BackyardBooster.com is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no added cost to you. Learn more.
How big is my backyard? Whether you’re selling your home, hosting an event, or just curious, it’s a question that you should have an answer to. We have a few options to help you figure this out.
The size of a backyard varies from place to place, depending on your location and your home’s size. Knowing the square footage of your backyard can help you decide how much water or fertilizer to use. It can also help you while designing the layout of your new lawn.
In this article, we have talked about a few online tools that you can use to measure square footage automatically. And we have also discussed the manual methods of measuring the size of your backyard.
Why Should You Know the Size of Your Backyard?
Knowing the square footage (area) of your lawn can be very beneficial when designing the lawn layout of your new house or buying products for it.
When you go to the market to buy fertilizers, compost, grass seeds, or any other similar product for your backyard, the package of the product will state the area it will cover or the volume of the product. By knowing the size of your lawn or yard, you’ll be able to know how much product you’ll need to purchase. You may end up buying the wrong product size if you do not know the size of your backyard or lawn area.
In case you buy a larger pack of grass seed than you need, you will have to store it safely for the next season and also pay for more than you currently need. Contrarily, if the pack is smaller than your backyard needs, you will have to run to the store again to buy more.
Therefore, it is recommended to first measure your lawn’s square footage, then buy the product that is according to the lawn size.
For various reasons, you may need to know the following about your home:
- Total property area (or property’s square footage)
- Total square footage of your lawn
- Square footage of your roof
- Area of your driveway
- Garden area
The methods below can help you find out how to get any of this information!
Online Tools to Measure the Size of Your Backyard
Technology has brought much ease to our lives. You can use an online measurement tool to find your backyard’s size. These online tools usually ask for your address. Then you mark the area that you’re interested in to get the accurate value of the area of the backyard, lawn, roof, etc.
How to Measure My Backyard Using Satellite Imagery
Global Syn-Turf, Measure My Lawn, and Google Earth are a few of the tools we recommend to measure your backyard size. These tools are the closest you’ll get to a backyard size calculator or lawn size calculator.
Best of all, these tools are FREE, meaning they will help you save time and money. Online satellite maps are the way to go if you need a quick and rough estimate of your yard area.
Manual Methods of Measuring the Size of Your Backyard
Below are the popular methods you can use to measure the size of your yard manually. Manual methods will require a bit more effort but are likely to give you a more accurate result. Check out some of our best tips and methods below!
Use A Measuring Tape
It is the simplest manual way of measuring the size of a lawn. All you need is a measuring tape, a pencil and paper, and a helper to get started. Measuring tape is a handy tool that many of us have at home, so you may not have to buy it, especially to measure the lot size.
Open the tape and align it along the perimeter of your lawn. Ask your helper to hold the other end of the tape on point. Note down the length and width of your lawn using the measuring tape.
This method is time-consuming, which makes it more suitable for a small backyard or side yard.
A long measuring tape like the one below is recommended!
- Double nylon coated blade
- Double sided printing reads in feet/inch and metric
- Heavy duty ABS frame with comfortable rubber hand grip
- Versatile end hook
- Two color blade
Use A Laser Distance Measurer
A laser distance measurer is a great alternative to the tape measure method. This instrument uses a beam of laser to measure the length of a path.
Laser measurers are typically precise and will help you accurately measure each dimension of your yard.
Turn on the tool and reset its measurement back to zero. Point the beam of the laser along the boundary line to a target present at the end of the line. The laser will reflect back after falling onto the surface of the target.
The device will measure the time beam took to return after reflection and then find the length of the path based on this time.
Laser distance measurers have longer ranges which makes them suitable for measuring the area of a large yard.
Remember that if you do not have a target present at the end of the boundary line of your backyard, you will have to place a reflector or a board yourself.
- ★ HIGH ACCURACY & UNIT SWITCHABLE ★ With unique 2 Bubble Levels, providing more precise…
- ★ LCD BACKLIGHT & MUTE SETTING ★ Large backlight screen provides you with a better visibility in…
- ★ MULTIPLE MEASUREMENT FEATURES ★ Area, distance, length, volume, continuous measurement,…
- ★ DURABLE AND HANDY DESIGN ★ IP54 waterproof level and dust-proof function protect the laser…
- ★ WHAT YOU GET ★ Mileseey Laser Measuring Device 165Ft; 1.5V AAA Batteries; User Manual; Hand…
Calculate the Area
Now use the measurements taken above (length and width) to calculate the total area of your yard or any space. You can use the following formula for calculating areas of the residential lawns that are rectangular.
Area = Length x Width
Put the values of length and width in feet to get your answer in square feet.
If your lawn has any other quadrilateral shape, you can use the following formula to find the area.
Area of Parallelogram = Base x Height.
Don’t worry if your backyard is irregular. You can still find its area by dividing it into triangles and rectangles (or squares) and then measuring the individual area separately. Add up areas of all subunits to calculate the total area of your irregular lawn.
How Do I Measure My Yard in Google Maps?
Open Google Maps and enter your address. Make sure you turn on the satellite imagery layer. Your home will appear on the map. Now right-click on the screen, and select “Measure distance” from the menu options. Place different points around the boundary of your yard. Close the shape by joining the endpoint with the starting point. Google will automatically tell you the area as well as the distance (length plus width) of your yard.
This is best done on the desktop application, but you can do it from your cell phone as well. Just load up the Google Maps App for Android or iOS, type in your address, then find, click, and hold the corner of your yard. A pin should pop up and you should have an option to “Measure distance.” Note that the iOS/Android app only gives a distance and not an area. So you’ll need to manually calculate the area.
If you want to measure your yard from your cell phone, another great option is Global Syn-Turf, which has a free instant lawn size measurer.
How Big Is A Usual Backyard?
The size of an average backyard depends on where you live and what the size of your home is. On average, we can say that the residential lawn is around 10,871 square feet in the United States. California and Nevada have the smallest backyard sizes. In California, the average backyard size is mostly 1,625 square feet, and in Nevada, it is 1,712 for a single-family home.
Is A Big Backyard Really Worth It?
The size of your backyard can have a direct impact on the value of your home. The bigger the backyard, the more valuable your home will be. Besides that, it also provides your children a play area to enjoy different games. You can have BBQs and parties in a big backyard.
A big backyard provides several growth opportunities. You can create your kitchen garden in it and enjoy the fresh taste of homegrown fruits and vegetables.
Summary – How Big Is My Backyard?
The size of your backyard depends on the location and home size. If you do not know the size yet, you can measure it by using a laser distance measure or a measuring tape. You can also find it with the help of online tools like Google Map, Google Earth, and Measure My Lawn. You can use either of these methods for your front yard or backyard!