Fill Dirt in Philadelphia, PA

In the Philadelphia area, screened or clean fill-dirt generally runs about $10 to $35 per cubic yard, depending on quality and distance from the supplier. Convert to tons using roughly 1 cubic yard = 1.2-1.4 tons (typical average 1.3 tons), so expect about $8 to $27 per ton. Delivery, access, and whether the dirt is screened or has rocks/organic material will shift the price, so get a local quote for a precise total.

Fill-dirt for Philadelphia typically comes from regional quarries and landscape supply yards in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester counties and South Jersey pits that serve the metro area. Hello Gravel’s platform will match you with local suppliers that deliver to your zip code; we recommend checking availability on the site or calling our team so you get supplier details, lead times, and specific material descriptions for your neighborhood.

Small residential deliveries usually do not require a special delivery permit, but if a truck will block the street, sidewalk, or require a closure, the City of Philadelphia may require a street use or lane closure permit through the Streets Department. Large grading changes, stormwater modifications, or extensive site work near public rights-of-way may trigger permits from the Department of Licenses and Inspections or PA DEP. Check with your local city office or a licensed contractor before ordering large volumes to confirm permit needs.

Freeze-thaw cycles and areas with seasonal high groundwater in Philadelphia can cause settlement, frost heave, and poor load-bearing if unsuitable fill is used. Avoid organic or excessively wet fill-dirt, achieve proper compaction, slope for drainage, and consider a granular drainage layer or geotextile where groundwater is a concern. For driveways and structural backfill, use engineered or well-graded material and proper drainage to reduce long-term movement.

For yard grading, screened fill-dirt with low organic content is commonly used to raise grades and re-level lawns. For driveway bases and structural zones, contractors in Philly typically use well-graded granular fill or crusher-run followed by a compacted crushed stone base rather than loose fill-dirt alone. Foundation backfill usually requires clean, free-draining granular fill or engineered backfill per engineer specs—avoid loose, organic topsoil for structural areas and ask for material test or spec if it is for structural use.

Contractors typically target about 90% to 95% of standard Proctor density for fill-dirt compaction in the Philadelphia area. Equipment used ranges from plate compactors and jumping jacks for small or tight spots to vibratory rollers for larger areas. Adding professional compaction can raise a project cost by a few hundred to over a thousand dollars depending on size and accessibility; many contractors price compaction per hour for equipment plus labor or as a line item on a project quote.

Use this general formula: cubic yards = (area in square feet * depth in inches) / 324. As a rule of thumb, 1 inch of fill over 1,000 sq ft equals about 3.09 cubic yards (roughly 4.0 tons using 1.3 tons per cubic yard). Example: a 2-car driveway of 20 ft by 20 ft (400 sq ft) at 4 inches deep needs about (400*4)/324 = 4.94 cubic yards, or roughly 6.4 tons.

Contractors may charge by the hour for labor ($40 to $100 per worker per hour) plus equipment rental ($80 to $150 per hour for compactors or rollers), or offer a flat price per project. For a straightforward 2-car driveway, end-to-end spreading and compaction often falls in the $600 to $3,000 range depending on access, existing surface removal, drainage work, and required compaction standards. Always get multiple detailed quotes that separate material, delivery, machine time, and labor so you can compare apples to apples.

Hello Gravel typically offers standard delivery in 2 or more business days, with next-day delivery available for orders placed before noon CST for an extra fee. The platform minimum is 3 tons; deliveries are made by local dump truck fleets and tailgate spreading may be offered at the driver’s discretion. When ordering, provide access details and any special delivery notes so the carrier can plan safely for your Philadelphia street or property conditions.