Acre Size report

An acre is a unit of the area commonly used for measuring tracts of land. Did you know that an acre was defined as the amount of land ploughable in one day by one man and an ox during the Middle Ages? Thankfully, these days the acre unit is more clearly defined. An acre is a unit of land measurement in the British and American customary system, generally used in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other regions.

Perhaps you are considering purchasing land or a football field attached to several acres of land, and you are trying to visualize how big it is? Or, maybe you're studying for an exam and want to know how to convert between acres and square feet, square meters, or hectares? You got the right place.

It is normal if you are not familiar with this land measurement standard. After all, few people have the opportunity to own such a large land. The following article explains the definition of the acre and how big it is. Our guide answers your question and has some fun facts. Read on to learn all you need to know about the acre.

The Acre Size Guide

Today's acre derives from the Old English word "æcer." An acre in the past was considered the amount of land tillable by an ox in a single day. The acreage is generally the measurement by which land buyers and sellers understand the relative value of a piece of land. But the actual physical dimensions of a single acre can be quite challenging to visualize in our minds.

Dimensions of an Acre

An acre can be measured in any shape, from rectangles to circles or even hexagons. It can have any length and width so long as the total land area is 43,560 square feet. If you find yourself wondering, "How big is an acre?" you can find its mathematical definitions below:

• 1 acre = 43,560 square feet
• 1 acre = 4046.86 square meters
• 1 acre = 4840 square yards
• 1 acre = 0.404686 hectares
• 1 acre = 1/640th of a square mile

Unless you use the metric system or a math-oriented person, the above definitions of an acre do not give you much viewpoint to understand how big an acre of land is. If you struggle to visualize how big an acre (43,560 square feet) is, try picturing 60% of a soccer pitch, 75% of an American football field, or 16 tennis courts in a 4x4 formation. If that doesn't help, think of a car park containing 150 cars parked in a square. An acre is equal to:

• 1 acre = 16 tennis courts
• 1 acre = 75% of a football field
• 1 acre = 70 yard sticks (in length)
• 1 acre = 242 sedans
• 1 acre = 696,960 Post-It Notes
• 1 acre = 18 suburban homes
• 1 acre = 1,594 potatoes (in length)

A Commercial Acre Size

The commercial acre was invented by US real estate agencies for use in large cities and is a legal unit in some US states. It is said to be a standard acre unit with a deduction for alleyways, roads, and sidewalks. The commercial acre is 82.6 percent of an international acre.

• 1 commercial acre = 36,000 square feet
• 1 commercial acre = 4000 square yards
• 1 commercial acre = 3342.8 square meters

Acre Size Comparisons

Whether you are searching for land to buy, looking at houses with plenty of property, working as a real estate agent or surveyor, or studying Old English etymology, knowing how big an acre is will serve you well. Here are some creative comparisons to visualize an acre.

An Acre In Football Fields

An acre is smaller than the size of an American football field. One football field is 57,600 square feet, but an acre is only 43,560 square feet. An acre is about 75% of a football field. A soccer pitch commonly measures between 69,000 and 86,000 square feet, equal to 1.6 - 1.9 acres. An American football field commonly measures around 57,564 square feet (1.32 acres).

An Acre in Tennis Courts

One acre of land can accommodate 16 tennis courts. For reference, the tennis court is 78 feet long, 27 feet wide (singles), or 36 feet wide (doubles).

Acres in the Smallest and Largest American States

The United States has more than 2.4 billion acres in total. The smallest state in the U.S., Rhode Island, has 988,832 acres by comparison. Alaska is by far the biggest state in the US, comprised of a whopping 424.5 million acres. Alaska alone makes up more than 17% of the acreage in the United States, larger than the three next-largest states (Texas, California, and Montana) combined.

Other Fun Acre Facts

• An acre is a measure of area, not length, and it is defined in square feet. An acre can be of any shape-a rectangle, a triangle, a circle, or even a star-so long as its area is exactly 43,560 square feet.
  
• Acres are different in other parts of the world. Ireland and Scotland’s acres are bigger. Irish acres are equal to 1.6 acres as we measure them in the United States, and Scottish acres are equivalent to 1.27 acres.
• A square acre will be about 209 feet long and wide.
• If you were to lay out every pizza Americans as a nation eat daily, it would cover as much space as the Mall of America.

I hope this guide on acre size helps you with picturing how big one acre is. In fact, an acre can be very large or small, depending on which reference object you choose.