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Cut and fill calculator
Enter a pad or yard area and how far the ground sits above or below the grade you want, and get the cut and fill in bank, loose and compacted cubic yards, whether you export or import dirt, and how many truckloads that is.
The Federal Highway Administration’s earthwork table lists dry clay at 50% swell once it is dug and 10% shrink once it is compacted in a fill. So 10 bank cubic yards of it is about 15 in the truck and about 9 in the fill.
Shoot all five heights from the same reference with a level or laser. If base stone or topsoil goes on top, use the subgrade height, not the finished surface.
Truck size is your setting, not a standard. Ask your hauler what their trucks carry.
Check the highlighted box: lengths, widths and the truck size need numbers greater than zero, depths can’t be negative, every corner and the target need a height, and the compacted change must be greater than −100%.
The swell and shrink numbers in the calculator
| Material (FHWA Exhibit 5.1 A) | Swell when dug (loose vs bank) | Change when compacted in a fill (vs bank) |
|---|---|---|
| Topsoil | +56% | −26% |
| Clay, dry | +50% | −10% |
| Clay, damp | +67% | −10% |
| Earth, loam, dry | +50% | −12% |
| Earth, loam, damp | +43% | −4% |
| Sand, dry | +11% | −11% |
| Gravel, dry, average gradation | +20% | −8% |
| Decomposed rock, 50% rock and 50% earth | +38% | −6% |
| Shale | +79% | +49% |
| Sandstone | +61% | +34% |
| Limestone | +63% | +36% |
All factors come from one source, the Federal Highway Administration’s Federal Lands earthwork design guidance, which says its Exhibit 5.1 A values may be used for estimating before project-specific information comes from a geotechnical unit, and that the factors are subject to ±33% variation. A negative number is shrinkage. Other references differ: Caterpillar’s table gives topsoil a load factor of 0.70, about 43% swell, against FHWA’s 56%. We use FHWA throughout so the numbers stay consistent. Moisture, how hard the fill is compacted and how much rock is in the soil all move the real number.
How it works
Four corners: depth at each corner = existing height − target height (positive is cut, negative is fill). Volume = length × width × the average of the four depths ÷ 27. That is a simple four-corner average for one grid cell, a rule-of-thumb estimate. Average depth: length × width × depth in feet ÷ 27.
Bank yards are the soil in the ground. Loose yards = bank × (1 + swell). Compacted yards = bank × (1 + compacted change), so −12% means × 0.88. Fill is measured as the compacted hole you need to fill, and bank yards needed = fill ÷ (1 + compacted change).
Cut that is compacted as fill is compared with the fill you need. Extra cut is exported and a shortfall is imported, both turned back into loose yards. Within 5% of each other (or 1 cubic yard) we call it roughly balanced. Truckloads = loose yards ÷ truck size, rounded up.
40 × 30 ft pad, corners 1, 1.5, 0.5 and 1 ft above target: average cut 1 ft
1,200 sq ft × 1 ft ÷ 27 = 44.4 bank cu yd
Earth, loam, dry: 44.4 × 1.50 = 66.7 loose cu yd · 44.4 × 0.88 = 39.1 compacted cu yd
No fill needed, so export it all: 66.7 ÷ 10 cu yd truck = 6.7 → 7 loads
When some corners are above the target and some are below, four heights can’t tell where the cut ends and the fill begins. The calculator then shows only the net volume and asks you to switch to separate cut and fill areas or get a grid survey. Highway earthwork is figured from cross sections with the average end area method, which FHWA notes generally gives results larger than the true volume.
Related: the slope calculator for grade and drop, the gravel calculator for base stone, the mulch and topsoil calculator, and land grading in central PA.
Questions
What is cut and fill?
Cut is soil dug out where the ground is higher than the grade you want. Fill is soil placed and compacted where the ground is lower. When a site’s cut, once compacted, about equals its fill, it is balanced and little dirt has to be hauled in or out.
What is the difference between swell and shrink?
Swell is how much soil grows when it is dug and loosened. Shrink is how much less room it takes once it is compacted in a fill, compared with how it sat in the ground. FHWA’s earthwork table lists dry clay at 50% swell and 10% shrink, so 10 bank cubic yards is about 15 loose and 9 compacted. Rock goes the other way: FHWA lists shale at 79% swell and still 49% larger than bank once compacted.
How many truckloads of dirt will I have?
Truckloads equal loose cubic yards divided by what one truck carries, rounded up. A 40 by 30 foot pad cut 1 foot deep is 44.4 bank cubic yards. Dry loam at FHWA’s 50% swell makes that 66.7 loose cubic yards, or 7 loads in a 10 cubic yard truck. Ask your hauler what their trucks carry.
How much fill do I need to raise an area?
Multiply the area by the depth in feet and divide by 27 for compacted cubic yards. Raising 40 by 30 feet by 6 inches is 22.2 compacted cubic yards. With dry loam, FHWA’s 12% shrink means about 25.3 bank cubic yards, or about 37.9 loose cubic yards delivered, 4 loads in a 10 cubic yard truck.
Do I need a permit or an E&S plan to move dirt in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania requires a written erosion and sediment control plan for 5,000 square feet or more of earth disturbance, or any size with potential to discharge to High Quality or Exceptional Value waters (25 Pa. Code 102.4(b)(2)). At 1 acre or more you need an NPDES permit for stormwater from construction (102.5(a)). Your township may have its own grading or stormwater rules. Call PA One Call (811) not less than 3 nor more than 10 business days before you dig. For a complex project, one with more work than a single locate request can describe, the notice must be at least 10 business days ahead (73 P.S. § 180(2.1)).
Can I reuse the cut as fill or topsoil?
Often, if it is mineral soil you can compact. Topsoil is usually stripped and stockpiled to spread back over lawn and beds, not used as structural fill under a patio, slab or driveway, because, as a rule of thumb, organic soil compacts poorly and can settle. The calculator assumes the cut and the fill are the same material.
How accurate is a four-corner estimate?
It is exact only if the ground changes evenly between the corners. Humps, hollows and soil that changes across the site are missed, and FHWA says its swell and shrink factors are subject to ±33% variation. For a real job, shoot a grid of heights or have the site surveyed.
Sources: Federal Highway Administration, Federal Lands Highway, Earthwork Design (supplements PDDM Section 9.5.1): Exhibit 5.1 A percent swell and embankment percent swell, topsoil 56 and −26, clay dry 50 and −10, clay damp 67 and −10, earth loam dry 50 and −12, damp 43 and −4, sand dry 11 and −11, gravel dry average gradation 20 and −8, decomposed rock 50% rock 50% earth 38 and −6, shale 79 and 49, sandstone 61 and 34, limestone 63 and 36; negative number represents a shrinkage; factors subject to ±33% variation; values may be used for estimating; average end area method; Caterpillar, Material Density Tables To Help Estimate Earthwork Volumes (bank, loose and compacted cubic yards; topsoil load factor 0.70); 25 Pa. Code 102.4(b)(2) (written E&S plan at 5,000 sq ft, or any size draining to HQ or EV waters); 25 Pa. Code 102.5(a) (NPDES permit at 1 acre); PA One Call, Act 287 as amended (notice not less than 3 nor more than 10 business days before excavation; not less than 10 business days for a complex project, section 5(2.1), 73 P.S. § 180; complex project defined in section 1, 73 P.S. § 176, as an excavation that involves more work than properly can be described in a single locate request). Checked Nov 10, 2026.
More on the rules: 811 and dig laws by state and drainage laws and stormwater permits by state.
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