Asphalt calculator
This asphalt calculator turns the size and compacted depth of a driveway, lot or lane into the tons of hot mix to order. The density it used is printed under every answer.
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- Area 1ftftin
Order
19.03 US tons
18.13 tons laid + 5% extra. That’s 17.26 metric tons.
For 1,000 ft² at 3 in compacted.
- Truckloads
- 2 at 15 tons (last one 4.03 tons)
- Material cost
- Add your plant’s price per ton to see it
- Area
- 1,000 ft² (111.1 yd²)
- Volume
- 9.26 yd³ (250 ft³)
- Spread rate
- 326 lb/yd² at 3 in
- Paver setting
- about 3¾ in loose rolls to 3 in (25% rolldown)
Density used: 145 lb/ft³ = 108.8 lb/yd² per inch = 2,323 kg/m³.
Report a problem or suggest an improvement. What we store
How thick?
Take the depth from your contractor’s spec or the local agency’s standard. For home driveways that carry cars, light trucks and the odd delivery truck, the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association recommends these minimums, in inches:3
| Subgrade | Full depth | Asphalt | + Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poor | 5.5 | 3 | 6 |
| Fair | 4.5 | 3 | 4 |
| Good | 4.5 | 3 | 4 |
An overlay on a sound old driveway is typically 1.5 to 2 inches of surface mix. Parking lots and roads carry heavier traffic and are built to an engineer’s section. Only the asphalt layers go into the calculator; the gravel base is a different material.
Poor subgrade
Fair or good
Full-depth, poor
Full-depth, fair
How the asphalt calculator works
Asphalt is bought by weight, so everything comes back to tons. The calculator finds the area, multiplies by the finished depth to get volume, and multiplies that by the density of compacted mix.
For the example already loaded above, a 50 × 20 ft driveway at 3 inches: 1,000 ft² × 0.25 ft = 250 ft³, and 250 × 145 lb = 36,250 lb, which is 18.13 tons. With 5% extra the order is 19.03 tons.
Other shapes
A circle is π × (diameter ÷ 2)², a triangle is base × height ÷ 2, and “Known area” takes square feet or square meters straight from a plan or a measuring app. Split an L-shaped drive or a lot with a turnaround into pieces, add each as its own area, and give each one its own depth if the apron or loading bay is thicker. On a keyboard you can also write sizes the way they come off a tape: 12′6″, 3″ or 2 1/2.
Metric
In meters and millimeters the rule is area × depth × density in kg/m³ ÷ 1,000 for metric tons. A 10 × 5 m yard at 50 mm and 2,400 kg/m³ is 2.5 m³ and 6.00 metric tons. Switching units converts the numbers you typed and keeps the density you picked, so the tonnage stays the same.
tons = length × width × (depth in inches ÷ 12) × lb per ft³ ÷ 2,000
metric tons = m² × mm ÷ 1,000 × kg/m³ ÷ 1,000
Density
Tons depend on the density you assume, and asphalt calculators use different ones, often without saying which (the About page has what we found when we compared them). The Pennsylvania Asphalt Pavement Association puts typical compacted mix at 108 to 120 lb per square yard per inch, which is 144 to 160 lb/ft³, depending on the stone, the binder content and how well it is rolled.1 Tennessee DOT figures its standard surface mixes at 106 and its open-graded friction course at only 88.4
| Setting | lb/ft³ | 50 × 20 ft at 3 in |
|---|---|---|
| Common estimate | 145 | 18.13 tons |
| DOT rule | 146.7 | 18.33 tons |
| Metric estimate | 149.8 | 18.73 tons |
If your plant gives you a job mix formula, open “Have a mix design? Use its Gmm” and enter it, either as a specific gravity (like 2.512) or in lb/ft³. The Pennsylvania association turns Gmm into a spread rate with the formula below, where 0.94 assumes the mat reaches 94% of maximum density and a specific gravity is first multiplied by 62.4 lb/ft³, the weight of water.1
lb/yd² per inch = Gmm in lb/ft³ × 0.75 × 0.94
lb/ft³ = lb/yd² per inch × 12 ÷ 9
Ordering the right amount
Extra for waste
The net tonnage assumes a perfect base at exactly the right depth. Real bases dip, edges get feathered and the last load is rarely used to the shovelful, so people add a margin. The default is 5%; set it to 0 to see the exact figure.
Truckloads
Enter what your supplier’s trucks carry and the calculator rounds up to whole loads and tells you how much is on the last one. If the last load is only a ton or two, call the plant: trimming the extra slightly may save a trip.
Paver setting
Hot mix shrinks under the rollers. For dense-graded mix the Asphalt Institute’s rule of thumb is about 25% rolldown, so a 2 inch finished mat is laid about 2½ inches loose.2 For open- and gap-graded mixes it is closer to 15%. Crews still measure the loose mat right behind the screed and adjust.
How far does a load go?
On long runs crews think in feet per truck rather than tons per job. Switch the calculator to “How far a load goes” and enter the paving width, depth and load.
The Pennsylvania checklist’s own example: a 22 ton load on a 12 ft lane at 2 inches, at 110 lb/yd² per inch, covers 150 ft.1 The results also give tons per 100 ft and per mile, for checking a day’s tickets against the distance paved.
feet per load = load in lb ÷ (width × depth in ft × lb per ft³)
Worked examples
| Job | Density | Result | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driveway, 50 × 20 ft, 3 in | 145 lb/ft³ | 18.13 tons | – |
| Parking lot 300 × 150 ft, 3 in | 110 lb/yd² per inch | 825.00 tons | 825 (PAPA) |
| Lane 12 ft × 1 mile, 1.5 in | 110 lb/yd² per inch | 580.80 tons | 581 (PAPA) |
| Yard 10 × 5 m, 50 mm | 2,400 kg/m³ | 6.00 t | – |
Questions
How accurate is an asphalt calculator?
The arithmetic is exact; the inputs are what move the answer. Density is the big one: compacted mixes weigh roughly 144 to 160 lb/ft³, so the same driveway can come out several percent apart depending on the mix. The other is depth. A base that is a half inch low in places soaks up extra mix. Use your supplier’s mix design if you have it, measure depth after rolling, and keep the extra for waste at 5 to 10% on small or uneven jobs.
How many tons of asphalt do I need for a driveway?
Multiply length by width for square feet, multiply by the compacted depth in feet, then by the density in pounds per cubic foot, and divide by 2,000. A 2 inch overlay on a 40 × 12 ft drive at 145 lb/ft³ is 480 × (2 ÷ 12) × 145 ÷ 2,000 = 5.80 tons before any extra.
What is 110 lb per square yard per inch?
It is the same density written the way paving inspectors and many state DOTs write it: the weight of one square yard of mat, one inch thick. 110 lb/yd² per inch equals 146.7 lb/ft³. Multiply it by the depth in inches to get the spread rate a crew checks against, for example 330 lb/yd² for a 3 inch mat.
Is a ton of asphalt a US ton or a metric ton?
Plants in the US sell by the short ton of 2,000 lb. A metric ton (tonne) is 1,000 kg, about 2,205 lb, so 18.13 US tons is 16.44 metric tons. In US units the calculator shows both.
Should the depth be the loose depth or the compacted depth?
Compacted. Specifications, bids and tonnage are all based on the finished, rolled thickness. The paver lays a thicker loose mat that rollers squeeze down, which is why the results include a paver setting.
Does this work for millings, gravel base or cold patch?
Not with the built-in densities. Recycled millings and crushed stone base are much lighter per cubic foot when loose and compact differently, and bagged cold patch is sold by the bag. If you know the in-place density of the material, choose “My own number” and enter it.
What does asphalt cost per ton?
It depends on the plant, the mix and whether it is laid for you. One public example: in the June 2026 hot mix bids for the Montgomery County, Tennessee highway department, mix picked up at the plant ran $65 to $109.40 a ton and mix laid in place $95 to $165 a ton. A driveway quote also covers base work, equipment and the crew, so it is more than tons times price. Ask your plant for its price and enter it to see the material cost.
Sources
Checked November 2026.
- Pennsylvania Asphalt Pavement Association, Constructing Quality Asphalt Pavements in PA checklist (2025): typical 108 to 120 lb/yd² per inch, the Gmm formula, and the tonnage and yield examples.
- National Asphalt Pavement Association and Asphalt Institute, Asphalt Pavement Handbook: 25% and 15% rolldown factors.
- Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association, Asphalt Driveways technical brief (March 2020): minimum driveway sections and overlay depth.
- Tennessee Department of Transportation, Instructional Bulletin 16-16: weights per square yard per inch for its mixes.
- Montgomery County, Tennessee, Hot Mix bid tabulation (bids opened June 4, 2026): prices per ton picked up and laid in place.