Tokyo Skytree vs Empire State Building: taller by how much?
The Tokyo Skytree measures 634 m (2,080 ft) from the ground up, and the Empire State Building measures 443.2 m (1,454 ft) from the ground up. The Empire State Building would have to grow by 43% to match the Tokyo Skytree, which is 1.43 times its height. Put the other way round, the Empire State Building covers 70% of the Tokyo Skytree on the axis both are judged on. The Tokyo Skytree and the Empire State Building are both written in hundreds of metres, and the 43% between them is the whole of the difference.
| Object | Real size | Axis measured | What the figure covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Skytree | 634 m 2,080 ft |
Height | Ground to highest point |
| Empire State Building | 443.2 m 1,454 ft |
Height | Ground to highest point |
Both figures, Tokyo Skytree and Empire State Building, come from the Size It Up measurement set, one real-world size and one measured axis per object, last checked in September 2026; outline provenance is listed on the sources page.
Why this one is hard to judge by eye
Nothing this size arrives at the eye whole: the Tokyo Skytree reaches you as a small angle from wherever you can stand back far enough to see it, and the brain fills the rest in from what it expects, which is how 190.8 m of difference goes unnoticed. On the drawing above the Tokyo Skytree is about 9.00 times as tall as it is wide and the Empire State Building about 3.32 times as tall as it is wide, so the two outlines fill the frame in ways that have nothing to do with the one axis being compared.
What each figure covers
Tokyo Skytree. The 634 m was chosen deliberately: read aloud in Japanese, the digits give the old name of the region the tower stands in. It is a broadcasting mast rather than an office building.
Empire State Building. The 443.2 m reaches the tip of the antenna. To the roof it is 381 m, and that difference is why the building trades places with others depending on which figure a list uses.
The Tokyo Skytree and the Empire State Building are both quoted as a height, which is what makes the ratio above a like-for-like figure.
What else is about that size?
Measured the same way, Tokyo Skytree at 634 m sits within two fifths of One World Trade Center at 541.3 m and Burj Khalifa at 828 m. Empire State Building at 443.2 m has One World Trade Center at 541.3 m and Eiffel Tower at 330 m for company, within two fifths. Swapping any of those in for the Tokyo Skytree would move its ratio to the Empire State Building by less than 40%.