Square yards to square feet
Multiply by 9. Exact, by definition.
Material estimate
Enter a figure in square yards.
You need to buy
Use this figure
Worth knowing
What this assumes
Multiply by nine
A yard is three feet, so a square yard is three feet by three feet: nine square feet. Square feet is always the larger number here, because the foot is the smaller unit — if your answer got smaller, the arithmetic went the wrong way.
The comparison this conversion is really for
Carpet and some paving are quoted per square yard. Everything else in a house is measured in square feet. Two quotes in two units are not comparable numbers, and the per-yard one always looks cheaper because it is nine times smaller for the same ground.
Divide a per-yard rate by 9 and you have the per-foot rate. It is one division, and it is the difference between comparing prices and comparing units.
Quotes converted both ways
| Quoted area | Square feet | Quoted rate | Per square foot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 yd² | 90 ft² | $25 / yd² | $2.78 / ft² |
| 25 yd² | 225 ft² | $30 / yd² | $3.33 / ft² |
| 40 yd² | 360 ft² | $35 / yd² | $3.89 / ft² |
| 60 yd² | 540 ft² | $28 / yd² | $3.11 / ft² |
| 100 yd² | 900 ft² | $22 / yd² | $2.44 / ft² |
Exact area conversions; the rates are illustrations rather than market prices. What they show is that a per-yard figure and a per-foot figure are never comparable as quoted.
Why the yard survives
Broadloom carpet is manufactured in 12-foot widths, and a linear yard off a 12-foot roll is a tidy four square yards. The unit fits how the material is made and shipped, even though nobody measures a room that way. Some suppliers now quote per square foot — which is precisely why you have to check the unit before comparing anything.
Where this goes next
The carpet calculator turns a room into an actual order, laying the drops against a real roll width and working both orientations, because turning the layout often changes the price more than negotiating does. For a boxed floor the flooring calculator uses the coverage off your carton, and for paving the paver calculator applies the waste the lay pattern demands. Going the other way, the square feet to square yards page covers the same ground in reverse.
Common questions
How many square feet are in a square yard?
Nine, exactly. A yard is three feet, so a square yard is 3 × 3 = 9 square feet. It is a definition rather than a measurement — there is no rounding in it.
How do I convert square yards to square feet?
Multiply by 9. Twenty-five square yards is 225 square feet. The direction is worth a sanity check: square feet is always the bigger number, because the foot is the smaller unit. If your answer shrank, you divided when you should have multiplied.
How do I compare a per-yard price with a per-foot price?
Divide the per-yard price by 9. Carpet at $27 a square yard is $3 a square foot; at $36 a yard it is $4 a foot. Doing it the other way — multiplying the per-foot price by 9 — works just as well. What does not work is comparing the two numbers as they are quoted, and it is exactly how a more expensive quote can look cheaper.
Why is carpet still sold by the square yard?
Convention, largely, and the roll width: broadloom comes in 12-foot widths, and a linear yard of a 12-foot roll is a tidy 4 square yards. The unit fits how the material is manufactured and shipped even though nobody measures a room in yards. Some suppliers now quote per square foot, which is why you have to check which unit a price is in before comparing anything.
Does this tell me how much carpet to buy?
No. It converts a quoted area into the unit you measured in, which is a different thing from working out the order. Carpet is cut off a fixed-width roll, so you buy a length rather than an area and the offcut down one side is bought either way. The carpet calculator handles the layout, including which way round to run the drops.