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Pea Gravel Calculator

Pick your job: a path, a play area or a French drain. See how much pea gravel to buy, and whether bags or bulk cost less.

  • Updated October 28, 2026
  • Prices up to September 2026
  • 6 sources

1Your job

What the pea gravel is for

Paths: 2 in5 cm at least, 4 in10 cm with stepping stones.

2Size

Shape
Units

3Depth

4Price

Bag size or your own prices

You need

0.37cubic yards
0.52tons0.48 to 0.56
2 in deepSide view, to scale
  • 10.0cu ft
  • 0.28m³
  • 20bags of 0.5 cu ft
In bags$100 to $192$4.99 to $9.59 a 0.5 cu ft bag
In bulk$21 to $35$41 to $68 a ton, plus $40 to $140 delivery

Prices: what stone yards and stores post, October 2026.

  • You need 0.37 cubic yards of pea gravel to cover 60 sq ft, 2 in deep.
  • It weighs about 0.5 tons (0.5 to 0.6).
  • In bags, that is 20 bags of 0.5 cu ft. They cost about $100 to $192.
  • In bulk, it costs about $21 to $35 at the yard. Delivery adds about $40 to $140.
  • Bags and bulk cost about the same here. Check prices near you.

Text this to a stone yard

Hi! I need about 0.5 tons (0.37 cubic yards) of pea gravel, delivered. What would it cost, with delivery?

0.37 cu yd · 20 bagsAnswer

How deep for each job

  • Path or patio2 to 4 in5 to 10 cm

    2 inches5 cm is the least for a gravel path. Use 4 inches10 cm if you set stepping stones in it. Pea gravel is round, so it rolls under your feet. Big flat stones help.

    UC Master Gardeners, Gravel Pathways in the Garden. It is for gravel paths in general.
  • Under a play set12 in30 cm

    9 inches23 cm of packed pea gravel protects a fall of 5 feet1.5 m. Loose fill packs down at least 25%, so start at about 12 in30 cm. Never use less than 9 in23 cm.

    CPSC Public Playground Safety Handbook, Table 2. The 12 in start is our math from its 25% rule.
  • French drain12 in30 cm

    Lay a 4 in10 cm drain pipe with 4 in10 cm of pea stone under, around and over it. That is about 12 in30 cm of stone. Cover it with 4 in10 cm of topsoil. Type the trench length and width.

    Canton Township, MI, French Drain handout. The pipe takes a little room, so this is a bit more than you need.

Pea gravel prices by state

Bulk pea gravel costs more in some states. At the quarry, Hawaii pays more than 3 times what North Dakota pays.

Pea gravel prices by state. The column buttons sort the rows.
Hawaii$52 to $79 a ton $27.11 +67% $52 to $79
Georgia$51 to $78 a ton $25.83 +59% $51 to $78
North Carolina$49 to $76 a ton $24.58 +51% $49 to $76
Virginia$49 to $76 a ton $23.85 +47% $49 to $76
Tennessee$47 to $74 a ton $22.68 +39% $47 to $74
South Carolina$45 to $72 a ton $20.43 +26% $45 to $72
Pennsylvania$45 to $72 a ton $19.98 +23% $45 to $72
Florida$44 to $71 a ton $19.59 +20% $44 to $71
Mississippi$43 to $70 a ton $18.57 +14% $43 to $70
Maryland$43 to $70 a ton $18.44 +13% $43 to $70
Alabama$43 to $70 a ton $18.06 +11% $43 to $70
Rhode Island$43 to $70 a ton $17.87 +10% $43 to $70
California$42 to $69 a ton $17.69 +9% $42 to $69
New Jersey$42 to $69 a ton $17.59 +8% $42 to $69
Massachusetts$42 to $69 a ton $17.52 +8% $42 to $69
Texas$42 to $69 a ton $17.28 +6% $42 to $69
Louisiana*$42 to $69 a ton $14.68 +5% $42 to $69
New York$42 to $69 a ton $16.94 +4% $42 to $69
Connecticut$42 to $69 a ton $16.81 +3% $42 to $69
Arizona$41 to $68 a ton $16.75 +3% $41 to $68
New Mexico$41 to $68 a ton $16.68 +2% $41 to $68
New Hampshire$41 to $68 a ton $16.48 +1% $41 to $68
Nebraska*$41 to $68 a ton $14.10 +1% $41 to $68
West Virginia$41 to $68 a ton $15.93 -2% $41 to $68
Washington$40 to $67 a ton $15.41 -5% $40 to $67
Utah$40 to $67 a ton $15.30 -6% $40 to $67
Kentucky$40 to $67 a ton $15.07 -7% $40 to $67
Ohio$40 to $67 a ton $14.97 -8% $40 to $67
Illinois$39 to $66 a ton $14.76 -9% $39 to $66
Colorado$39 to $66 a ton $14.74 -9% $39 to $66
Oregon$39 to $66 a ton $14.69 -10% $39 to $66
Vermont$39 to $66 a ton $14.37 -12% $39 to $66
Montana$39 to $66 a ton $14.14 -13% $39 to $66
Indiana$39 to $66 a ton $14.05 -14% $39 to $66
Alaska$38 to $65 a ton $12.83 -21% $38 to $65
Arkansas$37 to $64 a ton $12.40 -24% $37 to $64
Nevada$37 to $64 a ton $11.88 -27% $37 to $64
Oklahoma$36 to $63 a ton $11.76 -28% $36 to $63
Iowa$36 to $63 a ton $11.74 -28% $36 to $63
Maine$36 to $63 a ton $11.70 -28% $36 to $63
Delaware*$36 to $63 a ton $9.87 -29% $36 to $63
Kansas$36 to $63 a ton $10.85 -33% $36 to $63
Wyoming$35 to $62 a ton $10.50 -35% $35 to $62
Michigan$35 to $62 a ton $10.31 -37% $35 to $62
Wisconsin$35 to $62 a ton $10.17 -37% $35 to $62
Missouri$35 to $62 a ton $10.08 -38% $35 to $62
South Dakota$34 to $61 a ton $9.39 -42% $34 to $61
Minnesota$33 to $60 a ton $8.76 -46% $33 to $60
Idaho$33 to $60 a ton $8.62 -47% $33 to $60
North Dakota$32 to $59 a ton $7.50 -54% $32 to $59

Quarry prices come from the US Geological Survey for 2023, brought up to September 2026 with the producer price index. The price is what yards post for pea gravel, moved up or down by the state's quarry price. Delivery is extra. *There are no crushed stone numbers for Delaware, Louisiana and Nebraska, so these rows use sand and gravel.

Pea gravel weight and bags

1 cubic yard weighs1 cubic meter weighs
1.4 tons1.66 metric tons (1.3 to 1.51.54 to 1.78)
Bags in a cubic yardBags in a cubic meter
54 bags71 bags of 0.5 cu ft
One bag
$4.99 to $9.59

No chart we found weighs pea gravel by itself, so the weight is our estimate. Caterpillar weighs loose gravel from 1/4 to 2 inches at 2,850 lb a cubic yard when dry. A 0.5 cu ft bag says 35 to 50 lb, depending on the store.

How the math works

  1. Area. Length times width. For a circle, half the width times itself, times 3.1416. One meter is 3.28084 feet.
  2. Size of the pile. Area in sq ft times depth in inches, divided by 12, gives cubic feet. Cubic feet divided by 27 gives cubic yards.
  3. Weight. Cubic yards times 1.4 tons (our estimate, 1.3 to 1.5).
  4. Bags. Cubic feet divided by the bag size, rounded up.
  5. Bag price. What stores post for a 0.5 cu ft bag, October 2026: the middle 80% runs $4.99 to $9.59. Other bag sizes go up or down by size.
  6. Bulk price. What stone yards post for pea gravel a ton, the middle 80%, moved by your state's quarry price. Delivery fees yards post run about $40 to $140 a load. We add them before we say which is cheaper.

Questions

How much pea gravel do I need?

Multiply length × width × depth. With feet and inches: sq ft × inches ÷ 12 = cubic feet. Divide by 27 for cubic yards. A 3 × 20 ft path at 2 in needs 10 cu ft, or 0.37 cubic yards.

How many bags of pea gravel make a yard?

54 bags of 0.5 cu ft. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet.

How much does a yard of pea gravel weigh?

About 1.4 tons (2,800 lb). No chart lists pea gravel by itself, so this is our estimate, 1.3 to 1.5 tons. Wet stone weighs more.

How much does pea gravel cost?

Stone yards post about $41 to $68 a ton, before delivery. A 0.5 cu ft bag is about $4.99 to $9.59. Bags cost far more per cubic yard, so they make sense only for small jobs.

How deep should pea gravel be under a swing set?

At least 9 inches, packed. That protects a fall of up to 5 feet, says the CPSC. Pea gravel packs down, so start with about 12 inches.

Sources

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