A typical adult cotton t-shirt weighs about 4 to 7 ounces (115 to 200 grams), with a men’s medium usually around 5 to 6 ounces. Dress shirts and polos run about 6 to 9 ounces, and flannel or heavyweight work shirts reach 10 to 16 ounces. Packed in a poly mailer, one t-shirt almost always ships under 1 pound.
These are typical ranges, not exact figures. Fabric weight, size and style move the number, and the only weight that counts on a shipping label is the packed package on a scale. The tables below help you estimate before you weigh.
How much does a shirt weigh by style?
The figures below are typical weights for one adult shirt in a medium or large, without packaging.
| Shirt style | Typical weight (oz) | Typical weight (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Lightweight or fashion-fit t-shirt | 3.5–5 | 100–140 |
| Standard cotton t-shirt | 5–6.5 | 140–185 |
| Heavyweight t-shirt | 7–9 | 200–255 |
| Long-sleeve t-shirt | 6–9 | 170–255 |
| Polo shirt | 6–9 | 170–255 |
| Button-down dress shirt | 6–9 | 170–255 |
| Flannel or work shirt | 10–16 | 285–455 |
| Kids’ t-shirt | 2–4 | 55–115 |
A pullover hoodie is much heavier than any shirt, typically 16 to 28 ounces, so a single hoodie usually ships at 1 to 2 pounds once packed.
What makes one shirt heavier than another?
Three things explain most of the difference: fabric weight, size and construction.
- Fabric weight. Apparel makers list fabric weight in grams per square meter (GSM) or ounces per square yard. One ounce per square yard equals about 33.9 GSM. Lightweight tees use roughly 120 to 150 GSM fabric, standard tees about 150 to 200 GSM, and heavyweight tees 200 GSM and up.
- Size. Bigger shirts use more fabric. An XXL in the same style commonly weighs 1 to 2 ounces more than a small.
- Construction. Collars, plackets, buttons, cuffs, pockets and large screen prints all add weight. That is why a dress shirt often outweighs a t-shirt cut from similar fabric.
Fiber matters less than fabric weight. A heavy 100% cotton tee and a heavy cotton-polyester blend tee of the same GSM weigh about the same, so check the spec sheet rather than guessing from the fiber.
How much does a shirt weigh packed for shipping?
Packed shipping weight is the shirt plus everything around it: the mailer or box, tissue, a packing slip and any branded insert. This total, called the gross weight, is what carriers charge on, as our guide to gross weight vs net weight explains.
| Packaging | Typical added weight |
|---|---|
| Poly mailer (10 × 13 in) | 0.3–1 oz |
| Padded or bubble mailer | 1–3 oz |
| Small corrugated box | 3–8 oz |
| Tissue, packing slip, insert | 0.3–1 oz |
Put together, a standard t-shirt in a poly mailer usually ships at 6 to 8 ounces, and a dress shirt folded in a small box at roughly 12 to 16 ounces. Two or three tees in one mailer typically land between 11 and 20 ounces, which is where the 1-pound line starts to matter.
Which weight steps matter when shipping a shirt?
USPS Ground Advantage prices parcels under 1 pound in four weight steps: up to 4, 8, 12 and 15.99 ounces. Any fraction over a step moves the package to the next one, so an 8.2-ounce mailer is priced at the 12-ounce step. From 1 pound up, any fraction of a pound counts as a whole pound, so a 16.2-ounce order is billed as 2 pounds.
For a single shirt, the 8-ounce step is the one to watch. A standard tee in a poly mailer usually lands just under it, while a heavyweight tee or a padded mailer can tip it over.
That makes packaging choice worth checking for multi-shirt orders. Switching from a box to a poly mailer can save 3 to 7 ounces, often enough to keep two shirts under the 1-pound mark. USPS First-Class Package Service no longer exists. It was folded into USPS Ground Advantage in July 2023, so older advice that mentions it now applies to Ground Advantage.
Shirts are light and soft, so dimensional weight rarely matters in a mailer. In a box it can. UPS applies dimensional weight to every package, dividing length × width × height in inches by 139 at Daily Rates. USPS applies it only to parcels larger than 1 cubic foot. Our explainer on UPS dimensional weight works through examples.
How does a shirt compare with other clothing?
Shirts sit at the light end of apparel. A pair of adult jeans typically weighs 1 to 2 pounds, roughly three to five times a t-shirt, and our guide to how much a pair of jeans weighs breaks that down by fit and fabric. Sweaters fall in between at about half a pound to nearly 2 pounds, depending on yarn.
Weight estimating works the same way for other items you sell. Our page on how much a book weighs shows how binding and page count change a book’s shipping weight, much as fabric and style change a shirt’s.
How do you weigh a shirt for shipping?
- Fold the shirt and pack it exactly as you’ll ship it, including the mailer, tissue and slip.
- Weigh the sealed package on a digital postal scale that reads in 0.1-ounce steps.
- Note which step it falls in: 4, 8, 12 or 15.99 ounces under 1 pound, or the next whole pound above that.
- For a box, measure length, width and height so the label price includes any dimensional weight.
No postal scale? Our guide on how to weigh packages at home covers kitchen-scale and bathroom-scale methods. With the packed weight in hand, you can compare UPS and USPS services in the ParcelPath rate calculator. ParcelPath is free to use and offers up to 85% off UPS and up to 89% off USPS.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a shirt weigh in ounces?
A typical adult t-shirt weighs about 4 to 7 ounces, with a men’s medium cotton tee usually near 5 to 6 ounces. Polos and button-down dress shirts run about 6 to 9 ounces, and flannel or work shirts 10 to 16 ounces. Kids’ tees are lighter at around 2 to 4 ounces. Size and fabric weight cause most of the variation.
How much does a shirt weigh in a poly mailer?
A standard t-shirt in a poly mailer usually weighs 6 to 8 ounces packed, because a 10 × 13 inch poly mailer adds only about 0.3 to 1 ounce. Add a little for tissue or a packing slip. That usually keeps a single tee at or under the 8-ounce step USPS Ground Advantage uses for lightweight parcels.
How many shirts can ship under 1 pound?
Usually two standard t-shirts fit under 1 pound in a poly mailer. Two medium tees at about 5.5 ounces each, plus roughly an ounce of packaging, come to about 12 ounces. A third tee usually pushes the package past 16 ounces, where USPS Ground Advantage switches from its ounce steps to pound-based pricing.
Does a dress shirt weigh more than a t-shirt?
Usually, yes. A button-down dress shirt typically weighs 6 to 9 ounces, compared with 5 to 6.5 ounces for a standard tee. The collar, placket, cuffs and buttons add fabric and hardware. Dress shirts are also often shipped folded in a box with cardboard inserts, which can add several more ounces to the packed weight.
Sources
- USPS DMM 283, USPS Ground Advantage (weight tiers, rounding and dimensional weight).
- UPS, Package Dimensions, Size Limits and Weight Guide.
- Shirt and packaging weights are typical ranges compiled from apparel manufacturer product specifications, not carrier data.
Part of our How to Weigh Packages at Home guide. Related: Weighing Packages for Shipping, Gross Weight vs Net Weight, How Much Does a Tire Weigh.
