How tall are cell towers?

Typical heights by tower type

The FCC's registry records each structure's type and its overall height above ground. Across constructed, registered structures in the October 2026 data, typical heights by type are:

• Monopole (19,190 structures): median 148 ft; the middle half fall between 105 and 181 ft.
• Tower, type not specified (51,344; the FCC's older general code, which does not record whether the tower is guyed, lattice or a monopole): median 254 ft; middle half 165 to 311 ft.
• Lattice tower (29,720): median 255 ft; middle half 196 to 290 ft.
• Guyed tower (17,843): median 318 ft; middle half 284 to 400 ft.
• Pole (9,772): median 100 ft; middle half 60 to 145 ft.

The median across all constructed registered structures is 213 ft. About half (51%) are registered between 200 and 499 ft, and 2.4% (3,437 structures) are taller than 500 ft. Counts by type are on the structure types ranking.

Cell tower or radio tower: the registry does not say

An FCC antenna structure registration describes the structure, not the services on it. A single tower can host antennas for several wireless carriers, broadcasters, public-safety agencies and other licensees, so there is no field that marks a tower as a cell tower or a radio tower.

Structure type is the closest proxy. Single-shaft monopoles are a common modern cell-site design and cluster below 200 ft. Guyed towers, held up by tensioned cables, have the highest median height of any common type, and each of the four tallest registered structures is filed either as a guyed tower or under the FCC's older general tower code, which does not record the support method. See the tallest radio and TV towers for the top of the range.

The 200-foot rule: which towers must be registered

A structure must be registered with the FCC if it requires notice to the Federal Aviation Administration as a physical obstruction. Under the FCC's rule, which mirrors the FAA's own notice rule, that covers:

• any construction or alteration more than 200 ft above ground level at its site;
• shorter structures that would poke through an imaginary sloping surface around an airport: a 100-to-1 slope out to 20,000 ft from the nearest runway of an airport with a runway longer than 3,200 ft, 50-to-1 out to 10,000 ft for airports with shorter runways, and 25-to-1 out to 5,000 ft from a heliport;
• certain structures in instrument approach areas when the FAA asks, and structures on the airports themselves.

Antenna structures 20 ft tall or less are exempt unless they add height to another structure, and the rule also excludes objects shielded by existing structures or terrain in built-up areas. If the FAA exempts a structure from notice, it is also exempt from FCC registration.

Why so many registered towers are under 200 feet

If registration started at 200 ft, you might expect every registered tower to be taller. It is not so: 65,400 of the roughly 142,000 constructed structures in the registry, about 46%, are registered below 200 ft. A structure that short ends up in the registry when it is close enough to an airport or heliport for the slope rule to catch it, or when its owner registers it voluntarily. Since October 2014, voluntary registrations must be marked as such, and they are not subject to the FCC's lighting and marking requirements.

The reverse also matters: many short cell sites never appear in the registry at all. Rooftop antennas, small cells on streetlights and utility poles, and monopoles under 200 ft away from airports need no FCC registration unless they meet one of the FAA notice criteria above. Registered-structure statistics describe towers tall enough, or close enough to an airport, to matter to aviation, not every cell site.

What the height figure includes

The overall height in a registration is measured to the structure's highest point, including any obstruction lighting or lightning arrester on top. Registrations also give the height above mean sea level and the ground elevation at the site.

Antennas can be added or a tower extended over time. The owner must report a change in height to the FCC within five days, and an increase in height is itself a construction or alteration that can trigger FAA notice. Registered heights are as filed and can lag physical changes until the registration is amended.

Finding the height of a specific tower

If the tower is registered, its seven-digit registration number should be posted near its base or on its fence or gate. Look it up in the FCC's ASR search or find its page on TowerCensus by browsing Towers by state; each page shows overall height, height above sea level, structure type and owner. To see the tallest structures near you, open your state's ranking, for example the tallest towers in Florida. To identify who runs a tower, see how to find out who owns a cell tower.