How many acres is a typical house lot?

The US median residential lot is approximately 0.19 acres (8,276 sq ft) based on Census Bureau data. Suburban averages range from 0.15 to 0.30 acres depending on the region. Urban lots can be as small as 0.05 acres, while rural residential lots are typically 1 acre or more.

Recorded · April 2026Plat Bk 26 · Pg 04 · Sec 1, T 1 N, R 1 E

Land Area Reference / Sheet 01

Acres to Square Feet

Q: Why is an acre 43,560 square feet?

The acre is defined as one chain (66 feet, the length of a surveyor's Gunter's chain) by one furlong (660 feet, the distance a team of oxen could plow without rest). One chain multiplied by one furlong equals 43,560 square feet. This definition predates the metric system by several centuries and was formalised internationally in 1959.

Q: What is the difference between an international acre and a US survey acre?

The international acre is exactly 43,560 sq ft (international feet) = 4,046.8564224 m2. The US survey acre is approximately 43,560.174 sq ft = 4,046.872609874 m2. The difference is about 3.22 square feet per 640 acres. The US survey foot was deprecated by the National Geodetic Survey on October 1, 2022; all new federal surveys use the international foot.

Q: What is a commercial acre?

A commercial acre is a historical US real-estate convention used in some cities to account for streets, sidewalks, and alleys when subdividing a parcel into lots. It is typically about 36,000 square feet (roughly 82.6% of a standard acre). It is not a legal or SI unit and does not appear in modern legal descriptions. If you see 'commercial acre' in a contract, always confirm the actual square footage.

A surveyor's reference for land buyers, brokers, farmers, and anyone holding a deed. Type acres or square feet; the other side updates instantly. The constant is 43,560 and it has not changed since 1959.

Acres

Square Feet

4,046.9 m²|0.4047 ha|About 90% of an American football field

International foot (post-2022 standard)

Default constant: International acre (43,560 sq ft). Toggle to US survey foot for pre-2022 federal land descriptions.

NSEW

6	5	4	3	2	1
7	8	9	10	11	12
18	17	16	15	14	13
19	20	21	22	23	24
30	29	28	27	26	25
31	32	33	34	35	36

Fig. 1 · Township grid: 36 sections,
640 acres each. Section 16 highlighted.

Constant

43,560

square feet per acre

Metric

4,046.86

square metres per acre

Hectare

0.4047

hectares per acre

Derivation: one surveyor's chain (66 ft, the Gunter's chain of 1620) multiplied by one furlong (660 ft, the distance a team of oxen could plow without rest) equals 43,560 square feet. Read the chain-and-furlong history.

Sheet 02 · Visual Scale

What different acreages look like

Full visual reference →

0.1 ac

4,356 ft²

Large backyard

0.25 ac

10,890 ft²

Suburban lot

0.5 ac

21,780 ft²

Country plot

1 ac

43,560 ft²

Farmer's field

5 ac

217,800 ft²

Small homestead

40 ac

1,742,400 ft²

Quarter-quarter sec.

Sheet 03 · Schedule of Conversions

Common acre conversions

Full table: 0.05 to 640 acres →

Acres	Square Feet	Sq Metres	Hectares	Notation
0.1	4,356	404.7	0.0405	Large suburban backyard
0.25	10,890	1,011.7	0.1012	Typical US suburban lot
0.5	21,780	2,023.4	0.2023	Half-acre country plot
1	43,560	4,046.9	0.4047	About 90% of a football field
2	87,120	8,093.7	0.8094	Roughly 1.5 football fields
5	217,800	20,234.3	2.0234	Small rural homestead
10	435,600	40,468.6	4.0469	Hobby farm
20	871,200	80,937.2	8.0937	Small working farm
40	1,742,400	161,874.4	16.1874	Quarter-quarter section
100	4,356,000	404,686	40.4686	Commercial farm operation

Sheet 04 · Field References

Things at known acreages

Areas verified against operator and government data. Use as a sanity check when sizing a parcel by eye.

Sport

US football field (incl. end zones)

1.32 ac

57,600 sq ft

Sport

Field of play (between end zones)

0.96 ac

48,000 sq ft

Sport

NBA basketball court

0.108 ac

4,700 sq ft

Sport

Singles tennis court

0.06 ac

2,610 sq ft

Building

Walmart Supercenter (avg footprint)

4.7 ac

180,000 sq ft

Park

Disneyland Park, California

85 ac

3,702,600 sq ft

Country

Vatican City

109 ac

4,748,040 sq ft

Park

Central Park, NYC

843 ac

36,709,080 sq ft

Not every acre is the same

International acre. The modern standard, exactly 43,560 sq ft (international feet) by the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement. This is the value used by every modern US real-estate listing and every international land transaction.
US survey acre. Historically used for federal land records; about 3.22 sq ft larger per 640 acres. The underlying US survey foot was deprecated by the National Geodetic Survey on October 1, 2022.
Commercial acre. An informal historical convention used in some US cities (about 36,000 sq ft, roughly 82.6% of a standard acre) to account for streets, sidewalks, and alleys. Not a legal unit. If a contract uses this term, ask for the exact square footage.

All four acre types compared

Sheet 05 · Common Questions

Frequently asked

How many square feet are in an acre?

There are exactly 43,560 square feet in one international acre. This is the global standard since the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement. The number derives from one surveyor's chain (66 feet) multiplied by one furlong (660 feet).

Is an acre bigger than a football field?

A US football field including end zones is 1.32 acres (57,600 sq ft), so an acre is smaller than the full field. The playing field between end zones is 0.96 acres, slightly less than one acre. Farmers informally call one acre 'the farmer's football field'.

Why is an acre 43,560 square feet?

An acre is defined as one Gunter's chain (66 feet) by one furlong (660 feet). The chain was a 17th-century surveyor's measuring tool. The furlong was the distance a team of oxen could plow without rest. Multiply 66 by 660 and you get 43,560. This definition was standardised internationally in 1959.

What is the difference between an international acre and a US survey acre?

The international acre is exactly 43,560 sq ft = 4,046.8564224 m2. The US survey acre is about 43,560.174 sq ft. The difference is roughly 3.22 sq ft per 640 acres, significant only for very large parcels. The US survey foot was deprecated by the NGS on October 1, 2022.

How big is half an acre?

Half an acre is 21,780 square feet, or about 2,024 square metres. Visually, it is roughly 8 tennis courts side by side, or a rectangle about 147 by 148 feet. Most US suburban lots fall between a quarter and a half acre.

How many acres is a square mile?

One square mile equals exactly 640 acres. Under the US Public Land Survey System, this unit is called a section. A township contains 36 sections (6 miles by 6 miles). A quarter-section of 160 acres was the original Homestead Act grant of 1862.

What is a commercial acre?

The commercial acre is an informal historical convention used in some US cities, typically about 36,000 sq ft (82.6% of a standard acre). It accounts for streets, sidewalks, and alleys when subdividing a parcel. It is not a legal or SI unit. If you see it in a contract, always confirm the actual square footage.

How do I measure acres on Google Maps?

Right-click on Google Maps and select 'Measure distance.' Click around the boundary of your land. Google Maps shows the area in square feet or square metres. Divide square feet by 43,560 to get acres, or divide square metres by 4,046.86.

All common questions answered on the FAQ page →

Sheet Index

More land-area reference

Conversion Table

Schedule of conversions, 0.05 to 640 acres

Visual Reference

What 0.1 to 640 acres actually looks like

How Big Is an Acre?

Chain-and-furlong derivation, shape, methods

Acres and Hectares

Bidirectional converter and global usage

Acres and Square Metres

Bidirectional with full reference table

Acres and Square Miles

Sections, townships, the PLSS grid

Land Pricing Math

Per-acre, per-sq-ft, state averages

Farming Reference

USDA crop yields, cash-rent per acre

Real Estate Guide

Lot sizes from urban townhouse to ranch

Parcels by State

Average farm and lot size, 50 states

Acre Types

International, survey, commercial, builder's

Survey Foot vs Int'l

The 2022 NGS deprecation

Square Feet to Acres

Reverse-direction converter

FAQ

Common questions answered

Glossary

Acre, chain, furlong, rod, township, more

Sister Sheet

Working with metric measurements? Our sister site handles m² to sq ft.

squaremeterstosquarefeet.com →

6	5	4	3	2	1
7	8	9	10	11	12
18	17	16	15	14	13
19	20	21	22	23	24
30	29	28	27	26	25
31	32	33	34	35	36

6	5	4	3	2	1
7	8	9	10	11	12
18	17	16	15	14	13
19	20	21	22	23	24
30	29	28	27	26	25
31	32	33	34	35	36

6	5	4	3	2	1
7	8	9	10	11	12
18	17	16	15	14	13
19	20	21	22	23	24
30	29	28	27	26	25
31	32	33	34	35	36