Formulas
How to Calculate Acres
To calculate acreage, multiply the length by the width of the land in feet and divide the result by
43,560. The acreage calculator above performs this calculation
automatically for 6 shape types and displays results in 6 area units.
The Basic Formula
To calculate acreage of land for a rectangular or square parcel, use the following acreage formula:
3 steps to calculate acreage by hand:
- Measure the length and width of the land in feet using a measuring tape, GPS device, or property survey (plat map)
- Multiply length × width to get the total area in square feet
- Divide the square feet total by 43,560 to convert square feet to acres
Acreage Calculator by Feet — Other Shapes
Not all land parcels are rectangular. The acreage calculator supports 5 additional shapes for irregular land area calculations:
Perimeter
The perimeter of an acre depends on the land parcel shape. Here are the perimeter values for 3 common acre shapes:
Measuring Acreage with Google Maps
Google Maps provides a free way to calculate acreage for any land parcel using satellite imagery and the built-in distance measurement tool. Here are 5 steps to measure acreage with Google Maps:
- Open Google Maps (maps.google.com) and search for the property address or GPS coordinates
- Switch to Satellite view by clicking the "Layers" button in the bottom-left corner
- Right-click on a starting point of the property boundary and select "Measure distance"
- Click along each corner of the property boundary to outline the land parcel
- Close the shape by clicking on the starting point — Google Maps displays the total area in square feet (sq ft) and square meters (m²)
Divide the displayed square feet value by 43,560 to convert to acres. Google Maps area measurements are accurate within 1–2% for most residential and agricultural properties.
Measuring Acreage with Google Earth
Google Earth Pro is a free Google Earth acreage calculator that provides more precise acreage measurements than Google Maps. Google Earth Pro includes a built-in polygon area tool with direct acre output and higher resolution satellite imagery. Here are 6 steps to measure acreage with Google Earth:
- Download and install Google Earth Pro (free) from earth.google.com
- Search for the property address or coordinates in the search bar
- Select the "Add Polygon" tool from the toolbar (or go to Add > Polygon)
- Click along each corner of the property boundary to trace the perimeter
- Close the polygon by clicking on the starting point
- View the calculated area in the "Measurements" tab — Google Earth Pro displays results in acres, hectares, square feet (sq ft), and square meters (m²)
Google Earth Pro provides higher resolution satellite imagery than Google Maps, making property boundary identification easier for farmland, timberland, vineyard acreage, and large rural parcels. Tools such as Zillow, LandGlide, and Regrid offer parcel boundary overlays and cadastral map data that pair well with Google Earth Pro for land area verification.