How High Is A Story?

January 18, 2023September 3, 2023 by Thomas Vandepitte

Story buildings first appear in our world thousands of years ago. It is believed that some of the oldest story buildings date as far back as years before the common era (BC). Initially, story buildings were just houses that sit a few meters above the ground and the vast majority of these kinds of buildings belong to imperial heads empires.

The floor of the buildings was used for storage in case of siege during military actions. The only parts of the buildings that were high above ground levels were the entrance floor, which hold the central door to the castle. This is usually slightly above the ground floor.

The idea of decking or skyscrapers was vastly remote to the generations alive in those periods. However, as time progresses and human knowledge of architecture and engineering began to take root, drastic adjustments were made to the way houses are designed and built. In recent years we’ve seen a huge rise in the rate at which skyscrapers appear in our world.

How High Is A Story? size-charts.com — _{Image Source: REthority.com}

How High Is A Story? Generally, the height of each story in any building depends on the dimension of the building. The average height is around 10 feet to 14 feet high. It’s best to mention that the heights of office buildings are often different from residential buildings. Also, ceiling heights also account for the height of buildings.

In this article, we’ve provided an elaborate overview of various building heights. We’ve also provided size charts that capture the data of common-story buildings and their dimensions.

Jump right into the Frequently Asked Questions

Height Of Story Buildings

Story	Height	Story height	Number of floors
1	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	0
2	19 ft – 22 ft 6 m – 7 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	1
3	28 ft – 32 ft 9 m – 10 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	2
4	40 ft – 44 ft 12 m – 13 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	3
5	50 ft – 55 ft 15 m – 17 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	4
6	56 ft – 58 ft 17 m – 18 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	5
7	64 ft – 67 ft 20 m – 21 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	6
8	72 ft – 76 ft 22 m – 23 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	7
9	81 ft – 85 ft 25 m – 26 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	8
10	86 ft – 91 ft 26 m – 28 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	9
20	90 ft – 94 ft 27 m – 29 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	19
30	98 ft – 103 ft 30 m – 31 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	29
40	189 ft – 193 ft 58 m – 59 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	39
50	278 ft – 284 ft 85 m – 87 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	49
60	367 ft – 372 ft 112 m – 113 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	59
70	458 ft – 462 ft 140 ft – 141 ft	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	69
80	549 ft – 552 ft 167 m – 168 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	79
90	639 ft – 642 ft 195 m – 196 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	89
100	730 ft – 733 ft 223 m – 223 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	99
110	819 ft – 825 ft 250 m – 251 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	109
120	904 ft – 915 ft 276 m – 279 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	119
130	1002 ft – 1008 ft 305 m – 307 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	129
140	108 ft – 1095 ft 332 m – 334 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	139
150	1182 ft – 1187 ft 360 m – 362 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	149
160	1272 ft – 1276 ft 388 m – 389 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	169
163	2717 ft 828 m	—	162

Height of High-Rising Buildings

Story	Height	Story height	Number of floors
10	86 ft – 91 ft 26 m – 28 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	9
15	143 ft – 147 ft 44 m – 45 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	14
20	90 ft – 94 ft 27 m – 29 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	19
25	234 ft – 237 ft 71 m – 72 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	24
30	98 ft – 103 ft 30 m – 31 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	29
35	320 ft – 327 ft 98 m – 100 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	34
40	189 ft – 193 ft 58 m – 59 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	39

Height Of Skyscraper Buildings

Story	Height	Story height	Number of floors
40	189 ft – 193 ft 58 m – 59 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	39
50	278 ft – 284 ft 85 m – 87 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	49
60	367 ft – 372 ft 112 m – 113 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	59
70	458 ft – 462 ft 140 ft – 141 ft	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	69
80	549 ft – 552 ft 167 m – 168 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	79
90	639 ft – 642 ft 195 m – 196 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	89
100	730 ft – 733 ft 223 m – 223 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	99
110	819 ft – 825 ft 250 m – 251 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	109
120	904 ft – 915 ft 276 m – 279 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	119
130	1002 ft – 1008 ft 305 m – 307 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	129
140	108 ft – 1095 ft 332 m – 334 m	10 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	139
150	1182 ft – 1187 ft 360 m – 362 m	12 ft – 14 ft 3.5 m – 4 m	149
160	1272 ft – 1276 ft 388 m – 389 m	11 ft – 14 ft 3 m – 4 m	169

Learn more about how high is a story in this video

_{Ceiling height and floor area requirements for 1.5-story homes by Structure Tech Home Inspections}

Frequently Asked Questions

How tall are 2 stories high?

18 feet to 25 feet tall. Two things make up the height of a building. First the height of the building and ceiling heights. The height of the two stories would vary widely based on the country or region where the building is located.

Wall heights in American countries, Asian countries, and British buildings are different from most buildings found in other parts of the world. The total height of a building may therefore not be consistent for the vast majority of 2-story buildings across the world.

The height provided here is simply a common average and not a factual height.

How many feet high are 3 stories?

18 feet – 33 feet tall. The height may vary slightly based on several factors. In some instances, it could be higher. Check the size charts above for a more elaborate overview of story buildings and their respective dimensions.

What is the height of a 10-story building?

10-story buildings have an average height of 86 ft – 91 ft (26 m – 28 m). They are still in the range of story buildings and not high-rise. The heights of these buildings are meticulously executed to avoid catastrophic occurrences such as building collapse.

Is 8 stories a high rise?

8 story building is not a high-rise building. Buildings that are within the range of 2-10 stories are still regarded as story buildings. The stories must be considerably more than 10 stories for it to qualify for the status of high-rise buildings.

However, at a certain height, some designs of buildings may qualify for the term tower to be used them. The difference between towers and high-rise building is that towers don’t necessarily have to be a story building.

Certain architecture makes a building qualify to be called a tower. But a building must reach a certain number of stories to be called a high-rise or skyscraper building.

How high is a story in meters?

An average story is within 3.1 meters – 4.3 meters. The height could rise above or below these values but usually, they are within that range. Check the size charts above for more details.

What is a 2.5-story house?

Most people are familiar with whole-number-story buildings. However, architectural designs of some countries feature houses where the dimension of the top floor is not equal to the size of the floor building. In other cases, there are storage buildings that are partially buildings and roofs. This part of the buildings often takes the half-story status.

For example, three-story buildings which have 60 percent of their upper story as a roof and the other 40 percent as a mini-flat would be regarded as a 2.5 story, instead of a full three-story building.

Do American high-rise buildings follow the same dimension?

The average height of ceilings ranges from 15 feet to 17 feet. However, not all buildings use the average height of ceilings. American high-rise buildings, for example, use special architectural models that are not common in other countries of the world. The actual ground level of those buildings is designed to follow an array arrangement of parking levels, which help maximize space.

Some of these high-rising buildings have several square kilometers of basements (Basement 1, Basement 2). Basement 1 could serve a purpose and basement 2 another purpose, depending on the design of the building. In some instances, both basements are used as the arrangement of parking levels, especially when the actual ground level has limited space.

American high-rise buildings are usually above 7-story buildings. It’s not uncommon to find buildings in these categories ranging into 24-story buildings or “16-story buildings, with the lowest floor being used for commercial purposes.

What is a one-story house called?

Generally, the term story is often used for buildings with decking or floors and levels. However, when ordinary buildings are attached to units of story buildings, it is possible to use the term single story to denote them.

However, a standard one-story building takes the name bungalow instead of one story or a single story. Check the size charts above for more details of the dimensions of story buildings.

Are High rise buildings the same as skyscrapers?

All skyscrapers are high rise buildings but not all high rise buildings are skyscrapers. A building should have above 10 stories to qualify as a high-rise building. However for any building to qualify as a skyscraper, it’s expected that it has up to 40 stories. Therefore, high-rise buildings and skyscrapers are not the same even though they share a lot of features in common.

Some people confuse 24-story building buildings with skyscrapers. That’s not right. A 24-story building is still in the range of high-rise buildings. just like a 7-story building still falls in the range of a story building and can’t be called a high-rise building. Check the size charts above for more details.

How tall should a ladder for 2 story house be?

It’s best to use an adjustable ladder that can reach as far as 25 ft – 30 ft. The average height of 2 stories is about 20 ft – 25 feet tall. Using an adjust helps you reach any level in the range of the building height.

You need to also take the floor height into consideration when choosing your ladder length.

Conclusion

The height of story buildings varies across several factors. First, residential buildings and commercial buildings often have different dimensions. Architects follow a unique building code when designing apartment buildings but when it comes to office complexes, the designs are quite different.

In this article, we’ve provided charts that highlight the most common building heights from ground-floor buildings to some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world.

If you have questions that are not already answered in the article, leave them in the comment below, and if you have opinions that enhance the value already shared in the article, leave them in the comment as well. Remember to share the article across the internet to help others have access to the information.

Picture in this post is by Adam Bouse on Unsplash