How many square feet is a basketball court?

Square footage matters when you are planning a court, because concrete, coatings, tiles and labor are all priced by the square foot. The answer depends on which court you mean, and on whether you count the space around the lines that players actually use.

Square footage by court size

To convert, one square meter is about 10.76 square feet. The youth court size comes from the USA Basketball and NBA youth guidelines; the others are standard court sizes covered in our basketball court dimensions guide.

Why the slab is bigger than the court

The numbers above are the area inside the boundary lines. Nobody builds a court with a fence or flower bed right on the line, because players run past it, and the hoop pole stands behind the baseline.

FIBA’s outdoor venue guide works to a 2 meter (about 6.5 foot) outer boundary around a full-size court. For a 94 by 50 foot court, adding 6.5 feet on every side gives roughly 107 by 63 feet, or about 6,700 square feet of surface. That is over 40% more than the lines alone.

At home, most builders leave a smaller margin, often a few feet at the sides and more behind the hoop. For a 30 by 50 foot half court, adding 3 feet at the sides and front and 5 feet behind the hoop gives about 38 by 56 feet, or 2,128 square feet. Ask your builder which figure their quote is based on.

Home court sizes in practice

Backyard courts rarely follow a regulation size. They are sized to the yard, and to the games the family plays:

• 20 by 30 feet (600 sq ft): a shooting pad with the free-throw lane, for one or two players.
• 30 by 30 feet (900 sq ft): room for a short arc and one-on-one.
• 30 by 50 feet (1,500 sq ft): a full-width half court that takes a high school three-point line, and often pickleball lines too.
• 47 by 50 feet (2,350 sq ft): a regulation half court for serious players.

VersaCourt, a tile maker, sells half court kits from about 28 by 44 feet (around 1,250 square feet) to about 31 by 59 feet (around 1,830 square feet), which gives a sense of the sizes families buy. Our half court page explains how the width and depth decide which lines fit.

What square footage means for cost

Because most of the work is priced by area, square footage is the best single predictor of cost. HomeAdvisor (updated June 2026) puts courts at $4 to $16 per square foot. Applied to the sizes above:

These are a guide, not a quote. The low end is a plain concrete slab; the high end includes a coated or tiled surface. Grading, drainage, a hoop, lighting and fencing are on top. The basketball court cost calculator lets you pick the size, surface and extras to get a range for your project.

How to measure your space

1. Mark the corners. Use stakes and string to outline the court you want, then add your run-off margin.
2. Check the slope. A string line and a level show how much the ground falls. Court builders work to about 1 inch of fall in 10 feet, so a steeper yard needs grading.
3. Look up and around. Note trees, overhead wires, windows and the property line. Many cities require courts to sit some distance back from the boundary.
4. Find buried lines. Before anyone digs, contact 811, the free national call-before-you-dig service, so utilities are marked.

Concrete volume for a slab

If you are pricing the concrete, multiply the area by the thickness. A 4 inch slab is one third of a foot thick, so a 1,500 square foot half court needs 500 cubic feet, about 18.5 cubic yards. A 4,700 square foot full court at the same thickness needs about 58 cubic yards. Builders add a margin for waste and for thickened edges, and may specify a thicker slab on poor soil.

Next steps

Once you know the size, the backyard court guide covers surfaces, permits and hoops, and our installation page explains how a build runs. If you would like a builder to look at your yard, we can find one who covers your area.