A full cord of firewood weighs between roughly 2,100 and 4,300 pounds seasoned, and up to 5,600 pounds green. Which end of that range you get depends on one thing: the species.
That is a spread of more than two tons for the same 128 cubic feet of wood, and it explains a great deal about how firewood is priced, delivered and burned.
Weight of a cord by species
| Species | Seasoned (lb) | Green (lb) | Seasoned (tons) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hickory | 4,327 | 5,040 | 2.2 |
| White oak | 4,200 | 5,573 | 2.1 |
| Beech | 3,760 | 4,890 | 1.9 |
| Red oak | 3,757 | 4,888 | 1.9 |
| Sugar maple | 3,757 | 4,685 | 1.9 |
| Ash | 3,440 | 3,952 | 1.7 |
| Birch | 3,179 | 4,312 | 1.6 |
| Douglas fir | 2,970 | 3,319 | 1.5 |
| Cherry | 2,928 | 3,696 | 1.5 |
| Red maple | 2,900 | 4,685 | 1.4 |
| Elm | 2,872 | 4,456 | 1.4 |
| Aspen | 2,295 | 3,440 | 1.1 |
| Pine | 2,236 | 3,600 | 1.1 |
| Cottonwood | 2,108 | 3,475 | 1.1 |
| Spruce | 2,100 | 2,800 | 1.1 |
The ordering is not arbitrary. It is almost exactly the same ordering as heat output, because both come from the same property: density. A cord of hickory weighs twice what a cord of spruce weighs, and it delivers close to twice the heat. Wood is wood, and you are essentially buying it by the pound regardless of what unit the seller quotes.
Why green wood weighs so much more
The difference between the two weight columns is water, and there is a lot of it. Freshly felled hardwood can be 50 percent water by weight. A cord of green white oak carries roughly 1,400 pounds of water that a seasoned cord does not.
That water has to go somewhere. Either it evaporates over months in your woodpile, or it boils off in your stove using energy that would otherwise have heated the room. This is the whole argument for seasoned or kiln dried wood: you are not paying for drier wood as a luxury, you are paying not to buy 1,400 pounds of water at firewood prices.
It also means a green cord and a seasoned cord of the same species are the same volume but materially different products. If a seller is quoting green wood, that should be reflected in the price.
What this means for hauling it yourself
The most common practical question about cord weight is whether you can collect it in your own vehicle. Usually not, and this is where people get into trouble.
| Vehicle | Typical payload | Realistic load |
|---|---|---|
| Half ton pickup (F-150, Silverado 1500) | 1,000 to 2,000 lb | About a quarter cord of hardwood |
| Three quarter ton (F-250, 2500) | 2,000 to 3,500 lb | Half a cord to most of one |
| Small trailer, 3,500 lb rated | Trailer dependent | Half a cord, weight limited not volume limited |
Two things go wrong. The first is that an 8 foot bed looks like it could hold a cord, and by volume it roughly could if you stacked it above the sides. By weight, it is nowhere close. The second is that firewood loaded loose does not sit like a neat stack, so people fill the bed by eye and are well over the axle rating before the bed looks full.
The safe way to think about it: for hardwood, a half ton pickup carries about a quarter cord per trip. Four trips for a cord, and that is before you account for the drive.
Bear in mind the volume side too. Loose wood occupies roughly one and a half times the space of the same wood stacked, so use the cord of wood calculator to work out what you actually collected, measured after stacking.
Weight and the price you pay
Weight is the reason firewood pricing is stubbornly local. Freight on two tons of anything is significant, and firewood is cheap per pound, so over any real distance transport costs more than the product.
This is why:
- A yard 10 miles away beats a cheaper yard 50 miles away, once delivery is in the total.
- Metro areas far from a woodlot pay a premium that has nothing to do with the wood.
- Sellers quote a free delivery radius and a per mile rate beyond it, and that rate is the most common hidden cost in the whole transaction.
The regional consequences are laid out in firewood prices by state.
Weight is not a way to buy firewood
One thing weight is not useful for: buying. Firewood is sold by volume, not by weight, and for good reason. A seller pricing by the pound would be selling you water, and would have every incentive to deliver the wood green.
Most state weights and measures statutes define firewood in cubic feet for exactly this reason. If a seller offers a price per pound or per ton, that is worth a second look, because the moisture content decides what you are getting and you have no easy way to check it at the point of delivery.
Buy by the cord, 128 cubic feet, and ask what species it is. The weight follows from those two answers.