How many pounds are in one short ton?

One short ton contains exactly 2,000 pounds. This is a definitional relationship: the short ton is defined as 2,000 pounds, giving it a clean decimal relationship with the pound (1 lb = 0.0005 tons).

How does the short ton compare to other tons?

The short ton (2,000 lbs) is the lightest of the three common tons. The metric ton (2,204.6 lbs) is about 10 percent heavier, and the long ton (2,240 lbs) is 12 percent heavier. All three are close enough to cause confusion but different enough to matter in large transactions.

Where is the short ton used?

The short ton is standard throughout American construction, mining, waste management, and transportation industries. It is also used in Canada for some purposes. Most international trade uses the metric ton instead.

Pounds to Short Tons (lbs to ton) Converter

1 lbs = 0.0005 ton

1 Pound equals 0.0005 Short Tons (1 lbs = 0.0005 ton). Convert Pounds to Short Tons with formula, table, and examples.

One pound equals exactly 0.0005 short tons, or equivalently, one short ton contains exactly 2,000 pounds. Like the short hundredweight, the short ton exemplifies American preference for round, decimal-friendly numbers. Twenty short hundredweights of 100 pounds each make one short ton, creating a clean chain of factors.

How to Convert Pounds to Short Tons

ton = lbs ÷ 2,000

Divide the value in Pounds by 2,000

Take your value in Pounds
Divide by 2,000
Read the result in Short Tons

Common Pounds to Short Tons Conversions

Pounds (lbs)	Short Tons (ton)	Status
1 lbs	0.0005 ton
2 lbs	0.001 ton
5 lbs	0.0025 ton
10 lbs	0.005 ton
25 lbs	0.0125 ton
50 lbs	0.025 ton
100 lbs	0.05 ton
500 lbs	0.25 ton
1,000 lbs	0.5 ton

Good to Know About Pounds to Short Tons Conversion

The short ton's 2,000-pound simplicity is quintessentially American. While the British long ton preserved medieval trading ratios and the metric ton embodied Enlightenment rationalism, the short ton reflects a pragmatic young nation choosing the easiest possible arithmetic. Two thousand pounds requires no explanation, no historical justification, and no conversion table. It simply is what it says.

Pounds to Short Tons: What You Need to Know

American construction projects specify materials in short tons: concrete, gravel, asphalt, steel. Waste management companies charge per ton for disposal. The mining industry reports production in short tons. Trucking companies rate their vehicles by ton capacity. In everyday American commerce, 'ton' without qualification means short ton, and the pound-to-ton conversion is second nature to anyone in these industries.

What is a Pound? lbs

An imperial and US customary unit of mass equal to approximately 453.6 grams or 16 ounces. Widely used in the US and UK for body weight and commerce.

Imperial Us-customary body weight (US/UK) food (US) commerce

Learn more about Pound →

What is a Short Ton? ton

A short ton (US ton) is a unit of mass equal to exactly 2,000 pounds or 907.18474 kilograms. It is the standard ton used in the United States for commerce, industry, and shipping.

Imperial US shipping construction materials coal measurement

Learn more about Short Ton →

Going the other way? Use our Short Tons to Pounds converter.

Pounds to Short Tons FAQ

One short ton contains exactly 2,000 pounds. This is a definitional relationship: the short ton is defined as 2,000 pounds, giving it a clean decimal relationship with the pound (1 lb = 0.0005 tons).
The short ton (2,000 lbs) is the lightest of the three common tons. The metric ton (2,204.6 lbs) is about 10 percent heavier, and the long ton (2,240 lbs) is 12 percent heavier. All three are close enough to cause confusion but different enough to matter in large transactions.
The short ton is standard throughout American construction, mining, waste management, and transportation industries. It is also used in Canada for some purposes. Most international trade uses the metric ton instead.

Non-Frequently Asked Questions About Pounds to Short Tons

Questions nobody should ask - but someone did.

A typical quarter-pound cheeseburger weighs about 0.35 pounds with the bun and toppings. One short ton would be roughly 5,714 cheeseburgers, enough to feed a decent-sized music festival and certainly enough to give your cardiologist a long talk about dietary choices.
A large pizza weighs about 2 to 2.5 pounds. One short ton of pizza would be 800 to 1,000 large pizzas. Nobody has ever literally eaten a ton of pizza in one sitting, but the hyperbole is understandable after a late-night third slice turns into a sixth.
They weigh exactly the same: 2,000 pounds each. The bricks fit in a small pile roughly the size of a coffee table. The feathers would fill a room approximately 20 feet on each side. Both would be equally unpleasant to have dropped on your foot, though the feathers would take considerably longer to clean up.