---
title: "Wood Density Table: What Every Species Weighs (kg/m³ and lb/ft³)"
description: "Density of 18 woods and panels, air-dry, with pounds per cubic foot and kilograms per board foot — the table behind every weight the calculators return."
image: "https://nestingcalc.com/og-default.png"
url: "https://nestingcalc.com/guides/wood-species-weight-comparison/"
locale: "en"
---

# Wood Density Table: What Every Species Weighs (kg/m³ and lb/ft³)

Density of 18 woods and panels, air-dry, with pounds per cubic foot and kilograms per board foot — the table behind every weight the calculators return.

## How much does wood weigh?

Air-dry wood runs from about 380 kg/m³ (western red cedar) to 770 kg/m³ (white oak) — a factor of two between the lightest and the heaviest common species. Weight is simply density × volume, so one cubic metre of white oak weighs 770 kg while the same cubic metre of cedar weighs 380 kg. Every figure below is quoted air-dry, at roughly 12% moisture content.

## Density table — 18 woods and panels

Air-dry density by species, with the two units the trade actually uses and the weight of a single board foot:

| Species | kg/m³ | lb/ft³ | kg per board foot |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cedar (western red) | 380 | 23.7 | 0.90 |
| Poplar | 420 | 26.2 | 0.99 |
| Spruce | 450 | 28.1 | 1.06 |
| Fir | 480 | 30.0 | 1.13 |
| Pine | 500 | 31.2 | 1.18 |
| Douglas fir | 530 | 33.1 | 1.25 |
| Plywood | 540 | 33.7 | 1.27 |
| Cherry | 600 | 37.5 | 1.42 |
| Mahogany | 600 | 37.5 | 1.42 |
| Birch | 620 | 38.7 | 1.46 |
| Walnut | 650 | 40.6 | 1.53 |
| Teak | 660 | 41.2 | 1.56 |
| Ash | 700 | 43.7 | 1.65 |
| Hard maple | 700 | 43.7 | 1.65 |
| Beech | 720 | 44.9 | 1.70 |
| Red oak | 750 | 46.8 | 1.77 |
| MDF | 750 | 46.8 | 1.77 |
| White oak | 770 | 48.1 | 1.82 |

Individual boards vary by ±10% around these values; heartwood, growth rate and where the tree grew all move the number.

## Density, specific gravity and specific weight

Three terms describe the same property. Density is mass per volume in kg/m³ (or lb/ft³). Specific gravity is that density divided by the density of water, so oak at 750 kg/m³ has a specific gravity of 0.75 — a dimensionless number that fits every unit system. Specific weight is strictly force per volume (N/m³), but in day-to-day workshop and timber-trade use it means the same figure as density. Whichever term a supplier uses, ask what moisture content it refers to: without that, the number is unusable.

## Green wood weighs up to 1.5× more

The densities above are air-dry. Freshly felled timber carries a great deal of free water: green oak approaches 1,000 kg/m³ and green softwood can be 1.5× its dry weight. That is exactly the multiplier the [Lumber weight calculator](https://nestingcalc.com/lumber-weight-calculator/) and [Firewood](https://nestingcalc.com/firewood-calculator/) calculators apply for the fresh setting. Structural timber is normally dried to 18–20% moisture, furniture stock to 8–12%; the drier it is, the closer it sits to the table.

## What that means for a board, a beam and a pallet

A 2×4 (38 × 89 mm) at 2.4 m is 0.0081 m³, so it weighs about 3.7 kg in spruce and 6.1 kg in oak. An oak beam 100 × 200 mm × 3 m is 0.06 m³ — 45 kg, a two-person lift. A pallet of 100 board feet of white oak comes to 182 kg (400 lb) before the pallet itself. Use the [Lumber weight calculator](https://nestingcalc.com/lumber-weight-calculator/) calculator for any size and species, or [Board feet calculator](https://nestingcalc.com/board-feet-calculator/) when you are buying by the board foot.

## Where these numbers come from

The values follow published averages for air-dry timber — the USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook for North American species, and DIN 68364 / EN 350 style trade figures for European ones. They are the same table the calculators on this site use, so an article and a tool can never quote you different numbers. For stacked firewood, where roughly 30% of a stacked cubic metre is air rather than wood, see [Firewood](https://nestingcalc.com/firewood-calculator/).

[Lumber weight calculator](https://nestingcalc.com/lumber-weight-calculator/) [Open the linear cutting calculator](https://nestingcalc.com/linear-cutting-calculator/)

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