Crushed Limestone: Size, Uses, and Cost Per Ton (2026)

Crushed limestone is quarried limestone that has been crushed and screened into standard sizes from screenings to 3-inch rock. It costs $20 to $45 per ton in 2026, weighs 1.3 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard, and is the cheapest crushed stone across the Midwest, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and any other region sitting on limestone bedrock. Its light color, low price, and the way its fines cement together under traffic make it the default driveway and road gravel in a big part of the country.

What Makes Limestone Different From Other Crushed Stone

Limestone is calcium carbonate. It is softer than granite or basalt, which means it crushes cheaply, wears at the edges, and its dust reacts with water to bind the pieces together. A limestone crusher run driveway sets up harder than the same driveway in granite. A layer of limestone screenings packs into something close to a concrete surface. On the other hand, limestone dust is alkaline and raises soil pH, it stains white in dry weather, and the rock breaks down faster under freeze-thaw and heavy trucks, so a limestone driveway needs topping up a little more often than a granite one.

Crushed Limestone Sizes and Uses

• Limestone screenings (under 1/4 inch). Paver base leveling layer, path surface, and horse arenas. Packs like concrete.
• #8 limestone (3/8 to 1/2 inch). Driveway top layer and walkways. Smooth to drive on.
• #57 limestone (3/4 to 1 inch). Drainage, driveway middle layer, concrete, pipe bedding. The most sold size. See the #57 gravel page.
• #4 limestone (1 to 1.5 inch). Driveway base and drainage beds.
• #2 limestone (2 to 3 inch). Deep base for truck lots and erosion control.
• Limestone crusher run (3/4 or 1.5 inch minus). Road base, driveway surface, parking lots. Packs harder than any other crusher run.

What Crushed Limestone Is Used For

• Driveways. In limestone country, a driveway is 4 to 6 inches of limestone crusher run, or #4 base with #57 middle and #8 top. Any of them works.
• Roads and parking lots. County road departments run on limestone crusher run.
• Base under concrete, pavers, and asphalt. Compacts firm and stays that way.
• Drainage. Clean #57 and #4 limestone in French drains and around foundations.
• Barns, arenas, and farm lanes. Screenings for stall floors and arenas, crusher run for lanes.
• Landscaping. White limestone chips as bed ground cover, and larger limestone as edging. It brightens shade beds.
• Agricultural lime. Pulverized limestone is spread on fields to raise soil pH; a different product from the same quarry.

How Crushed Limestone Behaves

Fresh limestone is angular and interlocks like any crushed stone. As traffic wears the edges and the dust cements, the surface tightens. After a year a limestone driveway is smooth, firm, and nearly dust free in wet weather. In dry weather the surface powders and tracks white into the garage. Drainage depends on the size: clean #57 drains well, crusher run and screenings shed water. Compaction is about 10 percent for clean sizes and 15 percent for crusher run.

What Crushed Limestone Costs

Price depends on how close you are to a limestone quarry. In Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Central Texas, and Florida, limestone runs $15 to $30 per ton at the quarry, less than anything else on the price list. Far from limestone bedrock (the Southeast, New England, the West) it costs $35 to $45 per ton after trucking, and local granite or basalt will be cheaper. One ton covers about 80 square feet at 3 inches and 60 square feet at 4 inches. A 10-ton truckload runs $200 to $450 before delivery. A 12 x 40 ft driveway at 4 inches needs about 10 tons.

What to Avoid

Do not use limestone next to acid-loving plants (azaleas, blueberries, rhododendrons); the runoff raises soil pH. Do not expect a dust-free surface in a dry summer. Do not use limestone screenings or crusher run in a drain. Do not use it as a play surface. And in regions with no limestone quarry, check the price of local crushed stone first; you are paying for trucking, and granite does the same job.