How Many Bags of Concrete Are in a Yard?

Quick answer: it takes about 45 eighty-pound bags, 60 sixty-pound bags, or 90 forty-pound bags to make one cubic yard of concrete. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, and each bag yields a fixed volume, so you just divide. Our concrete calculators figure the bag count for your actual project.

Bags per cubic yard

A cubic yard = 27 cubic feet. Divide by each bag's yield:

Bag size	Yield	Bags per cubic yard
80 lb	~0.60 ft³	45
60 lb	~0.45 ft³	60
40 lb	~0.30 ft³	90

These are approximate — yield varies a little by mix and how stiff you mix it — but they're close enough to order from.

Why this matters: bags vs. ready-mix

The bags-per-yard number is really a cost-and-labor warning. Forty-five 80-lb bags is one cubic yard — that's a half-ton of mixing by hand or in a small mixer, for a single yard of concrete. So the rule of thumb is:

• Under ~½ cubic yard → bags are convenient and there's no delivery minimum.
• Over ~½ cubic yard → ready-mix delivered by the truck is cheaper per yard and saves a brutal day. (Most suppliers have a 1-yard minimum and a short-load fee.)

How many bags for your project?

Don't size by the yard — size by the actual element, then read the bag count:

• A slab: the concrete slab calculator (a 10×10 patio at 4 in is about 62 eighty-pound bags).
• A footing: the concrete footing calculator.
• A round column or Sonotube: the concrete column calculator (a 12-inch tube 4 ft tall is about 6 eighty-pound bags).

Each shows the count for 40, 60, and 80-lb bags plus the cubic yards for ready-mix, so you can pick the cheaper route. And whatever you pour, order about 10% extra — you can't stop mid-pour to run to the store.