Aluminum Can Price Per Pound in 2026: What You'll Actually Get Paid

Anyone with a full recycling bin has run the same rough math at some point: at some price per can, this pile of cans is worth some amount of money — is it enough to justify a trip to the scrap yard? The honest answer depends on where you live and how much you have. This guide breaks down the current per-pound and per-can prices for aluminum in the US, walks through the state-by-state variation that turns "aluminum can price near me" into a very specific number, and shows when the trip pays and when it doesn't.

If you already know what you're doing and just want the arithmetic, the aluminum can value calculator turns your count into a dollar figure.

What Is an Aluminum Can Actually Worth?

At 2026 Q2 prices, a used aluminum beverage can (UBC-grade scrap) is worth somewhere between 2 and 5 US cents at a scrap recycling yard. Empty 12-ounce cans weigh about 14 to 15 grams each — roughly 32 cans per pound — so at a national-average scrap price of about $0.68 per pound, one crushed can is worth just over 2 cents.

The 2-to-5-cent range is wide because scrap yards price aluminum differently depending on where they sit in the supply chain, how far from a downstream smelter they are, and how much competition for input material they see in their local market.

In eleven US container-deposit states, the calculation is entirely different. There, a used aluminum can is worth a legally-fixed 5 to 15 cents regardless of the scrap price. That legal number essentially always beats scrap on a per-can basis, and it's why aluminum cans are one of the few consumer goods worth collecting at a household scale in those states.

Aluminum Can Price Per Pound: The Numbers

Scrap yards quote in per-pound rates. The US average has hovered in the $0.55 to $0.85 per pound range through most of 2026, tracking the London Metal Exchange (LME) primary aluminum contract minus the yard's processing margin.

Regional variation runs about 15 to 30 percent within any given metro area. That means before driving anywhere with a full trunk load of cans, it's worth calling three or four local yards for their current quote. A typical spread within one city might be:

Yard A (near a downstream smelter, high volume): $0.78/lb
Yard B (average urban yard): $0.68/lb
Yard C (rural or lower-volume): $0.55/lb

For a 50-pound load of cans, that's the difference between $27.50 and $39.00 — meaningful money for the same drive. Yards in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama consistently pay at the top of the range because of downstream secondary-aluminum smelting capacity within a few hundred miles.

To convert a per-pound quote to a per-can price, divide by roughly 32 (the traditional cans-per-pound figure for empty, crushed 12-ounce cans). At $0.68/lb, that's $0.68 ÷ 32 ≈ $0.021 per can, or about 2.1 cents.

Container-Deposit States: The Best Deal

Eleven US jurisdictions run container-deposit programs (also known as "bottle bills") that pay a legally-fixed refund per redeemed container:

California: 5¢ under 24oz, 10¢ over 24oz
Connecticut: 5¢ (10¢ for wine bottles)
Hawaii: 5¢
Iowa: 5¢
Maine: 5¢ (15¢ for wine)
Massachusetts: 5¢
Michigan: 10¢
New York: 5¢
Oregon: 10¢
Vermont: 5¢ (15¢ for select containers)
Guam: 5¢

If you live in one of these places, the redemption center almost always beats the scrap yard on a per-can basis. The exception is commercial-scale volumes (hundreds of pounds), which still route through a scrap yard because redemption centers are designed for household-scale returns.

Why the Aluminum Can Price Changes

Three market forces move the number.

London Metal Exchange primary aluminum contract. The LME price is the reference for all secondary (recycled) aluminum. When the primary metal is expensive, scrap yards can charge more downstream and pay you more. LME primary aluminum spent 2026 in the $2,200 to $2,600 per metric ton range; that translates to roughly $1.00 to $1.20 per pound at the LME level, and scrap prices sit at 55 to 75 percent of that once the yard's margin is subtracted.

Regional demand from secondary smelters. Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and parts of the Midwest have concentrations of aluminum smelting capacity that turn UBC scrap directly into new can-grade stock. Yards within a few hundred miles pay a premium because the freight cost to the buyer is low. Yards more than 500 miles from a smelter pay less because the freight eats their margin.

Local competition for input material. Dense urban markets with several competing yards see 5 to 15 percent higher prices than rural markets with a single yard. If your area has multiple scrap yards, always call more than one.

When the Trip Is Worth It

The rough breakeven for a household load is around 50 pounds — about 1,600 empty cans, or roughly a large trash-bag full. At that volume you're looking at $30 to $50 in payout, well above the cost of a short drive.

Below 50 pounds, the fuel cost often exceeds the payout unless the yard is very close. In that case curbside recycling still gets the material recovered — you just don't get paid for it.

Above 50 pounds, the math tips clearly in favor of the trip, especially if you're already accumulating cans across multiple bins or coworkers. Above 200 pounds you should be shopping quotes aggressively; a 15% spread on a 200-pound load is $20 to $30 of pure margin for making one extra phone call.

Aluminum Can Price Today Versus Historic

The last four years of aluminum scrap prices have been unusually volatile. LME primary aluminum ran up to $4,000/ton in early 2022, crashed to $2,100/ton by late 2023, and has traded sideways in the $2,200 to $2,600 range through 2025 and 2026. That volatility passes through to what your local yard pays — a can worth 3 cents in 2023 might be worth 4 cents this month or 2 cents next month.

The practical implication: if you're accumulating cans as a small side-income and the current per-pound rate is on the low end of the historical range, it's usually fine to wait a few months. Prices tend to revert within a year.

The Bottom Line

One crushed 12-ounce aluminum can is worth about 2 to 5 cents at a scrap yard, or 5 to 15 cents at a container-deposit redemption center.
Current US average scrap price is about $0.55 to $0.85 per pound.
Container-deposit states almost always beat scrap yards for household-scale volumes.
Call three local yards before driving anywhere with a large load — 15 to 30 percent regional spreads are normal.
The aluminum can value calculator turns your specific can count and local per-pound rate into the exact dollar figure.

Recycling aluminum is one of the small handful of household activities where the environmental case and the financial case actually converge — a used can is worth 95 percent less energy to reprocess than to make from scratch, which is why the whole downstream supply chain is willing to pay real money for the material back.