A US public land survey section is one square mile or 640 acres.
Sections to Acres Converter — section to ac
Convert Section (section) to Acre (ac) using the exact conversion factor (1 section = 640 acre). See the formula, worked examples, conversion table, history, and common uses.
Sections to Acres converter
Converter
Area Converter
Convert land, construction, mapping, survey, and scientific area units.
Context values
Some unit families need one extra value for a physically accurate result.
An international acre is 4,046.8564224 square meters.
Result = input x 2.58998811e+6 / 4046.856422.
Area uses the square meter as the base unit.
Reserved above the conversion cards and below the converter.
About Converting Sections to Acres
Comparing Section and Acre is common in agriculture and real estate, where US land is typically measured in acres and most of the rest of the world uses hectares. Specifically: A US public land survey section is one square mile or 640 acres, and an international acre is 4,046.8564224 square meters.
Formula
acres = sections × 640
This factor comes from each unit's defined relationship to the category's base unit: 1 section equals 2589988.11034 base units, and 1 acre equals 4046.8564224 base units, so dividing one by the other gives the direct section-to-acre factor of 640.
Simple example
1 section × 640 = 640 ac
1 section = 640 acres.
Real-world example
10 section × 640 = 6,400 ac
10 sections = 6,400 acres.
Conversion table
| Section (section) | Acre (ac) |
|---|---|
| 1 section | 640 ac |
| 5 section | 3,200 ac |
| 10 section | 6,400 ac |
| 25 section | 16,000 ac |
| 50 section | 32,000 ac |
| 100 section | 64,000 ac |
Reverse conversion: Acre to Section
640 ac × 0.0015625 = 1 section
640 acres = 1 section.
sections = acres × 0.0015625
For a page dedicated to this direction, see Acre to Section.
Understanding the Section (section)
A US public land survey section is one square mile or 640 acres.
Understanding the Acre
Acre (ac) measures area. The international acre is defined as exactly 4,046.8564224 square meters. It is classified as a US/imperial customary unit.
Where it's used: United States United Kingdom (informal/historical, land registry legacy) Countries with historical British land-survey systems
International acre vs. US survey acre. The US survey acre, based on the US survey foot, differs from the international acre by about two parts per million. The US retired the survey foot/acre for federal use at the end of 2022.
Uses of the Acre today
- Measuring farmland, ranch, and rural property size in the US
- Real estate listings and zoning for land parcels
- Forestry and land-management reporting
History of the Acre
The acre originated in medieval England as a practical field measurement: the area a yoke of oxen could plow in one day, roughly a furlong (660 ft) long by a chain (66 ft) wide, giving the 43,560 square feet still used today.
Edward I's 1305 statute formalized this figure. In 1959, the same International Yard and Pound Agreement that fixed the pound also fixed the international acre at exactly 4,046.8564224 m², though the US separately retained a slightly different 'US survey acre' for some legacy land records until it was phased out in 2023.
Historical origin. Acre was not the invention of a single named person; it developed through the process described above.
Acre — sources
- NIST — US Survey Foot: Revised Unit Conversion Factors — Documents the 1959 international acre definition and the 2022/2023 survey-foot retirement.
Reserved between the cards and the FAQ so the page stays balanced.
Frequently asked questions
How many acres are in 1 section?
1 section equals 640 acres, using the exact defined conversion factor rather than an estimate.
How do I convert section to acre?
Multiply the section value by 640. The converter above does this instantly to whatever precision you set.
How do I convert acre back to section?
Use the reverse factor: 1 acre equals 0.0015625 sections. You can also use the swap control in the converter above to flip the direction instantly.
What is a section?
Section (section) is a unit of area.
What is a acre?
Acre (ac) measures area. The international acre is defined as exactly 4,046.8564224 square meters. It is classified as a US/imperial customary unit.
Is the section to acre conversion exact?
Yes. The international acre is defined as exactly 4,046.8564224 square meters. That fixed definition is what the converter above uses, so any rounding you see is a display choice, not a limitation of the math.
What is the difference between international acre vs. us survey acre?
The US survey acre, based on the US survey foot, differs from the international acre by about two parts per million. The US retired the survey foot/acre for federal use at the end of 2022.