What is a Square Yard?

The square yard equals exactly 0.83612736 square meters (or 9 square feet) and is used for American and British carpet, fabric, landscaping, and small construction projects. Carpet pricing in the US has historically been per square yard, though many retailers now also quote per square foot. Lawn-fertilizer applications and grass-seed coverage often specify rates per 1,000 yd². The square yard relates to the square foot (9 ft² = 1 yd²), the square meter (1 yd² ≈ 0.836 m²), and the acre (4,840 yd² = 1 acre). Despite the prevalence of square feet in real estate and construction, the square yard remains entrenched in textile and landscaping commerce. A typical bedroom carpet is 12–20 square yards.

Visual reference for how the square yard relates to other area units. Each row links to the full converter for that pair.

• Carpet and flooring orders (US and UK)
• Landscaping turf and sod
• Older UK property descriptions

• ✓1 yd² = 9 ft² = 0.8361 m².
• ✓1 m² = 1.196 yd² — a square metre is slightly larger than a square yard.
• ✓Carpet rolls often come 12 ft wide — calculate yd² based on room length.

• ✗Conflating yd² with yd — different units.
• ✗Using yd² in metric architectural plans — stick to m².
• ✗Ordering too little carpet by miscalculating offcuts.