How Much Does a Ton of Sand Cost?

Updated on June 28, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 12 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

A ton of sand usually costs $15 to $50 for bulk material, depending on the sand type, local supply, order size, and delivery distance. Fill sand is usually on the lower end at about $15 to $30 per ton, while concrete sand, mason sand, paver sand, play sand, and specialty sand can cost $25 to $100 per ton. Most delivered residential sand orders cost about $200 to $650 total once the supplier adds hauling, minimum load rules, and local fees.

Sand pricing is local because it is a heavy, low-margin aggregate. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that U.S. construction sand and gravel had an average producer value of $14.50 per metric ton in 2025, but that is not the retail delivered price a homeowner pays. The number rises after screening, washing, bagging, handling, fuel, dump truck delivery, sales tax, and small-order markup are added.

Article Highlights

• Bulk sand usually costs $15 to $50 (at $30 per hour, earning that amount would take about 0.5 to 1.7 hours of work, before taxes) per ton, or about $30 to $70 per cubic yard.
• Delivered sand orders often total $200 to $650, with specialty or long-distance jobs reaching $1,200+.
• Fill sand is often around $15 to $30 per ton, while play sand and specialty sand can reach $35 to $100 per ton.
• Bagged sand can cost about $199.20 per ton if 50-pound bags are priced at $4.98 each.
• One ton of sand usually covers about 100 square feet at 2 inches deep, or about 50 to 60 square feet at 4 inches deep.
• Delivery distance, minimum load size, dumping access, moisture content, and the exact sand grade can change the final quote.

How Much Does a Ton of Sand Cost?

HomeGuide puts sand delivery at $15 to $50 (about 0.5 to 1.7 hours of work at $30 per hour) per ton or $30 to $70 per cubic yard, with most homeowner delivery orders totaling $200 to $650 and large or specialty orders reaching $1,200+, according to its sand delivery cost guide. That range is a better main answer than a single national average because sand is cheap at the quarry but expensive to move.

Angi gives a similar sand delivery range of $15 to $50 per ton or $30 to $70 per cubic yard, with pricing based on sand type, order size, delivery distance, and labor needs in its sand delivery pricing data. For a homeowner, the delivered invoice matters more than the per-ton quarry price.

The U.S. market is large, but still regional. The USGS reported 870 million tons of construction sand and gravel produced in 2025, valued at $12.6 billion, in its construction sand and gravel summary. USGS also noted that urban shortages, local zoning, longer hauls, and fuel costs can push prices higher near large metro areas.

Sand type	Typical bulk cost	Common use	Watch for
Fill sand	$15 to $30 per ton	Backfill, low areas, rough grading, utility trenches	May contain more fines, clay, or small stones
Concrete sand	$25 to $50 per ton	Concrete mix, drainage layers, patio bases, pipe bedding	Should match the project spec, not just the lowest price
Mason sand	$30 to $85 per ton	Mortar, masonry work, pool bases, finished bedding	Fine texture can be wrong for drainage-heavy jobs
Paver sand	$25 to $50 per ton	Paver bases, leveling beds, joints, patios, walkways	Base sand and joint sand are not always interchangeable
Play or beach sand	$35 to $55 per ton	Sandboxes, play areas, volleyball courts, decorative use	Look for washed, screened, child-use material
Specialty or decorative sand	$40 to $100 per ton	Filtration, golf bunkers, colored landscaping, industrial uses	Purity, color, grading, and packaging can raise the price

Bulk Truck Loads, Delivery Fees

Bulk sand is usually cheapest when delivered by dump truck. A supplier may quote by the ton, by the cubic yard, or by the truckload. A small order can still trigger a minimum delivery charge because the truck, driver, fuel, loading time, and dump time cost the supplier nearly the same whether the load is small or full.

HomeGuide’s broader fill dirt, topsoil, and sand delivery data puts a bulk truckload at $150 to $600 (about 0.6 to 2.5 full-time workdays at $30 per hour) for 10 to 15 cubic yards delivered, or $15 to $50 per cubic yard, in its bulk material delivery guide. Sand-only quotes can land above that when the material is washed, graded, specialty, or hauled from farther away.

Delivery can add a flat fee, a per-mile charge, a fuel surcharge, or a small-load fee. Some suppliers include local delivery in a larger order, while others charge separately even for nearby jobs. Ask whether the quote includes one dump in one location, because spreading, wheelbarrow work, grading, driveway protection, or cleanup can add labor.

Bagged Sand vs Bulk Sand

Bagged sand is convenient for small jobs, but it is usually much more expensive per ton. The Home Depot lists Quikrete 50-pound Premium Play Sand at $4.98 on its sand product page. Since one ton equals 2,000 pounds, a full ton would require 40 bags. At $4.98 each, that is $199.20 before sales tax or delivery.

That bagged cost is roughly four to thirteen times higher than a bulk sand price of $15 to $50 per ton. The tradeoff is that a few bags are easier to carry, store, and pour into a sandbox, planter, paver joint, or winter traction bucket. Bulk sand is better when the project needs one cubic yard or more.

Bag size also matters for volume. Lowe’s lists Quikrete 50-pound play sand as covering 0.5 cubic feet and describes it as washed, dried, screened, and suitable for children’s sandboxes through its Quikrete play sand listing. A small 4-by-4-foot sandbox filled 6 inches deep needs about 8 cubic feet, which is about 16 of those bags.

How Much Sand One Ton Covers

One ton of sand usually covers about 200 square feet at 1 inch deep, about 100 square feet at 2 inches deep, about 65 to 80 square feet at 3 inches deep, about 50 to 60 square feet at 4 inches deep, and about 33 to 40 square feet at 6 inches deep. The exact number changes with moisture, compaction, and grain size.

Palmetto Sand & Gravel gives a practical field estimate for concrete sand of about 100 square feet per ton at 2 inches deep and about 65 square feet per ton at 3 inches deep on its washed river sand page. That matches the real-world pattern that deeper sand disappears faster than most homeowners expect.

A 10-by-20-foot patio area is 200 square feet. At 2 inches deep, it may need about 2 tons. At 4 inches deep, it may need about 3.5 to 4 tons. At $40 per ton, that depth change alone can move the material cost from about $80 to about $160, before delivery.

Concrete, Mason, Play

Concrete sand is coarse, washed sand used for concrete mixes, drainage layers, pipe bedding, and some patio bases. ASTM C33 defines requirements for grading and quality of fine and coarse aggregate used in concrete, and says fine aggregate can be natural sand, manufactured sand, or a combination in its concrete aggregate standard description. For structural concrete, the supplier should know the correct spec for the job.

Mason sand is finer and smoother. It is often used for mortar, brick work, block work, pool bases, and finished bedding. It can feel nicer underfoot than concrete sand, but that does not make it the best choice for drainage or paver bases. A very fine sand can hold moisture or shift differently than a coarse bedding sand.

Play sand should be washed and screened for sandbox or play-area use. Quikrete describes its Premium Play Sand as specially graded, washed, dried, and screened for children’s sandboxes. For public playground surfacing, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s playground safety handbook says loose-fill surfacing needs maintenance so levels do not fall below the minimum depth.

Fill sand is lower-cost material for volume, not finish. It works for backfilling, raising grades, and filling low spots, but it is not the right product for a child’s sandbox, finished mortar, concrete specs, or high-drainage paver base unless the supplier confirms it matches the project need.

Worked Sand Cost Examples

A small sandbox refresh might use 10 bags of 50-pound play sand. At $4.98 per bag, the material cost is $49.80 before tax. This is expensive per ton, but it avoids a delivery fee and makes sense when the project only needs a few hundred pounds.

A 10-by-20-foot paver base at 2 inches deep might need about 2 tons of sand. If paver or concrete sand costs $35 per ton, the material is about $70. With a $150 local delivery charge, the real total is about $220.

A larger 500-square-foot volleyball or play area at 6 inches deep could need roughly 12 to 15 tons, depending on compaction and the final depth. At $45 per ton, material alone is about $540 to $675. A separate $200 delivery fee brings the delivered total to about $740 to $875.

A drainage or construction job using 18 tons of concrete sand at $30 per ton starts at $540. If the supplier gives a $5 per ton bulk discount, the same order falls to $450, saving $90 before delivery and tax.

Sand Quality, Moisture, and Weight

Sand is commonly estimated around 1.2 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard, but moisture can change the weight. Wet sand is heavier than dry sand, so a load sold by weight may contain less usable volume than a dry load. A load sold by volume may weigh more when wet, which matters if you are hauling it yourself.

The Calculator Site gives a rough conversion of cubic yards to tons by multiplying cubic yards by 1.4 for many sand and gravel products in its yards to tons conversion guide. That is a planning estimate, not a substitute for the supplier’s product density.

Ask the supplier whether the sand is washed, screened, masonry grade, concrete grade, paver grade, fill grade, damp, dry, or bagged. Those labels matter. A low price is not useful if the material clogs drainage, fails a concrete requirement, stains finished work, compacts poorly, or feels dusty in a play area.

How to Order Sand

Start with length, width, and depth. Convert depth to feet, multiply length by width by depth, then divide by 27 to get cubic yards. Multiply cubic yards by about 1.3 to 1.5 to estimate tons, then confirm the density with the supplier. For irregular shapes, split the area into smaller rectangles or circles and add them together.

For small projects, compare the price of bags against pickup and delivery. The Home Depot says its local truck rentals include vans and flatbed trucks, with pickup trucks listed for local material hauling and a maximum load of 3,000 pounds on its truck rental page. That capacity is only about 1.5 tons before considering safe loading, local rules, and vehicle limits.

For large projects, call at least two local landscape yards, masonry suppliers, or quarry-connected delivery companies. Give each one the same sand type, tonnage, delivery address, dump location, and preferred date. Ask for the total delivered price, not just the per-ton price.

You might also like our articles about the cost of sand in general, the cost to build a house, and the cost to dig a well.

Answers to Common Questions

How much is a ton of sand?

A ton of bulk sand usually costs $15 to $50. Fill sand is often near the low end, while washed, mason, play, paver, or specialty sand can cost more.

How much does sand delivery cost?

Most delivered residential sand orders cost about $200 to $650. Long-distance delivery, small-load fees, specialty sand, spreading, or grading can push the total above $1,200.

How many cubic yards are in a ton of sand?

One ton of sand is often around 0.7 to 0.8 cubic yards, depending on density and moisture. Many estimating guides use about 1.3 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard for sand and gravel products.

How much does one ton of sand cover?

One ton of sand covers about 100 square feet at 2 inches deep, about 65 to 80 square feet at 3 inches deep, and about 50 to 60 square feet at 4 inches deep. Compaction and moisture can change the number.

Is bulk sand cheaper than bagged sand?

Yes. Bulk sand at $15 to $50 per ton is much cheaper than buying enough 50-pound bags to equal a ton. At $4.98 per 50-pound bag, one ton costs about $199.20 before tax.

What is the cheapest type of sand?

Fill sand is usually the cheapest at about $15 to $30 per ton. It is useful for rough fill and backfill, but it is not the right choice for every project.

What type of sand should I use for pavers?

Use the sand type specified for the paver system. A coarse bedding or paver base sand is different from very fine play sand, and joint sand is different from base material.

Can I use play sand for concrete?

Do not assume play sand is suitable for concrete. Concrete work should use sand that meets the project’s aggregate requirements, such as properly graded concrete sand.

Is sand sold by the ton or by the cubic yard?

Both are common. Quarries and many bulk suppliers sell by the ton, while landscape yards may quote by cubic yard. Always ask whether the quote is weight-based or volume-based.

Should I pick up sand myself?

Self-pickup can make sense for a few bags or a small scoop. For one ton or more, check the vehicle payload limit, moisture weight, loading method, and cleanup risk before trying to avoid delivery.