Measure My Lawn: Free Lawn Size Calculator
Your lot size is not your lawn size. The average US lawn is about 10,000 square feet, but the number that matters for seed and fertilizer is the grass alone — outline your yard on the satellite map below, cut out the house, driveway, and beds, and get true turf area in seconds.
Why cutouts matter: true turf area, not lot area
A quarter-acre lot is 10,890 square feet, but once you subtract a 2,000-square-foot house, a driveway, a patio, and some planting beds, the actual grass is often 6,000–7,000 square feet. If you buy fertilizer for the lot number, you overbuy by a third — or worse, you spread the whole amount and burn the lawn. Every seed, fertilizer, and sod estimate starts with turf area, and cutouts are how you get it.
To measure your lawn accurately:
- Search your address so the satellite view centers on your property.
- Tap the corners of each grass area. Front and back yards can be separate shapes — measure them one at a time and add the totals, or trace one boundary around everything.
- Use the cutout feature to remove the house, driveway, sheds, pool, and beds.
- Read the square footage. That is the number to take to the store.
Grass seed coverage (typical rates per 1,000 sq ft)
Seeding rates are printed on every bag; the table below shows typical label rates by species. Multiply the rate by your measured square footage divided by 1,000.
| Species | New lawn (per 1,000 ft²) | Overseeding (per 1,000 ft²) |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky bluegrass | 2–3 lb | 1–1.5 lb |
| Tall fescue | 6–8 lb | 3–4 lb |
| Perennial ryegrass | 6–8 lb | 3–4 lb |
| Fine fescue | 4–5 lb | 2–2.5 lb |
| Bermuda (seeded) | 1–2 lb | 0.5–1 lb |
Example: overseeding a 6,500-square-foot tall fescue lawn at 3–4 lb per 1,000 ft² takes about 20–26 pounds of seed.
Fertilizer: how many bags?
Most lawn fertilizer bags are rated to cover 5,000 square feet (delivering roughly 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 ft² — the standard single application). Divide your turf square footage by the bag coverage and round up.
| Lawn size | Typical 5,000 ft² bags |
|---|---|
| 2,500 ft² | 1 |
| 5,000 ft² | 1 |
| 7,500 ft² | 2 |
| 10,000 ft² | 2 |
| 10,890 ft² (¼ acre) | 3 |
| 21,780 ft² (½ acre) | 5 |
Coverage varies by product — always check the bag — but the arithmetic is always the same: measured turf area ÷ bag coverage, rounded up.
Sod: rolls and pallets
Sod is usually sold in 2 ft × 5 ft rolls (10 ft² each) and pallets of about 450 ft² (suppliers range from 400 to 500 ft² — confirm before ordering). Order 5–10% extra for cutting waste around curves and edges.
| Lawn size | Rolls (~10 ft²) | Pallets (~450 ft²) |
|---|---|---|
| 2,000 ft² | 200 | 4.4 |
| 5,000 ft² | 500 | 11.1 |
| 10,000 ft² | 1,000 | 22.2 |
| 10,890 ft² (¼ acre) | 1,089 | 24.2 |
For lawn-care pros: quote jobs before you drive out
Contractors use satellite measurement to bid mowing, fertilization, and aeration work without a site visit: pull up the address, outline the turf, cut out the hardscape, and price from real square footage instead of a windshield guess. Measuring a property takes a minute or two, which makes it practical to pre-qualify an entire route of estimates in one sitting.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
- How do I measure my lawn for fertilizer?
- Outline each turf area on the satellite map, then cut out the house, driveway, patio, and planting beds so the total reflects grass only. Compare that square footage to the coverage printed on the fertilizer bag — most bags are rated for 5,000 square feet. Divide your lawn's square footage by the bag coverage and round up to get the number of bags.
- How do I measure my lawn on Google Maps?
- Google Maps can measure straight-line distance but it can't measure area, and it has no way to subtract your house, driveway, or beds from the total. This tool works on the same kind of satellite imagery and adds polygon drawing with cutouts, so the number you get is true turf area rather than your whole lot. Just search your address, tap the corners of the grass, and cut out anything that isn't lawn.
- What is the average lawn size in the US?
- A typical US lawn is roughly 10,000 square feet — about a quarter acre — though it varies widely by region, from small urban yards under 2,000 square feet to Southern and rural lawns over half an acre. Measure yours on the map above to see how it compares. Knowing the real number usually surprises people who have been guessing for years.
- How much grass seed do I need per 1,000 sq ft?
- For most cool-season species, plan on 3–5 pounds per 1,000 square feet for a new lawn and 1–2 pounds for overseeding, though rates vary by species — Kentucky bluegrass needs as little as 2–3 pounds while tall fescue needs 6–8. Check the rate on your seed bag and multiply by your measured square footage divided by 1,000. The species table on this page lists typical rates.