Area Converter

Quick Reference Table

From	To	Multiply By	Example
Square Feet	Square Meters	0.092903	1000 sq ft = 92.9 sq m
Square Meters	Square Feet	10.7639	100 sq m = 1076.4 sq ft
Acres	Square Feet	43,560	1 acre = 43,560 sq ft
Acres	Hectares	0.404686	1 acre = 0.405 hectare
Hectares	Acres	2.47105	1 hectare = 2.47 acres
Hectares	Square Meters	10,000	1 hectare = 10,000 sq m
Square Miles	Square Kilometers	2.58999	1 sq mi = 2.59 sq km
Square Yards	Square Meters	0.836127	100 sq yd = 83.6 sq m

Common Area Sizes

Description	Square Feet	Square Meters	Acres/Other
Sheet of paper (A4)	0.66 sq ft	0.062 sq m	-
Parking space	180 sq ft	16.7 sq m	-
Studio apartment	500 sq ft	46.5 sq m	-
Average US house	2,000-2,500 sq ft	186-232 sq m	-
Tennis court	2,808 sq ft	260.9 sq m	0.064 acre
Basketball court (NBA)	4,700 sq ft	436.6 sq m	0.108 acre
American football field	57,600 sq ft	5,350 sq m	1.32 acres
Soccer field (FIFA)	64,000-86,000 sq ft	5,950-8,000 sq m	1.47-1.98 acres
City block (typical)	217,800 sq ft	20,234 sq m	5 acres / 2 hectares
Central Park (NYC)	-	-	843 acres / 341 hectares
Vatican City	-	-	0.17 sq mi / 0.44 sq km
Manhattan Island	-	-	22.8 sq mi / 59 sq km

Understanding Area Units

Square Meter (m²)

Definition: The SI unit of area. One square meter equals the area of a square with sides of one meter (100 cm × 100 cm). Equal to approximately 10.764 square feet.

History: Derived directly from the meter, established with the metric system in France in 1795. As the meter became the international standard for length, the square meter naturally became the standard for area.

Current Use: Universal standard for area measurements in most countries worldwide. Used for floor plans, property sizes, room dimensions, land parcels, and scientific calculations. Real estate listings outside the US and UK typically use square meters. A typical bedroom is 10-15 m².

Square Foot (ft²)

Definition: The area of a square with sides of one foot (12 inches × 12 inches). Equal to 144 square inches or approximately 0.0929 square meters.

History: Imperial measurement that evolved with the foot as a standard unit. Became standard in English-speaking countries for construction, real estate, and property measurement.

Current Use: Primary area unit in the United States for real estate, home construction, apartment sizes, and commercial space. Used alongside square meters in UK and other Commonwealth countries. Home sizes, floor plans, and rental properties in the US almost exclusively measured in square feet. Carpet and flooring sold by square foot or square yard.

Acre

Definition: Equal to 43,560 square feet, 4,840 square yards, or approximately 4,047 square meters (0.405 hectares). Originally defined as the area of land that could be plowed in one day by a yoke of oxen.

History: Medieval English unit dating to the 13th century. Derived from "aecer" meaning field. Historically varied by region but standardized in 1824. Originally defined as a furlong (660 feet) by a chain (66 feet).

Current Use: Standard unit for land area in United States, UK, Canada, and other countries with British heritage. Used for agricultural land, residential lots, rural properties, and large land parcels. Farms, ranches, and rural real estate typically measured in acres. Urban residential lots often measured in fractions of acres.

Hectare (ha)

Definition: Equal to exactly 10,000 square meters or 2.471 acres. A square 100 meters on each side. Equal to 0.01 square kilometers.

History: Created with the metric system but not officially part of SI units. Name combines "hecto-" (hundred) and "are" (100 m²). Introduced in 1795 and adopted globally as countries metricated.

Current Use: International standard for land area measurements, especially agricultural land, forests, and large properties. Used worldwide except primarily in United States. Real estate, farming, forestry, and environmental planning use hectares in metric countries. One hectare roughly equals 2.5 acres or two soccer fields.

Square Kilometer (km²)

Definition: One million square meters or 100 hectares. A square one kilometer on each side. Equal to approximately 0.386 square miles or 247 acres.

History: Direct derivative of the kilometer, part of the metric system.

Current Use: Used globally for measuring cities, countries, large regions, lakes, and geographic areas. Countries' total areas measured in square kilometers internationally. Used in geography, mapping, and large-scale planning. City limits, national parks, and geographic features measured in km².

Square Mile (mi²)

Definition: The area of a square one statute mile on each side. Equal to 640 acres, 2.59 square kilometers, or 27,878,400 square feet.

History: Imperial unit based on the statute mile. Used historically in Britain and its colonies for surveying and land grants.

Current Use: Used in United States and UK for large land areas, counties, states, and countries. US states' sizes given in square miles. Population density often expressed per square mile in US. UK still uses square miles alongside square kilometers for geographic areas.

Square Yard (yd²)

Definition: The area of a square one yard on each side (3 feet × 3 feet). Equal to 9 square feet or approximately 0.836 square meters.

History: Imperial measurement derived from the yard, historically used for cloth measurement and land surveying.

Current Use: Used in United States for carpeting, fabric, concrete work, and some construction applications. Carpet typically sold by square yard. Less common than square feet for most applications. Gradually being replaced by square meters internationally.

Square Inch (in²)

Definition: The area of a square one inch on each side. Equal to 1/144 square foot or approximately 6.452 square centimeters.

History: Smallest commonly used imperial area unit, derived from the inch.

Current Use: Used for small objects, screens (phone/tablet displays), engineering drawings, and precise measurements. Electronic displays measured in square inches (screen area). Fabric swatches and material samples often measured in square inches.

Square Centimeter (cm²)

Definition: The area of a square one centimeter on each side. Equal to 0.0001 square meters or approximately 0.155 square inches.

History: Metric unit derived from the centimeter.

Current Use: Used worldwide for small area measurements in science, medicine, manufacturing, and everyday objects. Body surface area in medicine calculated in cm². Cross-sectional areas in engineering and biology measured in cm².

Are (a)

Definition: Equal to 100 square meters. One hectare equals 100 ares. A square 10 meters on each side.

History: Part of the original metric system introduced in France. Name from Latin "area."

Current Use: Rarely used today; mostly replaced by hectares for large areas and square meters for smaller ones. Occasionally appears in older documents and some European contexts. The hectare (100 ares) is far more common.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many square feet are in an acre?

There are exactly 43,560 square feet in one acre. This means a square acre would have sides of approximately 208.71 feet. To convert acres to square feet, multiply by 43,560. Example: 2 acres × 43,560 = 87,120 square feet. This is useful for understanding lot sizes and property dimensions.

How do I convert square feet to square meters?

Multiply square feet by 0.092903. Formula: m² = ft² × 0.092903. Example: 1,000 sq ft × 0.092903 = 92.9 sq m. To convert square meters to square feet, multiply by 10.7639. This conversion is essential when viewing international real estate listings or working with metric measurements.

How many acres in a hectare?

One hectare equals 2.471 acres (approximately 2.5 acres). To convert hectares to acres, multiply by 2.471. Example: 5 hectares × 2.471 = 12.36 acres. To convert acres to hectares, multiply by 0.4047. Hectares are standard internationally; acres are common in US and UK.

How big is 1000 square feet?

1,000 square feet equals about 93 square meters. Visualize: a 20 ft × 50 ft rectangle, a 25 ft × 40 ft rectangle, or roughly 31.6 ft × 31.6 ft square. This is approximately the size of a small one-bedroom apartment, a large studio, or a modest two-car garage. About 1/44 of an acre.

What is the difference between square feet and feet?

Feet (ft) measure length (one-dimensional). Square feet (ft²) measure area (two-dimensional). You cannot directly convert between them without additional information. A 10 ft × 10 ft room is 100 square feet of floor area. Think: feet are for measuring along a line; square feet are for measuring surface area.

How do you measure area of irregular shapes?

For irregular properties: break into triangles and rectangles, calculate each area separately, then sum them. Professional surveyors use GPS and specialized software. For rough estimates, overlay a grid and count squares. Many free online tools can calculate area from coordinates or uploaded maps/plans.

How many square miles in a square kilometer?

One square kilometer equals 0.386102 square miles (about 3/8 of a square mile). To convert km² to mi², multiply by 0.386. To convert mi² to km², multiply by 2.58999. Example: 100 km² × 0.386 = 38.6 square miles. This is important for understanding geographic areas and country sizes.

Why is an acre 43,560 square feet?

Historical origins: an acre was the area a team of oxen could plow in one day. Standardized as one furlong (660 feet, or one-eighth mile) by one chain (66 feet). 660 × 66 = 43,560 square feet. The furlong was the length of a plowed furrow in common fields. These medieval measurements became standardized in English law.

Common Uses for Area Conversion

• Real Estate: Understanding property sizes in different units (listings, floor plans)
• Home Improvement: Calculating flooring, carpet, paint coverage
• Gardening: Planning garden beds and calculating mulch or soil needs
• Construction: Material estimates for roofing, siding, concrete
• Land Purchase: Comparing lots and properties across regions
• Agriculture: Farm field sizes and crop planning
• Interior Design: Room planning and furniture layout
• International Moving: Understanding home sizes in different countries

Area Conversion Tips

1. Remember benchmarks: 1 acre ≈ 43,560 sq ft ≈ 4,047 sq m ≈ 0.405 hectares
2. Quick sq ft to sq m: Divide by 10.76 or multiply by 0.093
3. Visual hectare: About 2.5 acres or two soccer fields
4. Apartment size rule: Studio ~500 sq ft, 1BR ~700 sq ft, 2BR ~1000 sq ft
5. Square vs linear: Don't confuse square feet with feet (area vs length)
6. Double conversion: For area, square both the linear conversion factors
7. Use proper symbols: ft² or sq ft (not just ft), m² or sq m

Interesting Area Facts

• Smallest country: Vatican City = 0.17 sq mi (0.44 km²)
• Largest country: Russia = 6.6 million sq mi (17.1 million km²)
• Manhattan Island: 22.8 sq mi (59 km²)
• Rhode Island (smallest US state): 1,214 sq mi (3,144 km²)
• Alaska (largest US state): 665,384 sq mi (1.7 million km²)
• Average US home lot: 0.22 acres (9,583 sq ft)
• Monaco: 0.78 sq mi (2.02 km²) - second smallest country
• Central Park NYC: 843 acres (341 hectares)
• Great Pyramid base: 13.1 acres (5.3 hectares)
• Amazon rainforest: 2.1 million sq mi (5.5 million km²)
• Sahara Desert: 3.5 million sq mi (9 million km²)
• Pacific Ocean: 63.8 million sq mi (165.2 million km²)
• Earth's surface: 197 million sq mi (510 million km²)

Area Calculations for Common Shapes

Rectangle/Square

Area = length × width. Example: 20 ft × 15 ft = 300 square feet. For square: side × side.

Triangle

Area = (base × height) ÷ 2. Example: base 10 ft, height 8 ft = (10 × 8) ÷ 2 = 40 sq ft.

Circle

Area = π × radius². Example: radius 5 ft = 3.14159 × 5² = 78.54 sq ft. For diameter, divide by 2 first to get radius.

Trapezoid

Area = [(base1 + base2) ÷ 2] × height. Average the two parallel sides, multiply by perpendicular height.

Irregular Shapes

Break into simpler shapes (rectangles, triangles), calculate each, then add together. Or use grid method: overlay grid, count full and partial squares.

Real Estate Area Standards

United States

Measured in square feet for homes/apartments, acres for land. Average new home: 2,301 sq ft (2020). Tiny house: under 400 sq ft. Mansion: typically 5,000+ sq ft.

Europe

Measured in square meters for properties. Average apartment: 70-100 m² (753-1,076 sq ft). Parking space: typically 12-15 m². Room sizes smaller than US equivalents on average.

Asia

Varies by country. Hong Kong apartments: 400-600 sq ft typical. Japan uses "tatami mats" (1.65 m² each) and square meters. Singapore: condos 500-1,200 sq ft typical.