--- title: "How many steps up Empire State Building? 1,576" description: "1,576 steps up Empire State Building in New York, United States. Restricted — events or permit only. What the count reaches and how it compares." url: https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/empire-state-building/ site: "At One Place" --- # How many steps to the top of Empire State Building? **Steps to the top of Empire State Building: 1,576** Reaching the 86th-floor observatory, via the emergency stairwell · restricted — events or permit only The 1,576 steps are a fire stair, not a visitor route: the observatory is reached by lift, and the only people who climb are competitors in the Empire State Building Run-Up, held most years since 1978 and limited to a few hundred entrants. The winning times are around ten minutes. A separate count of 1,872 steps reaches the 102nd floor, which is not part of the race. The stairwell is unventilated and the temperature climbs noticeably above the sixtieth floor. ## The numbers - **Steps:** 1,576 - **Reaches:** the 86th-floor observatory, via the emergency stairwell - **Public access:** Restricted — events or permit only - **Where:** New York, United States - **Height climbed:** 320 m — 1,050 ft - **Average rise per step:** 203 mm ## What the climb is like Race entry only, by ballot or charity place. Elite times are near 10 minutes; most finishers take 20-30. > These steps are not open on an ordinary visit. Access is limited to organised events, races or permit holders. > Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches. ## How it compares *Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.* - CN Tower: 1,776 steps - Ostankino Tower: 1,704 steps - Eiffel Tower (summit): 1,665 steps - Empire State Building: 1,576 steps - The STRAT Tower: 1,455 steps - Kotohira-gū (Konpira-san): 1,368 steps - Q1 Tower (SkyPoint Climb): 1,331 steps *Empire State Building ranks 10 of 56 here by step count.* | Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | CN Tower | 1,776 | the main observation level at 342 m; 2,579 steps reach the SkyPod at 447 m | Restricted — events or permit only | | Ostankino Tower | 1,704 | the observation deck at 337 m, via the emergency staircase | Not climbable by the public | | Eiffel Tower (summit) | 1,665 | the summit at 276 m, using the service stairs above the second floor — closed to the public | Not climbable by the public | | Empire State Building | 1,576 | the 86th-floor observatory, via the emergency stairwell | Restricted — events or permit only | | The STRAT Tower | 1,455 | the observation deck at 260 m | Restricted — events or permit only | | Kotohira-gū (Konpira-san) | 1,368 | the inner shrine, Okusha; 785 steps reach the main shrine | Open to climb | | Q1 Tower (SkyPoint Climb) | 1,331 | the SkyPoint observation deck at 230 m | Open to climb | ## Common questions ### How many steps to the top of Empire State Building? 1,576, reaching the 86th-floor observatory, via the emergency stairwell. ### Can the public climb Empire State Building? Restricted — events or permit only. Race entry only, by ballot or charity place. Elite times are near 10 minutes; most finishers take 20-30. ### How high is that climb? 320 m, about 1,050 ft, which averages 203 mm per step. ## Related pages - [Towers](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/tower/) - [How many steps up Eiffel Tower?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/eiffel-tower/) - [How many steps up Eiffel Tower (summit)?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/eiffel-tower-summit/) - [How many steps up Burj Khalifa?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/burj-khalifa/) - [How many steps up CN Tower?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/cn-tower/) - [How many steps up Tokyo Tower?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/tokyo-tower/) - [How many steps up Taipei 101?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/taipei-101/) - [How many steps up One World Trade Center?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/one-world-trade-center/) - [How many steps up Tokyo Skytree?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/tokyo-skytree/) ## Sources - Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)