How tall is a story?

A story (or storey) has no fixed height in metres or feet: it depends on the building and its use.

Updated 2026-09-20

Why floor height varies

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat warns that floor counts are a poor height measure because floor-to-floor distances vary between buildings and uses, including offices and homes.

Floor-to-floor height includes the occupied space and the structure or services between levels. Ceiling height measures only the clear room height. A taller lobby or mechanical level can also make a building’s storeys unequal.

For a particular building, use its published architectural height or actual floor-to-floor measurements. Dividing total height by the number of floors gives only an arithmetic average; it does not tell you the height of each room. Antennas and spires can further change the total without adding occupied floors.

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