Acres to Square Feet Converter — Convert acres to ft² (Exact: 1 acre = 43,560 ft²)
Accurate acres (ac) to square feet (ft²) converter using the exact statutory definition: 1 acre = 43,560 square feet. Ideal for real estate listings, parcel maps, zoning and planning, farm management, and construction takeoffs. Includes precise formulas, worked examples, expanded reference tables, rounding guidance, detailed FAQs, and practical tips.
Exact factor: 1 acre = 43,560 ft² ⇒ ft² = acres × 43,560. See all free area unit converters.
About Acres to Square Feet Conversion
The acre (ac) is entrenched in US real estate, agriculture, and land-use planning, while square feet (ft²) appear in building codes, architectural schedules, and property details. Converting acres to square feet lets you toggle between parcel-level summaries and building-scale details without changing your source of truth.
Because the acre is defined as exactly 43,560 ft², your conversions are deterministic and audit-friendly. A common workflow keeps area_ft2 or area_m2 as canonical storage; acres are derived for marketing and parcel summaries, then rounded once at presentation to keep PDFs, dashboards, and exports consistent.
When collaborating across borders, chain through SI the same way every time: ft² → m² (exact: 1 ft² = 0.09290304 m²) and m² → hectares (1 ha = 10,000 m²). Document the constants in a short “Methods” note and reuse everywhere.
Acres to Square Feet Formula
Exact relationship
Use either expression:
ft² = acres × 43,560
// inverse
acres = ft² ÷ 43,560Example:
2.5 acres × 43,560 = 108,900 ft²Related Area Converters
What is an Acre (ac)?
An acre historically represents 10 square chains (a surveying unit), which equals exactly 43,560 ft². Parcels, ranches, and farms are commonly summarized in acres because the numbers are human-scaled for land holdings. For engineering and international reporting, the same areas are often restated in m² or hectares.
What is a Square Foot (ft²)?
A square foot is the area of a square one foot on a side. It’s ubiquitous in building summaries, floor plans, and occupiable-area calculations. Because 1 ft = 0.3048 m exactly, 1 ft² = 0.09290304 m² exactly—handy for integrating with metric GIS and BIM schedules.
Step-by-Step: Converting acres to ft²
- Read the parcel size in acres from a deed, listing, or GIS attribute table.
- Multiply by 43,560 to convert to square feet.
- Round once at presentation (e.g., whole ft² for marketing; more precision for engineering takeoffs).
Example walkthrough:
Input: 0.37 ac
Compute: 0.37 × 43,560 = 16,117.2 ft²
Output: 16,117 ft² (UI, rounded to whole ft²)Common Conversions
Quick checks (ac → ft²)
| ac | ft² | ac | ft² |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 4,356 | 2 | 87,120 |
| 0.25 | 10,890 | 5 | 217,800 |
| 0.5 | 21,780 | 10 | 435,600 |
| 1 | 43,560 | 50 | 2,178,000 |
| 1.5 | 65,340 | 100 | 4,356,000 |
Quick Reference Table
Square feet to acres (ft² → ac)
| ft² | ac | ft² | ac |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | 0.11478 | 20,000 | 0.45914 |
| 10,000 | 0.22957 | 43,560 | 1.00000 |
| 15,000 | 0.34435 | 100,000 | 2.29568 |
| 25,000 | 0.57392 | 217,800 | 5.00000 |
| 50,000 | 1.14784 | 435,600 | 10.00000 |
Precision, Rounding & Significant Figures
Operational rounding
For listings and marketing sheets, round square feet to whole numbers and acres to 2–3 decimals. For engineering takeoffs or legal exhibits, retain more decimals consistent with survey accuracy. Always round once at presentation to avoid double-rounding.
Consistent documentation
Standardize field names (area_ac, area_ft2, area_m2) and publish a methods note: “Exact: 1 ac = 43,560 ft²; 1 ft² = 0.09290304 m²; round once at presentation.” Consistency prevents confusion when teams collaborate across GIS, appraisal, and brokerage systems.
Where This Converter Is Used
- 🏡 Real estate & brokerage: Parcels summarized in acres; buildings and suites in ft².
- 🌾 Agriculture & land management: Field blocks in acres; storage and structures in ft².
- 🏛️ Planning & zoning: Staff reports switch between parcel acres and program ft².
- 🧱 Construction & estimating: Sitework in acres; paved and landscaped areas in ft².
- 🛰️ GIS & analytics: Canonical storage in m²/ft² with derived acres for public audiences.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the exact formula to convert acres to square feet?
Use the statutory definition: 1 acre = 43,560 square feet (exact). Therefore, ft² = acres × 43,560. The reverse is acres = ft² ÷ 43,560. Because this constant is exact, results are reproducible across spreadsheets, appraisals, plats, and GIS exports.
Where does 43,560 ft² per acre come from?
Historically, an acre was 10 square chains and 1 chain = 66 ft. Thus one acre = (10 chains) × (1 chain) = 10 × 66 × 66 ft² = 43,560 ft². Modern practice fixes this relationship exactly for the statute acre used in the United States and many datasets.
Is there a difference between statute acre and international acre?
In common US practice, “acre” refers to the statute acre of exactly 43,560 ft². Some jurisdictions mention ‘international acre’ aligned to the international foot; for today’s purposes and most modern records, treat 1 acre = 43,560 ft² as exact unless a legacy survey explicitly states otherwise.
How should I round acres ↔ ft² for listings, reports, and invoices?
Compute with full precision internally and round once at presentation. Real estate listings often show acres to 2–3 decimals and square feet to whole numbers; engineering takeoffs may show more decimals depending on measurement accuracy. Publish a short rounding policy so PDFs, CSVs, and dashboards always match.
Can I mix acres and square feet in one column and sum them?
Avoid mixed-unit storage. Normalize to a canonical unit (many teams choose ft² or m²), aggregate there, and convert for display. Mixed columns are a frequent source of audit discrepancies and double-rounding drift.
How do acres relate to square meters and hectares?
For context: 1 ft² = 0.09290304 m² exactly. Therefore 1 acre (43,560 ft²) = 4,046.8564224 m² ≈ 0.40468564224 hectares. You can chain conversions through m²/ha when aligning US parcels with international datasets.
What database field names keep teams aligned?
Use explicit, unit-suffixed names like area_ac, area_ft2, and area_m2. Add a methods note: “Exact: 1 acre = 43,560 ft²; round once at presentation.” This prevents confusion across exports, emails, and vendor tools.
Does map projection change the acre ↔ ft² constant?
No. Projection affects how you *measure* area on Earth. Once an area value is computed for a polygon, the acre ↔ ft² conversion is a fixed exact factor (43,560). Document CRS/methods separately from unit conversions.
How can I regression-test my conversions?
Keep a small set of anchor pairs—e.g., 1 ac = 43,560 ft²; 2.5 ac = 108,900 ft²; 10,000 ft² = 0.229568 ac—and assert both directions in CI. This quickly catches accidental constant edits or format issues.
What precision should I store in my database?
Store full precision in a canonical unit (e.g., area_ft2 or area_m2). Convert on read for UI and round once at presentation. This avoids drift from double-rounding across layers and services.
Tips for Working with acres & ft²
- Keep a single canonical unit (ft² or m²) in storage; compute acres on read for UI and reports.
- Publish one rounding policy and apply it uniformly to PDFs, dashboards, and CSV exports.
- Include the exact constant (43,560) in your documentation and unit tests for easy validation.
- Clearly label units in table headers and map popups to avoid ambiguity for non-technical users.