Topsoil cost

Screened topsoil costs $25 to $60 per cubic yard delivered and tipped, typically about $40. The bottom of that range is plain screened loam; the top is a blend with compost mixed in for planting beds.

The price per yard is rarely what decides the bill. The number of yards is, and most people work it out from the area alone and forget the depth, the settling and the truck.

What it costs

Delivered and tipped means the truck dumps the load in one pile where it can reach. Spreading it is a separate job, priced by the hour or folded into grading, and on a large order it costs more than the soil.

Working out how many yards

A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. Spread one inch deep, it covers 324 square feet, and that one number does all the arithmetic:

Cubic yards = square feet × depth in inches ÷ 324.

Then add 10 to 20 percent. Loose topsoil settles as it is spread, rolled and watered, and an uneven base swallows more than the plan shows.

A few cases worked through:

• A 600 square foot front strip, 3 inches deep for new seed: 600 × 3 ÷ 324 is about 5.6 yards, so order 6 to 7.
• Three new planting beds totaling 250 square feet, 8 inches deep: about 6.2 yards, so order 7.
• A 2,500 square foot back lawn topdressed a quarter inch: about 2 yards. That is a pickup load, not a truck.

The yard grading guide lists coverage by depth if you prefer a table. What it cannot tell you is how deep the job needs to be, which comes down to what the soil is for.

How deep, by what you are growing

Topdressing an existing lawn: a quarter to half an inch. Spread over the grass and raked in, it fills shallow dips and improves the surface over a few seasons. More than half an inch at once smothers the grass.

Under new seed or sod: two to four inches. Enough for young roots to establish in loose soil instead of compacted subsoil. On a decent existing soil, two inches tilled in is plenty; on bare builder's clay, four.

Under a lawn on a stripped lot: four to six inches. New construction often leaves nothing but subsoil and rubble at the surface. This is the case where a full depth of topsoil pays for itself in water and fertilizer saved later.

Planting beds: eight to twelve inches of worked soil. Shrubs and perennials need depth. Often the cheapest route is to loosen the existing soil and work in a few inches of a topsoil and compost blend rather than importing the full depth.

Raising grade or filling a hole: mostly fill. Topsoil is the wrong material for bulk. It is organic, it compresses, and it settles for years. Build the height with compacted fill dirt and finish with four to six inches of topsoil on top. Fill is quoted separately, and the drainage and grading guide covers soil against the foundation, which has its own rules.

Screened, unscreened and blended

The same word covers three products, and the difference matters more than the brand of supplier.

Unscreened topsoil is soil scraped from a site and sold as dug: clods, stones, roots and whatever seeds came with it. It is the cheapest per yard, and it is acceptable as the bottom layer of a deep fill. As the surface of a lawn it means hours of raking out rock.

Screened topsoil has been run through a mesh, typically around half an inch, which breaks up clods and removes stones and roots. This is the standard product priced above and what most lawn and grading jobs want. Ask the screen size; finer is better for topdressing.

Blends mix screened topsoil with compost, and sometimes sand. A bed mix with a third compost sits at the top of the range at $60 a yard and is the right product for planting beds and raised beds. A sandy topdressing mix suits lawns on heavy clay. For an ordinary lawn under seed, plain screened soil is enough.

Delivery minimums and the truck

Bulk topsoil is sold by the truck as much as by the yard, and that is where small orders go wrong.

Minimums. Many suppliers have a minimum order, often a few yards, and charge a delivery fee below a set quantity or beyond a set distance. The fee is quoted separately and can double the cost of a two-yard order. Ask before choosing the quantity: ordering up to the free-delivery threshold is often cheaper than paying the fee on less.

Truck size. A small dump truck carries roughly 5 to 10 yards; a tandem carries more. A large order arriving in one load is cheaper per yard than the same order in two trips.

Weight and access. A cubic yard of topsoil weighs about a ton, and more when wet. A loaded truck will crack a thin driveway, rut a lawn and sink into a septic field. Pick the drop spot before delivery, keep it on firm ground close to where the soil is going, and put a tarp down if it sits on the driveway.

Wet season. Soil delivered after a week of rain is heavier, sticky and hard to spread, and it compacts as it is worked. Suppliers who store it under cover are worth paying a little more for in spring.

Checking a load when it arrives

Look at it before the truck leaves. Good screened topsoil is dark brown, crumbly, and smells of earth. Squeeze a moist handful: it should hold together and then break apart when poked.

Gray or orange and sticky suggests mostly subsoil or clay. Visible debris such as asphalt, brick or plastic means construction spoil. A sour or chemical smell is reason to refuse the load. On large orders, a basic soil test of the delivered pile before it is spread is cheap insurance, and it tells you whether lime or fertilizer is needed.

A worked example: a new lawn on a stripped lot

A 4,000 square foot back lawn on a new house where the builder left compacted subsoil. The plan is four inches of screened topsoil, fine graded, then seeded in early fall.

At 4,000 × 4 ÷ 324 the lawn needs about 49 yards; with settling, the order is 55.

• Topsoil: 55 cubic yards × $25 to $60 per yard = $1,375 to $3,300
• Spreading and fine grading: 4,000 sq ft × $0.30 to $1.50 per sq ft = $1,200 to $6,000
• Seed and starter fertilizer: 4,000 sq ft × $0.10 to $0.30 per sq ft = $400 to $1,200
• Total: $2,975 to $10,500

The soil itself is the smaller part. Grading and spreading 55 yards across a lawn is the largest and most variable line, which is why a quote should show it separately from the material. Sodding the same lawn instead of seeding swaps the last line for one at $1.00 to $2.50 a square foot, several times more.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a yard of topsoil cost delivered?

$25 to $60 per cubic yard for screened topsoil, typically $40. A compost blend sits at the top of the range, and small orders may carry a separate delivery fee.

How many yards of topsoil do I need for a 1,000 square foot lawn?

About 3 yards per inch of depth. Two inches under new seed is roughly 6 yards, four inches about 12, and adding 10 to 20 percent for settling is sensible on any new lawn.

Is bagged topsoil cheaper than bulk?

Only for small jobs. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, which is a lot of bags, and bagged products are often lighter potting or bed mixes rather than true topsoil. From about two or three yards up, bulk delivery is usually cheaper.

Can I put topsoil over existing grass?

A thin layer, a quarter to half an inch, raked in so the grass grows through it. Deeper than that kills the lawn, so for a new grade the old turf should be stripped or killed first.

Related guides

• Yard grading cost — shaping the ground before the soil goes on
• Sod installation cost — what goes on top, and the prep it needs
• Planting bed cost — soil, edging and plants for a new bed
• Mulch delivery cost — the same bulk-delivery logic, for beds
• Drainage and grading cost — soil against the foundation