Cent: 1 Cent to Square Yard and Square Feet

1 cent is 48.4 square yards, which is 435.6 sq ft. A cent is one hundredth of an acre, so its size is the same in every state. In gaj, 1 cent = 48.4 gaj.

What is a cent?

A cent (सेंट) is 1/100 of an acre. The name comes from "per cent", because 100 cents make one acre. It is the everyday land unit in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and it is common in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and the coastal districts of Karnataka such as Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.

The cent is the same size as the decimal of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha and the satak of West Bengal. All three are 435.6 sq ft. Only the name changes. See the decimal and satak pages.

1 cent in other units

• 1 cent = 435.6 sq ft
• 1 cent = 48.4 sq yd (gaj)
• 1 cent = 40.47 sq m
• 1 cent = 0.4047 are
• 1 cent = 0.4 guntha
• 1 acre = 100 cents, and 1 hectare = 247.11 cents
• 1 are = 2.4711 cents, and 1 ground = 5.5096 cents

Cent to square yard table

Going the other way, 1 square yard = 0.0207 cent. So 100 sq yd = 2.0661 cent and 200 sq yd = 4.1322 cent.

What a cent plot looks like

An acre is 10 square chains, and a chain is 66 ft long. So 10 cents is exactly a square of 66 ft by 66 ft (4,356 sq ft). Half of that, 5 cents, is a plot of 33 ft by 66 ft (2,178 sq ft). A single cent is a narrow strip of 66 ft by 6.6 ft, or about 20.87 ft on each side if square.

Where cents appear in records

• Kerala: land is bought and sold in cents, but revenue records and land tax use ares. 1 are is about 2.47 cents.
• Tamil Nadu: villages talk in cents and acres, while Patta and Chitta show hectare, are and square metre.
• Andhra Pradesh: agricultural land is usually described in acres and cents. Newer resurvey records use hectare, are and square metre.
• Karnataka: coastal districts use cents. Interior districts mostly use the guntha. 1 cent = 0.4 guntha.

Read the Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh guides for more.

How to convert cents

• Cent to square feet: multiply by 435.6. Example: 3 cents = 1,306.8 sq ft.
• Cent to square yard: multiply by 48.4. Example: 10 cents = 484 sq yd.
• Cent to acre: divide by 100. Example: 25 cents = 0.25 acre.
• Square feet to cent: divide by 435.6. Example: 1,200 sq ft = 2.7548 cent.

Try cent to square feet, acre to cent or square feet to cent.

Cent and other south Indian units

Several local units sit close to the cent, so it helps to know how they compare:

• Ground (Chennai): 2,400 sq ft, which is about 5.51 cents. About 18.15 grounds make an acre.
• Guntha (Karnataka, Telangana): 1,089 sq ft, which is exactly 2.5 cents. 40 guntha make an acre.
• Ankanam (Telangana, coastal Andhra): 72 sq ft, so 1 cent is about 6.05 ankanam.
• Are (records in Kerala and Tamil Nadu): 100 sq m, about 2.47 cents.

Worked example: a family in Thrissur owns 12.5 cents. That is 12.5 x 435.6 = 5,445 sq ft, or 605 sq yd. In ares it is 5.06 are, which is the figure you may see on the tax receipt.

Practical tips

• If your record is in ares, multiply ares by 2.4711 to get cents.
• Round only at the last step. Rounding 1 cent to 48 sq yd loses 0.4 sq yd on every cent.
• For a sale or partition, check the extent in the land record and confirm it at the village or taluk office.