A standard bushel of blue crabs usually holds about 60–84 crabs , depending on size.

Quick Scoop

For blue crabs sold by the bushel:

  • Small crabs: about 72–96 crabs (6–8 dozen) per bushel.
  • Medium crabs: about 60–84 crabs (5–7 dozen) per bushel.
  • Large crabs: about 48–72 crabs (4–6 dozen) per bushel.

Many East Coast crab houses and regulations describe a “typical” bushel of blue crabs as around 7 dozen (≈84) crabs , with real-world counts often falling in the 6–8 dozen range.

Handy size table

Here’s a compact view you could use in a blog post:

[3][5] [5][3] [9][3][5] [3][5][9] [5][3] [3][5] [7] [7]
Crab size Typical count per bushel Approx. dozens
Small blue crabs 72–96 crabs 6–8 dozen
Medium blue crabs 60–84 crabs 5–7 dozen
Large blue crabs 48–72 crabs 4–6 dozen
“Rule of thumb” bushel ≈84 crabs ≈7 dozen

TL;DR: If someone says “a bushel of crabs” and doesn’t specify size, planning on about 7 dozen blue crabs is a safe, practical estimate.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.