Material
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at the plant
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Asphalt Cost Per Ton
What a ton of asphalt costs depends on the mix, the plant, the haul and the season. This page puts the ranges side by side and converts a price per ton into a price per square foot.
Delivered total
$0
material + haul
Delivered per ton
$0
all in
Delivery is charged per ton, so a small order pays the same rate on fewer tons and often hits a minimum charge instead. Ask what the minimum is before you compare quotes.
On the numbers below: these are broad planning ranges drawn from typical published contractor pricing and plant quotes. They are not the result of a price survey, and they will not match your local market exactly. Use them to judge whether a quote is in the normal band, not as a source of truth.
Price per ton by mix type
The mix itself is usually the smallest part of the variation. A dense-graded surface mix and a base course mix come from the same plant and the same aggregate pile, and the difference between them is mostly how much liquid asphalt binder goes in.
| Material | Low | High | What it is used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base course mix | $85 | $130 | Binder layer under a surface course, larger aggregate |
| Hot mix, surface | $110 | $170 | Driveways, roads, parking lots, 2 inch lift |
| Warm mix | $105 | $165 | Same use as hot mix, mixed and placed at lower temperature |
| Stone mastic (SMA) | $130 | $200 | Heavy traffic and rut-resistant surfaces |
| Cold patch, bulk | $140 | $220 | Pothole repair, sold by the ton to crews |
| Cold patch, bagged | $300 | $600 | Retail repair, 50 lb bags, priced per bag |
| Recycled millings | $10 | $45 | Low-traffic lanes and temporary surfaces |
Bagged cold patch looks absurd next to bulk on a per-ton basis, and it is: a 50 lb bag at $10 works out to $400 a ton. For anything bigger than a handful of potholes, bulk is the only sensible way to buy it.
What is actually inside the price of a ton
Four costs stack up, and knowing the order helps when a quote looks wrong.
- Liquid asphalt binder. The largest single input and the one that moves. Binder is a petroleum product, so the price per ton tracks crude and refinery capacity with a lag of weeks. When binder spikes, every mix on the list above moves within one or two paving seasons.
- Aggregate. Crushed stone and sand, priced by the ton at the quarry plus freight to the plant. Local geology decides this one: a plant near a hard-rock quarry undercuts one that trucks stone 60 miles.
- Plant cost. Fuel to dry the aggregate, which is why hot mix costs more to make than warm mix, plus labor, maintenance and permits.
- Freight to site. Usually $10 to $30 per ton inside 25 miles, and it climbs fast beyond that because a dump truck only carries 18 to 20 tons per trip.
Why two quotes for the same driveway differ
Six factors explain nearly all of it, and none of them is the contractor being greedy.
- Distance to the plant. Freight is per ton per mile. Two contractors working the same street can be 20 and 60 miles from their plants.
- Order size. Many plants have a 5 or 10 ton minimum, and below it you pay for the minimum rather than the material.
- Season. Mid-summer is the cheapest window because plants are running flat out and trucks are already in the area. Late autumn and early spring cost more.
- Mix design. A polymer-modified surface mix costs more than a plain dense-graded one, and the difference is real in service life on a hot driveway.
- FOB versus delivered. A price quoted "FOB plant" excludes hauling and the truck. Two numbers that look 25% apart are often the same price with different inclusions.
- Payment terms. Accounts that pay in 30 days get a different price than a homeowner paying by card on delivery.
Turning a price per ton into a price per square foot
Contractors quote per square foot because that is what the customer can measure. Plants quote per ton because that is what the scale reads. The bridge is depth.
cost per ft² = (depth in inches ÷ 12) × density ÷ 2,000 × price per tonAt 145 lb/ft³: roughly
price per ton × depth × 0.00604
At $145 per ton, 2 inches of hot mix is $1.75 per square foot in material. The same mix at 3 inches is $2.63. If a quote is $4.50 per square foot installed, the material is under 40% of it and the rest is labor, base and hauling.
| Price per ton | 1 inch | 2 inches | 3 inches | 4 inches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $110 | $0.66 | $1.33 | $1.99 | $2.66 |
| $130 | $0.79 | $1.57 | $2.36 | $3.14 |
| $145 | $0.88 | $1.75 | $2.63 | $3.50 |
| $170 | $1.03 | $2.05 | $3.08 | $4.11 |
| $200 | $1.21 | $2.42 | $3.63 | $4.83 |
Is asphalt sold by the ton or by the yard?
In the US, plants sell by the short ton and the ticket from the scale is the invoice. Some small-load sellers quote by the cubic yard because it is easier to measure out of a hopper, but that is a retail convenience, not how the material is made or priced at the plant.
If a supplier quotes you cubic yards, ask which density they used. A yard of hot mix at 145 lb/ft³ weighs 1.96 tons, so 10 yards is 19.6 tons, not 10. That single question has saved more people from a short load than any other.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a ton of asphalt cost?
Around $110 to $170 per ton for hot mix surface course at the plant in the US, and $130 to $200 for stone mastic. Delivered prices add roughly $10 to $30 per ton depending on distance. These are planning ranges, not quotes.
How much is asphalt per square foot?
Material for 2 inches of hot mix is about $1.75 per square foot at $145 per ton. Installed, including labor and base work, is $3 to $7 per square foot.
Is asphalt priced by the ton or the yard?
By the short ton in the US, weighed at the plant scale. A cubic yard of hot mix is about 1.96 tons, so 10 cubic yards is nearly 20 tons.
Why is bagged cold patch so much more expensive than bulk?
Packaging, shelf life and retail margin. A 50 lb bag at $10 works out to $400 a ton against $140 to $220 for bulk cold patch. Bags make sense for one or two potholes, not for an area.
What is the cheapest asphalt?
Recycled millings, at roughly $10 to $45 per ton, and sometimes free if you haul them yourself from a milling project. They are not equivalent to hot mix, though: they need recompaction, produce a rougher surface and are usually limited to low-traffic lanes.
Does asphalt cost more in summer?
No, usually less. Summer is when plants run continuously and trucks are already in the area, so both the plant price and the freight are at their lowest. Late-season small orders cost the most.
How many tons are in a truckload of asphalt?
A standard dump truck carries 18 to 20 tons. A larger transfer or trailer combination can reach 25 tons. This is a weight limit, not a volume limit, so a big order becomes several loads and each one carries a delivery charge.
Can I buy asphalt directly from a plant?
Sometimes, if you can take a full load and have a truck that can tip it. Plants are set up for account customers and may decline a one-off retail sale, especially in peak season. Ask before you plan around it.