How Much Asphalt for a 20×40 Driveway?
A 20 × 40 ft driveway (800 ft²) at 3″ deep needs 15.2 tons of hot-mix asphalt — 7.41 yd³ net plus 5% waste. Order 15.25 t — plants ticket in ¼-ton and most hold a 1-ton minimum.
20×40 at other depths
| Depth | Volume | Order (tons) | 50 lb cold-patch bag (≈0.4 ft³) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 4.94 yd³ | 10.2 tons | 350 |
| 3″ (this page) | 7.41 yd³ | 15.2 tons | 525 |
| 4″ | 9.88 yd³ | 20.3 tons | 700 |
Other driveway sizes
Order 15.25 t — plants ticket in ¼-ton and most hold a 1-ton minimum.
- Area
- 800 ft²
- Volume (200.0 ft³)
- 7.41 yd³
- Net weight @ 145 lb/ft³
- 29,000 lb · 14.50 t
- Waste / settling 5%
- + 0.73 t
- Order quantity
- 15.23 tons
- Truckloads
- 2 × tandem dump (≈12 t)
- Loose haul volume
- ≈ 9.7 yd³
- Metric
- 5.66 m³ · 13.81 tonnes
- 50 lb cold-patch bag (≈0.4 ft³)
- 525 bags
- Materials + delivery$110–$180 / ton · Aug 2026
- $1,678 – $2,745
- Installed (with labor)typ. $4,135
- $2,878 – $5,945
Different size or depth?
Open the full asphalt calculator to change every input, pick a material and see truckloads.
How to calculate hot-mix asphalt by hand
Tons = Length (ft) × Width (ft) × Depth (in) ÷ 12 × 145 lb/ft³ ÷ 2,000
Worked example
- Area: 20 ft × 10 ft = 200 ft².
- Compacted volume: 200 ft² × (3 in ÷ 12) = 50 ft³.
- Weight: 50 ft³ × 145 lb/ft³ = 7,250 lb.
- Tons: 7,250 ÷ 2,000 = 3.63 tons.
- Add 5% waste: 3.63 × 1.05 = 3.81 tons → order 4.0 tons (plants ticket in ¼-ton).
- 1 ton hot mix at 3″ compacted
- ≈ 54 ft²
- 1 ton hot mix at 2″ compacted
- ≈ 81 ft²
- 1 ton hot mix at 4″ compacted
- ≈ 41 ft²
- Loose-to-compacted volume
- × 1.25
Questions crews ask
How many tons of asphalt do I need for a driveway?
Multiply length × width in feet to get square feet, then multiply by depth in inches and divide by 12 for cubic feet. At 145 lb/ft³ compacted, every 13.8 ft³ is a ton. A typical 12 × 40 ft driveway at 3″ is 120 ft³ → 8.7 tons, about 9.25 tons with 5% waste.
How much area does one ton of asphalt cover?
About 54 ft² at 3 inches compacted, 81 ft² at 2 inches, and 41 ft² at 4 inches. The rule of thumb: 1 ton covers roughly 160 ft² per inch of compacted depth.
What density should I use for hot-mix asphalt?
Dense-graded hot mix compacts to 140–150 lb/ft³; 145 is the industry default and what this calculator uses. Your plant’s mix design sheet lists the exact value (often shown as 2.3–2.4 specific gravity). Loose mix in the truck is about 25% bulkier than the compacted mat.