 5.43 | 7.60 | 1 | $292 | $0.37 | 9 hrs |
| 3" | 8.15 | 11.41 | 1 | $401 | $0.50 | 13 hrs |
| 4" | 10.86 | 15.21 | 2 | $585 | $0.73 | 17 hrs |
| 6" | 16.30 | 22.81 | 2 | $802 | $1.00 | 25 hrs |
| 8" | 21.73 | 30.42 | 3 | $1,094 | $1.37 | 33 hrs |
A driveway wants 4 to 6 inches after compaction, laid in lifts rather than in one dump: put down half, wet it, compact it, then add the rest. Running a plate compactor over the full depth in one pass only packs the top — the bottom stays loose and settles into ruts over the first winter. Walkways and decorative beds are fine at 2 to 3 inches; a French drain wants 6 or more.
What You Actually Pay For: 40 x 20 ft Driveway, Line by Line
This is the same 40 x 20 ft driveway worked at the top of the page, broken out the way the supplier will invoice it. The two lines below are the whole of the estimate — they add to the $585 headline exactly, and the build fails if they ever stop doing so.
| Line | Quantity | Unit | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel (Crushed Stone) Materials | 10.86 | cu yd | $40.06 | $435 |
| Delivery Equipment | 2 | loads | $75.00 | $150 |
| Delivered total | $585 | |||
The calculator also lists the things a gravel job usually needs but this estimate does not include, priced separately so they can never inflate the headline:
| Optional item | Quantity | Unit | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape Fabric | 6 | rolls (3x50) | $25.00 | $150 |
| Metal/Plastic Edging | 15 | pieces (8ft) | $10.00 | $150 |
| Landscape Staples | 1 | box (100pc) | $15.00 | $15 |
| Extras, if you buy them | $315 | |||
Gravel Cost by Metro Area
Aggregate is the most freight-sensitive material in construction: it is cheap by the ton and expensive to move, so what varies between markets is mostly the haul from the quarry. These are the complete regional factors this calculator applies — not a selection. Type the ZIP in the second column into the ZIP field above and the calculator will price your own driveway at that factor. The cost column is the same 40 x 20 ft reference driveway, so the rows are comparable to each other and to the national $585 above.
| Metro area | ZIP to enter | Factor | Delivered | Per ton |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area, CA | 94102 | 1.70× | $994 | $65.35 |
| New York City, NY | 10001 | 1.68× | $982 | $64.56 |
| Seattle, WA | 98101 | 1.55× | $906 | $59.57 |
| Boston, MA | 02108 | 1.52× | $889 | $58.45 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 90001 | 1.45× | $848 | $55.75 |
| Hartford, CT | 06101 | 1.40× | $818 | $53.78 |
| San Diego, CA | 92101 | 1.38× | $807 | $53.06 |
| Chicago, IL | 60601 | 1.32× | $772 | $50.76 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 19019 | 1.28× | $748 | $49.18 |
| Portland, OR | 97201 | 1.22× | $713 | $46.88 |
| Denver, CO | 80201 | 1.18× | $690 | $45.36 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | 55401 | 1.14× | $666 | $43.79 |
| Miami, FL | 33101 | 1.12× | $655 | $43.06 |
| Las Vegas, NV | 89101 | 1.08× | $631 | $41.49 |
| Richmond, VA | 23173 | 1.08× | $631 | $41.49 |
| Austin, TX | 78701 | 1.05× | $614 | $40.37 |
| Detroit, MI | 48201 | 1.05× | $614 | $40.37 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 53201 | 1.04× | $608 | $39.97 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 84101 | 1.03× | $602 | $39.58 |
| Atlanta, GA | 30301 | 1.02× | $596 | $39.18 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 85001 | 0.99× | $579 | $38.07 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | 75201 | 0.98× | $573 | $37.67 |
| Raleigh-Durham, NC | 27513 | 0.96× | $561 | $36.88 |
| Houston, TX | 77001 | 0.95× | $555 | $36.49 |
| Kansas City, MO | 64101 | 0.95× | $555 | $36.49 |
| Nashville, TN | 37201 | 0.93× | $544 | $35.77 |
| Columbus, OH | 43001 | 0.92× | $538 | $35.37 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 46201 | 0.90× | $526 | $34.58 |
The factor scales the delivery charge as well as the stone, which is the right behaviour: a truck hour in the Bay Area is not a truck hour in Kansas City. If your ZIP is not in this list the calculator prices at the national baseline rather than guessing at a factor it does not have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Construction Cost Estimation FAQs
At 4 inches deep in Crushed Stone, a 40 by 20 foot driveway needs 10.86 cubic yards once the 10 percent waste factor is added, which is 15.21 tons. That arrives on 2 truckloads. Tonnage depends on the stone: the same driveway takes 15.21 tons of Crushed Stone, 15.75 tons of Limestone, 14.67 tons of Pea Gravel, 16.30 tons of Decomposed Granite, 14.12 tons of River Rock, because a cubic yard of one weighs several hundred pounds more than a cubic yard of another.
On the 40 x 20 ft reference driveway this calculator delivers Crushed Stone at $38.46 per ton and River Rock at $60.62 per ton, at national baseline pricing. Those figures are the whole delivered cost — stone plus freight — divided by the tonnage, so they already carry the $75.00 per truckload the estimate charges. On a small job that freight is a large share of the bill, which is why the per-ton figure falls as the order grows.
A 40 by 20 foot driveway — 800 square feet — in Crushed Stone at 4 inches comes to $585 delivered at national baseline pricing, in a band of $422 to $748. That is $0.73 per square foot. Read that figure carefully: it is stone and delivery only. It does not include excavating the base, geotextile fabric, edging, compaction or a crew to spread it — those are priced in Professional mode. Spreading 10.86 cubic yards by hand is about 17 hours of work.
Four to six inches after compaction, laid in lifts rather than in one dump. On the 40 x 20 ft reference driveway this calculator prices 2 inches at $292, 3 inches at $401, 4 inches at $585, 6 inches at $802, 8 inches at $1,094 — so the step from 4 to 6 inches costs $217 more and buys you a base that will not rut. Put down half the depth, wet it, compact it, then add the rest. Running a compactor over the full depth in one pass only packs the surface; the bottom stays loose and settles unevenly over the first winter. Walkways and decorative beds are fine at 2 to 3 inches.
This calculator bills $75.00 per 10 cubic yard load, or part of a load — the reference driveway pays $150 in freight against $435 of stone. Because it is charged per load rather than per ton, a part-load costs the same as a full one, so if you are just over a boundary it is worth ordering up to it. Self-hauling rarely wins: a half-ton pickup legally carries under half a cubic yard of wet stone, which is 22 trips for this driveway.
This calculator carries 28 metro factors. The same 40 x 20 ft reference driveway runs $994 in San Francisco Bay Area, CA at 1.70x and $526 in Indianapolis, IN at 0.90x, against $585 at the national baseline. Aggregate is the most freight-sensitive material in construction, so most of that spread is the haul from the quarry rather than the rock. The table on this page lists every metro with a ZIP you can type into the calculator; if your ZIP is not in it, the estimate prices at the national baseline rather than guessing.
For a driveway, angular stone. Crushed Stone is both the cheapest here at $585 delivered for the reference driveway and the right product, because crusher-run faces lock together under traffic. River Rock is the most expensive at $856 — a difference of $271 — and it is a decorative product: rounded stone rolls out from under tyres and migrates to the edges. Use pea gravel and river rock for beds, dry creek runs and paths, not for anything you park on.
Gravel Calculator by State
Get gravel cost estimates with state-specific regional pricing: