How Many Cubic Feet Are in a Cubic Yard?
Part of Area & Volume
Quick answer
There are exactly 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard. A cubic yard is a cube 3 feet on every side, and 3 × 3 × 3 = 27. To go from cubic yards to cubic feet, multiply by 27; to go the other way, divide by 27.
Concrete, gravel, mulch, sand and topsoil are all ordered by the cubic yard, but jobs are measured in feet. The link between the two is a single fixed number: 27.
Why it's 27, not 3
A yard is 3 feet, so it's tempting to think a cubic yard is 3 cubic feet. But a cubic yard is a volume — 3 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall. You multiply all three sides: 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 cubic feet.
The formulas
- Cubic feet → cubic yards: cubic feet ÷ 27.
- Cubic yards → cubic feet: cubic yards × 27.
Cubic yards ↔ cubic feet table
| Cubic yards | Cubic feet |
|---|---|
| 0.5 yd³ | 13.5 ft³ |
| 1 yd³ | 27 ft³ |
| 2 yd³ | 54 ft³ |
| 3 yd³ | 81 ft³ |
| 5 yd³ | 135 ft³ |
| 10 yd³ | 270 ft³ |
To size an order, find your project's volume in cubic feet (length × width × depth, all in feet), then divide by 27 for the cubic yards to buy. The cubic yard calculator does both steps and rounds the order for you.
FAQs
Is a cubic yard 3 or 27 cubic feet?
27. A yard is 3 feet, but a cubic yard is a 3D volume — 3 ft × 3 ft × 3 ft — so you multiply all three sides: 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 cubic feet.
How many cubic feet are in a half yard?
13.5 cubic feet. Half of 27 is 13.5, since one full cubic yard is 27 cubic feet.