Paving / Asphalt

How Much Asphalt for a 24×24 Driveway?

A 24 × 24 ft driveway (576 ft²) at 3″ deep needs 11.0 tons of hot-mix asphalt — 5.33 yd³ net plus 5% waste. Order 11.00 t — plants ticket in ¼-ton and most hold a 1-ton minimum.

24×24 at other depths

DepthVolumeOrder (tons)50 lb cold-patch bag (≈0.4 ft³)
2″ 3.56 yd³ 7.3 tons 252
3″ (this page) 5.33 yd³ 11.0 tons 378
4″ 7.11 yd³ 14.6 tons 504

Other driveway sizes

2″ overlay · 3″ driveway · 4″ parking lot
Compacted HMA, 140–150
Waste
Material orderHMA · 24×24 ft × 3″
11.0tons

Order 11.00 t — plants ticket in ¼-ton and most hold a 1-ton minimum.

Area
576 ft²
Volume (144.0 ft³)
5.33 yd³
Net weight @ 145 lb/ft³
20,880 lb · 10.44 t
Waste / settling 5%
+ 0.52 t
Order quantity
10.96 tons
Truckloads
1 × tandem dump (≈12 t)
Loose haul volume
≈ 7.0 yd³
Metric
4.08 m³ · 9.94 tonnes
Bagged instead
50 lb cold-patch bag (≈0.4 ft³)
378 bags
Est. delivered
Materials + delivery$110–$180 / ton · Aug 2026
$1,210 – $1,980
Installed (with labor)typ. $2,980
$2,074 – $4,284

Different size or depth?

Open the full asphalt calculator to change every input, pick a material and see truckloads.

Asphalt calculator →

How to calculate hot-mix asphalt by hand

Tons = Length (ft) × Width (ft) × Depth (in) ÷ 12 × 145 lb/ft³ ÷ 2,000

Worked example

  1. Area: 20 ft × 10 ft = 200 ft².
  2. Compacted volume: 200 ft² × (3 in ÷ 12) = 50 ft³.
  3. Weight: 50 ft³ × 145 lb/ft³ = 7,250 lb.
  4. Tons: 7,250 ÷ 2,000 = 3.63 tons.
  5. Add 5% waste: 3.63 × 1.05 = 3.81 tons → order 4.0 tons (plants ticket in ¼-ton).
Field reference
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.