How Many Wheelbarrows in a Yard?

Gregory Stewart
Updated on October 23, 2026

GardeningNorm is reader-supported. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you.

How many wheelbarrows are in a yard? A cubic yard is 3 ft × 3 ft × 3 ft = 27 cubic feet. A standard 3 cubic foot garden wheelbarrow therefore takes 9 loads to move one yard; a shallow 2 cu ft barrow takes 14, and a 6 cu ft contractor barrow takes 5 (4.5, rounded up). That count assumes a full, heaped load every trip. With heavy material such as wet soil or stone you will fill less, so plan on more trips — the weight table below shows why.

Wheelbarrow loads per cubic yard1: 2 cu ft 14. 3 cu ft 9. 4 cu ft 7. 5 cu ft 6. 6 cu ft 5.; 2: 2 cu ft 27. 3 cu ft 18. 4 cu ft 14. 5 cu ft 11. 6 cu ft 9.; 3: 2 cu ft 41. 3 cu ft 27. 4 cu ft 21. 5 cu ft 17. 6 cu ft 14.; 5: 2 cu ft 68. 3 cu ft 45. 4 cu ft 34. 5 cu ft 27. 6 cu ft 23.; 10 (a typical truckload to a driveway): 2 cu ft 135. 3 cu ft 90. 4 cu ft 68. 5 cu ft 54. 6 cu ft 45.Wheelbarrow loads per cubic yardLevel loads, by barrow size. Heaped loads need fewer trips.112 cu ft: 143 cu ft: 94 cu ft: 75 cu ft: 66 cu ft: 5222 cu ft: 273 cu ft: 184 cu ft: 145 cu ft: 116 cu ft: 9332 cu ft: 413 cu ft: 274 cu ft: 215 cu ft: 176 cu ft: 14452 cu ft: 683 cu ft: 454 cu ft: 345 cu ft: 276 cu ft: 23510 (a typical truckload to a driveway)2 cu ft: 1353 cu ft: 904 cu ft: 685 cu ft: 546 cu ft: 45GardeningNorm: full guide below
A quick visual summary of this guide. The detailed table and the sources follow below.
Cubic yards 2 cu ft barrow 3 cu ft barrow 4 cu ft barrow 5 cu ft barrow 6 cu ft barrow
1 14 9 7 6 5
2 27 18 14 11 9
3 41 27 21 17 14
5 68 45 34 27 23
10 (a typical truckload to a driveway) 135 90 68 54 45
Full wheelbarrow loads per cubic yard (27 ÷ barrow size, rounded up to whole loads). Assumes every load reaches the barrow’s rated capacity.

Your wheelbarrow probably doesn’t hold what the label says

Wheelbarrow capacity is quoted in cubic feet, and the common sizes are 2 (shallow tray), 3 (the full-size homeowner standard) and 6 (contractor). Some local suppliers quote a “typical” barrow at 4–5 cu ft, which is why you’ll see anything from 7 to 14 loads per yard online. They aren’t contradicting each other — they’re counting different barrows.

Two things move the real number:

  • Heaped vs. level. At least one bulk supplier notes that a barrow only reaches its rated size with a crested (heaped) load. If your 3 cu ft barrow is really a level 2.5 cu ft with a manageable heap, one yard is 27 ÷ 2.5 = 10.8, so 11 loads, not 9. Check which one your manufacturer means, and if it doesn’t say, use the lower figure.
  • Material that doesn’t heap. Mulch and leaves pile up; wet soil, gravel and sand slump off the sides.

Calibrate your own barrow in two minutes. One cubic foot is 7.48 US gallons, so a 5-gallon bucket holds about 0.67 cu ft. Fill the barrow level with buckets of any loose material and count: roughly 4.5 buckets is 3 cu ft, 3 buckets is 2 cu ft, 9 buckets is 6 cu ft. Re-do the bucket count with a normal heap on top and you have your real number. Then use that in 27 ÷ (your volume).

Volume isn’t the limit — weight is

A yard of mulch and a yard of stone take the same number of 3 cu ft loads on paper, but not in practice. Divide the weight per yard by 9 for the weight of one full 3 cu ft load:

Material Typical weight per cubic yard One full 3 cu ft load
Wood mulch about 400–1,000 lb (heavier when wet) about 45–110 lb
Compost about 1,000–1,600 lb about 110–180 lb
Topsoil about 1,800–2,700 lb dry-to-moist; up to ~3,000+ lb saturated about 200–300 lb (330+ saturated)
Gravel / crushed stone about 2,200–2,700 lb about 245–300 lb
Concrete about 4,000 lb about 450 lb
Ranges are published supplier figures and vary by product and moisture; your delivery ticket is the final word. Load weight = yard weight ÷ 9.

This is why “9 wheelbarrows” is only true for mulch. If you decide a load of topsoil should stay under, say, 150 lb for you, a 2,000 lb yard becomes 2,000 ÷ 150 ≈ 14 loads instead of 9. Pick your own limit and divide.

Two practical consequences. First, a dual-wheel wheelbarrow tends to be steadier under dense loads than a single wheel, though it won’t change the weight. Second, a pile left uncovered through a rainstorm gets heavier: dry soil and mulch soak up water, so a heavy-duty tarp over the delivery is a cheap way to keep your loads lighter.

How many yards do you actually need?

Wheelbarrow math starts with the right number of yards. Volume = length × width × depth (all in feet), then divide by 27. This is how much one yard covers at a given depth:

Layer depth Square feet covered by 1 cubic yard
½ inch (lawn top-dressing) 648
1 inch 324
2 inches (mulch) 162
3 inches 108
4 inches (soil under seed or sod) 81
6 inches (raised bed fill) 54
324 ÷ depth in inches. Calculated, not measured.

Worked example 1 — new bed. A 20 ft × 20 ft area with 4 inches of soil is 20 × 20 × (4 ÷ 12) = 133 cu ft = 4.9 yards. Add 10% and order about 5.5 yards. In a 3 cu ft barrow that’s roughly 49 loads, so don’t schedule it as a one-evening job.

Worked example 2 — lawn top-dressing. 1,000 sq ft at ½ inch is 1,000 × (0.5 ÷ 12) = 42 cu ft = 1.5 yards, about 14 loads of 3 cu ft. For leveling low spots or choosing the material, see how to level a bumpy lawn and best topsoil for grass seed.

Add 5–10%. Loose soil and compost settle once they’re watered and walked on, and beds are never perfectly flat, so 5% is the minimum buffer and 10% is safer for uneven ground. Running out with a half-built bed costs more (a second delivery fee) than ordering a little extra.

Bulk, scoops, bags, and the pickup truck

  • Bags: a 2 cu ft bag means 13.5 bags per yard (buy 14); a 1 cu ft bag means 27. Bags make sense for small jobs; suppliers typically suggest staying under 1–2 yards.
  • Scoops: a “scoop” is a supplier’s loader bucket, and its size varies by supplier. One supplier puts it near 18 cu ft (two-thirds of a yard). Ask what yours means before you order.
  • Pickup truck: a 6 ft bed is commonly given as 2–3 yards of volume, but weight is the real cap. A yard of soil can approach or exceed 2,000 lb, so compare the load to the payload on your truck’s door-jamb sticker.
  • Drop spot: bulk gets tipped where the truck can reach, usually the driveway. Every foot between the pile and the bed repeats 9 times per yard, so pick the closest legal spot and keep the path clear. A good pitchfork for mulch saves your back on the loading side.

FAQ

How many wheelbarrows are in a yard of mulch? Nine with a 3 cu ft barrow, and mulch is the one material you can heap to the brim, so a larger barrow can get you down to 5–7 trips.

How many wheelbarrows are in a yard of concrete? 27 cu ft is still 9 loads of 3 cu ft on paper, but each full load is roughly 450 lb, which is far heavier than any other load here. Plan on smaller loads or a different delivery method.

Is a “scoop” the same as a yard? No. A scoop is a loader bucket and is usually smaller than a cubic yard. Ask the supplier for its size in cubic feet.

How many 5-gallon buckets are in a yard? About 40 level buckets (27 × 7.48 ÷ 5), which is a handy way to size a small job without a barrow.

Will one cubic yard fit in a pickup? By volume, yes in most full-size beds. By weight, soil and stone can be near or over your payload limit, mulch rarely is.

Related reading: how to level a bumpy lawn · best soil for grass seed.

Disclaimer: GardeningNorm is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and may receive a commission if you purchase a product via a link on this page.. However, this does not impact our reviews.Read the full disclosure here.

Related Articles
GardeningNorm
Logo