How to Measure Acreage by Square Feet

Use a tape measure to determine the square feet of a lot.

If you are considering buying a home or a lot of land, knowing the acreage may be very important to you. When you read real estate listings, you will see that the size of a yard or lot may be given in either square feet or in acres. It is helpful to be able to convert between the two units when considering the size of a property. You also may need to measure acreage in square feet if you are selling a property.

Things You'll Need

• Reel tape measure
• Calculator

Instructions

1. Measure the borders of the property using a reel tape measure.

2. Sketch a rough drawing of the lot and write in your measurements in feet units.

3. Divide the sketch into geometric shapes if necessary. If the lot is one big square or rectangle, you won't need to do this.

4. Find the square footage of each shape within the sketch. For rectangles and squares, multiply the length times of the width of the shape. For triangles, multiply the base times the height and divide by two.

5. Add the area of each figure to find the total square feet of the property.

6. Use the calculator to divide the total square footage by 43,560, which is the number of square feet in an acre. This calculation will give you the size of the property in acres.

References

• Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction: Wisconsin Mathematics Formula Reference Sheet
• National Oceanographic Data Center: Unit Conversion Guide