Square Feet to Square Yards Converter
9 ft² = 1 yd² exactly. Type in either box.
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Nine, not three
A yard is three feet. A square yard is nine square feet, because area goes as the square of length. This is the cleanest illustration of the rule that catches people out across every area conversion.
1 yd² = 3 × 3 = 9 ft² exactly
The conversion matters most for flooring. Carpet is sold by the square yard in the United States and rooms are measured in feet, so a 12 ft × 15 ft room is 180 ft², which is 20 square yards.
In parts of South Asia the square yard is called a gaj and is the standard unit for plot sizes.
The square foot
A square one foot on each side, and the standard unit for property in the United States, India, Bangladesh and much of the Middle East. One square metre is about 10.764 square feet, so a quick mental rule is to multiply square metres by ten and add a bit.
The factor is exact rather than measured: a foot is exactly 0.3048 m by international agreement, and 0.3048 squared is exactly 0.09290304.
The square yard
Nine square feet, since a yard is three feet and area goes as the square. It is the usual unit for carpet and flooring in the United States and for land in parts of South Asia, where it is often called a gaj.
A square yard is a little smaller than a square metre — 0.836 of one — which is close enough that the two are sometimes confused on property listings.
The working, step by step
Every line updates with whatever you type above. The point is the method, which is the same for any pair of units in this family.
The same quantity, two different numbers
One physical amount, read off two scales. The tick marks do not line up, and the gap between them is the conversion factor made visible.
How much is that?
A number is easier to judge next to something familiar.
Your turn
Reading a method and being able to use it are different things. Answer within half a per cent and it counts as correct.
Score: 0 of 0
How to use this converter
- Type into either box. The other side updates as you go; there is no button to press.
- Swap the direction with the button between the boxes, carrying your value across.
- Set the decimals if the default is more or less precision than you need.
- Copy the answer with its unit, ready to paste.
- Use the shortcut buttons for the values that come up most often.
- Share the result. The address bar tracks what you type, so the link you copy opens on the same number.
Common uses and tips
Where area conversions come up
- Property listings. Square feet in the United States, India, Bangladesh and the Gulf; square metres almost everywhere else. The same flat is advertised in both depending on who is selling it.
- Land. Acres in the English-speaking world and South Asia, hectares nearly everywhere else. Farm subsidies, planning applications and land registries rarely agree on which to use.
- Flooring and carpet. Sold by the square metre in Europe and by the square yard or square foot in the United States.
- Paint and materials. Coverage is quoted per square metre or per square foot, so a tin bought abroad needs converting before you know how far it goes.
The trap: area factors are length factors squared
A foot is 0.3048 m, so people reach for 0.3048 when converting square feet. It is wrong. Area scales with the square of length, so the factor is 0.3048 × 0.3048 = 0.09290304.
The same logic runs everywhere. A yard is 3 feet, so a square yard is 9 square feet, not 3. A kilometre is 1,000 metres, so a square kilometre is 1,000,000 square metres. Getting this wrong is the most common mistake in area conversion, and it is easy to catch: if your answer is out by roughly the length factor itself, this is why.
Tips worth knowing
- A hectare is 2.471 acres, and an acre is 0.4047 of a hectare. Neither is a round number, because the acre descends from medieval ploughing and the hectare from the metre.
- An acre is 43,560 square feet. Not round either, and worth memorising if you deal in land.
- 640 acres make a square mile, which is one section in the American survey grid.
- One square metre is 10.764 square feet. Multiplying by ten and adding eight per cent gets you very close in your head.
Values people look up most
Each one opens the converter with the number already in it.
- 9 ft² to yd²
- 20 ft² to yd²
- 50 ft² to yd²
- 100 ft² to yd²
- 120 ft² to yd²
- 150 ft² to yd²
- 180 ft² to yd²
- 200 ft² to yd²
- 250 ft² to yd²
- 300 ft² to yd²
- 400 ft² to yd²
- 500 ft² to yd²
- 750 ft² to yd²
- 1,000 ft² to yd²
- 1,200 ft² to yd²
- 1,500 ft² to yd²
- 2,000 ft² to yd²
Quick reference
| Square feet | Square yards |
|---|---|
| 1 ft² | 0.111111 yd² |
| 9 ft² | 1 yd² |
| 18 ft² | 2 yd² |
| 50 ft² | 5.555556 yd² |
| 100 ft² | 11.111111 yd² |
| 180 ft² | 20 yd² |
| 250 ft² | 27.777778 yd² |
| 500 ft² | 55.555556 yd² |
| 900 ft² | 100 yd² |
| 1,000 ft² | 111.111111 yd² |
| 2,000 ft² | 222.222222 yd² |
Questions people ask
How many square feet in a square yard?
Exactly 9.
Why 9 and not 3?
Because a square yard is 3 feet by 3 feet. Area is two-dimensional, so the length factor gets squared.
How much carpet for a 12 by 15 foot room?
180 ft², which is 20 square yards — before adding any allowance for cutting.
Why is the factor not just the length conversion?
Because area is two-dimensional. A foot is 0.3048 m, so a square foot is 0.3048 × 0.3048 = 0.09290304 m². Using the length factor by mistake is the usual error.