The height of structures in the United States has been poorly documented. However, the data is a matter of public record, appearing in documents maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
This list is populated heavily by antenna masts. The engineering aspects of super-tall masts are highly specialized. Only four companies erect the majority of such structures: Doty Moore Tower Services (Cedar Hill, Texas); Kline Towers (Columbia, South Carolina); LeBlanc Royal Telecom (Oakville, Ontario); and Stainless Inc. (North Wales, Pennsylvania). The design and construction are largely governed by RS222E Electronic Industries Alliance standards. A tall mast costs between $0.7 and $1.1 million to build, while a tall mast costs $2.4 to $4 million. Prices generally vary depending on tower capacity and wind loading specifications.
A common misperception is that landmarks such as the Stratosphere Tower are the tallest United States structures, but they are in fact the tallest buildings. Likewise, Taipei 101 was often misrepresented as the world's tallest structure (although it was the tallest occupied building, before the certification of Dubai's Burj Khalifa as such), but in fact is far eclipsed by antenna towers in over a dozen states in the United States and in other countries.
In the United States, the FAA and the FCC must approve all towers exceeding in height. Furthermore, it is very difficult to get permission for structures over tall. The FCC presumes them to be inconsistent with the public interest, while the FAA presumes them to be a hazard to air navigation, resulting in poor airspace usage. A significant burden of proof is placed on the applicant to show that such a structure is in the public's best interests. Only when both agencies have resolved all legal, safety, and management concerns is such an application approved.
Since 1978, the United States has maintained 11 tethered aerostats sites along the southern borders. These balloons rise to , carrying radar units for drug interdiction purposes. However, since the balloons are aided by buoyancy and are not permanent, they are not considered true structures.
State-by-state listing
Alabama WTTO Television Tower (Birmingham WB-21) Windham Springs () Year built: 1986 At 2,000 ft (610 m), this structure ties 19 others around the United States as the seventh-tallest structure in the worldList of tallest structures in the world#Current WTTO no longer transmits from this tower, having moved to the American Tower Candelabra in Birmingham as part of the television repack in 2020. RSA Battle House Tower Height: 745 ft (227 m) Mobile, Alabama Tallest freestanding building in Alabama It has a fiberglass spire on the top of the building that supports the antenna The building has a crown inside it which is visible up to away 35 floors
Alaska LORAN-C transmitter Port Clarence Height: 1,350 ft (411 m) Port Clarence () Year built: 1961 Owner: U.S. Coast Guard Demolished on April 28, 2010 Knik TV Mast Height: 808 ft (246 m) Knik () Year built: 1986 Owner: Alaska Public Telecommunications Inc
Arizona Midwest Tower Dolan Springs Height: 1,299 ft (396.3 m) Dolan Springs Year built: 2000 Chimney of Hayden Smelter Height: 1,001 ft (305 m) Flue gas stacks of the Navajo Generating Station Height: 775 ft (236 m) Page () Year built: 1996–1998 Owner: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (24.3%), SRP (21.7%), Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power (21.2%), Arizona Public Service Co. (14.0%), NV Energy (11.3%), Tucson Electric Power (7.5%) The Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant located east of Page, has three 775 ft (236 m) lined, reinforced concrete stacks. The plant's original stacks were demolished in the late 1990s after being replaced by larger diameter stacks of the same height. The new stacks were required to accommodate cooler, saturated flue gas that resulted when wet SO2 scrubbers were added The tallest radio tower is the 650 ft (198 m) KSZR (97.5) tower in Oro Valley near Tucson
Arkansas KTVE Television Tower (El Dorado NBC 10) Height: 1970 ft (600.4 m) Bolding () Year built: 1987 Owner: Grapevine Communications
California KXTV/KOVR Television Tower Height: 2,049 ft (624.5 m) Walnut Grove () Year built: 2000 Owner: Gannett/CBS This is the sixth-tallest structure in the world, just behind KVLY-TV mast and KRDK-TV mast in North Dakota. KXTV (ABC News 10) and KOVR (CBS 13), serve the Sacramento – Stockton – Modesto market. The tower has been used for research ozone sampling at different heights In the same area, there are the 2,000 ft (609.6 m) tall Hearst-Argyle Tower () and the 1,994 ft (607.8 m) tall Channel 40 Tower ()
Colorado Radio communications tower: KSRC, KFCO Height: 1,996 ft (608 m) Hoyt () Year built: 2003 Owner: American Tower Tower primarily used for penetration into the Denver radio market
Connecticut WTIC Television Tower (Hartford Fox 61) Height: 1,339 ft (408 m) Farmington () Year built: 1984 Owner: Communications Site Management LLC
Delaware WBOC Television Tower (Salisbury CBS 16) Height: 1,000 ft (305 m) Laurel, Delaware () Year built: 2000 Owner: WBOC
District of Columbia Hughes Memorial Tower Height: 765 ft (232 m) Washington () Year built: 1989 Owner: District of Columbia Office of Property Management Operator: Washington, D.C. Police Department WTTG Television Tower Height: 705 ft (215 m) Washington () Year built: 1963 Owner: WTTG Fox Washington Monument Height: ~ 555 ft (~169 m) Washington () Year built: 1884 Operator: National Park Service
Florida WTVY-TV Tower (Dothan, Alabama market) Height: 1,901 ft (579 m) 2,049 ft ASL Bethlehem () Year built: 1978 Owner: Gray Television
WCIX TV Tower Homestead Height: 1,801 ft (549 m) Destroyed in 1992 Rebuilt
Georgia WCTV Television Tower (Tallahassee CBS 6) Height: 2,000 ft (609 m) Metcalf () Year built: 1987 Owner: Gray Midamerica TV
Hawaii Navy VLF Antenna Height: 1,503 ft (458 m) Lualualei () Year built: 1972 Owner: U.S. Navy / ROICC Pearl Harbor The record is held by two towers, exactly identical, that reach 1,503 ft (458 m) tall. They are used to communicate with submarines throughout the Pacific basin. The second-tallest structure is the KHON-TV (Honolulu Fox 2) tower at 500 ft (152 m) located at
Idaho KMVT Height: 682 ft (208 m) Jerome () Year built: 1961 Owner: KMVT Broadcasting
Illinois Willis Tower Height: 1,730 ft (527 m) Chicago () Year built: 1974 Owner: TrizecHahn Office Properties
Indiana WTTV Television Tower (Bloomington WB 4) Height: Trafalgar () Year built: 1957 Owner: Tribune WTVW Television Tower (Evansville Fox 7) Height: Chandler () Year Built: 1956 Owner: Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.
Iowa WOI Television Tower (Des Moines ABC 5) Height: 2,000 ft (609.6 m) Alleman () Year built: 1972 Owner: NYT Broadcast Holdings LLC Des Moines Hearst-Argyle Television Tower Alleman Height: 2,000 ft (609.6 m) Alleman (41°48'35.0" N, 93°37'17.0" W) Year built: 1974 KCAU TV Tower Height: 2,000 ft (609.6 m) Sioux City (42°35'11.0" N, 96°13'57.0" W) Year built: 1965 AFLAC Tower Height: 2,000 ft (609.4 m) Rowley (42°24'02.0" N, 91°50'37.0" W ) Year built: 1984 American Towers Tower Elkhart Height: 2,000 ft (609.3 m) Elkhart (41°49'48.0" N, 93°36'54.6" W) Year built: 2001
Kansas KWCH 12 Tower (Wichita CBS 12) Height: 1,501 ft (458 m) Burrton () Year built: 1963 Owner: Gray Television This was KTVH-TV until 1983, when it became KWCH-TV. Signal also broadcast on DT on Ch 19
Kentucky WAVE Television Tower (Louisville NBC 3) – no longer used Height: 1,739 ft (530 m) La Grange () Year built: 1990 Owner: Subcarrier Communications This tower was built to allow WAVE to reach into parts of the Cincinnati, Ohio, market, which sacrificed the western part of the Louisville DMA. They abandoned a tower in Floyds Knobs, Indiana, when the La Grange tower went on the air. They have since put their HD antenna and transmitter at the Indiana site and abandoned the La Grange tower
Louisiana KNOE-TV, KMLU, and KLTM-TV shared tower Height: 1,984 ft (604.7m) Columbia () Year built: 1998 Owner: American Tower Corporation Now current tallest tower after the WZRH/KVDU tower collapsed WZRH/KVDU Radio Tower (New Orleans 92.3/104.1 FM) Height: 2,000 ft (610 m) Vacherie () Year built: 1986 Owners: Cumulus and iHeartMedia; Cumulus is managing partner Tower collapsed in late August, 2021 during Hurricane Ida
Maine WMTW Television Tower (Portland ABC 8) Height: 1,667 ft (508 m) Baldwin () Year built: 2001 Owner: Hearst Stations Inc. This tower was built in 2001 to replace WMTW's transmitting facility atop Mount Washington (New Hampshire). It began transmitting on February 5, 2002. The second-tallest structure is the WGME (CBS-13) tower in Raymond, which measures 1,624 ft (495 m) tall
Maryland WBFF Television Tower (Baltimore Fox 45) Height: 1,280 ft (390 m) Baltimore () Year built: 1987 Owner: Cunningham Communications/Sinclair Second-tallest is WMDT-TV ABC/47 (Salisbury) at 1,027 ft (313 m), near Sharptown
Massachusetts WUNI-TV Tower (Worcester/Boston Univision) Height: 1,350 ft (411.5m) Boylston () Year built: 1969 Owner: Entravision Communications Corporation WGBH/WBZ/WCVB Cluster (Boston PBS/CBS/ABC) Height: 1,296 ft (395 m) Needham () Year built: 1957 Owner: American Tower Corporation
Michigan WEYI-TV Tower Height: 1,132 ft (403.2 m) Clio () Year built: 1972 Owner: Barrington Broadcasting FCC ASRN: 1010544 WCML Television Tower Atlanta (Alpena PBS 6) Height: 1,349.11 ft (411.21 m) Atlanta Year built: 1972. Replaced with a newer, but shorter tower in 2010 Owner: Central Michigan University FCC ASRN: 1002163 (Old tower), 1274349 (New tower) Due to the replacement, this tower is no longer the tallest in Michigan
Minnesota KPXM Television Tower (Minneapolis ION 41) Height: 1,505 ft (459 m) Big Lake () Year built: 1997 (Tower actually constructed in 1982 by the now defunct L.E.O. Broadcasting of St. Cloud Minnesota) Owner: Paxson Minneapolis / KXLI This station is licensed to St. Cloud; attempts to cover both that city and Minneapolis/St. Paul from a site between the two cities; and used to be known as KXLI-TV
Mississippi WLBT Television Tower (Jackson NBC 3) Height: 1,998 ft (609 m) Raymond () Year built: 1999 Owner: Raycom Media
Missouri Rohn Tower/KMOS Tower Height: 2,000 ft (609.6 m) Syracuse Year built: 2001 Owner: University of Central Missouri KY3 Tower 1 Height: 2,000 ft (609.4 m) Fordland () Year built: 2000 Owner: KYTV KY3 Tower 2 Height: 1,996 ft (608.4 m) Marshfield Year built: 1973 Owner: KYTV KOZK Television Tower (Springfield PBS 21) Height: 1,960 ft (597.4 m) Fordland () Year built: 1971 Collapsed in 2018 during tower modifications for the FCC spectrum repack. Was not rebuilt Owner: Missouri State University (Former SW Missouri State University)
Montana KTGF Television Tower (Great Falls NBC 16) Height: 801 ft (244 m) Great Falls () Year built: 1986 Owner: Max Media of Montana
Nebraska KLKN Television Tower (Lincoln ABC 8) Height: 1,854 ft (565 m) Genoa () Year built: 1969 Owner: Citadel Communications The KDUH-TV tower at 1,965 ft (599 m) tall at Hemingford collapsed in early 2003 during reinforcement work. The Duhamel Broadcasting Tower Angora was constructed about away and was completed in September 2003. The replacement tower is 160 m (about 500 ft) shorter than the original. KXVO and KPTM in Omaha (which are co-owned) have an FCC construction permit to build a taller tower that would put their antennas 577 m (roughly 1,900 ft) up. There was also a tall mast at Hemingford, which collapsed in 2002
Nevada Shamrock Tower Height: 1,464 ft (446.2 m) Jessup, Nevada () Year built: 2012 Owner: Shamrock Communications Scranton, Pennsylvania