Petronas Towers vs Empire State Building
Petronas Towers (452 m) is 1.02× the size of Empire State Building (443 m).
Empire State Building is 98% of the height of Petronas Towers. The gap between them is 8.7 m (28.5 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petronas Towers | 452 m | 1,483 ft | height |
| Empire State Building | 443 m | 1,454 ft | height |
What the scale shows
Petronas Towers (452 m) is 1.02× the size of Empire State Building (443 m). The gap between them is 8.7 m (28.5 ft). Both are buildings & towers, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 98% of the frame while the larger one runs to the top. The two are close enough that the difference is easy to see side by side.
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What each figure means
The figure for Petronas Towers is its height (architectural height). The figure for Empire State Building is its height (to the tip of the antenna (381 m to the roof)).
Crossing them
Walking pace is 1.4 m/s, so crossing Petronas Towers's 452 m takes 5.4 minutes and Empire State Building's 443 m takes 5.3 minutes.
In people: Petronas Towers is 266 adults of 1.7 m tall, Empire State Building is 260.7. By size Petronas Towers is 10th of the 23 buildings & towers on this site and Empire State Building is 11th, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. The Petronas Towers is given as a height, architectural height. The Empire State Building is given as a height, to the tip of the antenna (381 m to the roof). Both are height figures, so putting them on one baseline is a like-for-like comparison, although the exact individual or convention still matters.
Building heights depend on the rule used: architectural height counts spires but not antennas, tip height counts everything. The basis is named with each figure.
Where the pair sits among all the sizes here
Across all 86 things on this site, the Petronas Towers is number 36 from the top and the Empire State Building is number 37. No other item falls between them, so in this collection they are direct neighbours.
Because the collection spans 13 mm up to 1,392,700 km, a ratio of 107,130,769,231× from smallest to largest, the position of a pair says a lot: the pair sits in the middle of the range rather than at an extreme.
What the length ratio hides
A length ratio of 1.02× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, the Petronas Towers would have about 1.04× the surface or footprint of the Empire State Building, and about 1.06× the volume. These two are not the same shape, so treat the figures as an upper bound for an imaginary scaled copy, not as a measurement of either one.
The drawing above shows length only. The Empire State Building is drawn 98% as tall as the Petronas Towers, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 96.2%, which is why the smaller one looks even slighter than the numbers alone suggest.
Time to cross each one
A sprinter holding about 10 m/s covers the Petronas Towers in 45 seconds and the Empire State Building in 44 seconds. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 1.3 seconds for the larger and 1.3 seconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 1.8 seconds and 1.8 seconds.
These times assume a straight line and constant speed, which no real crossing has, but they turn a number in metres into something the body understands. At any fixed speed the travel times keep the same 1.02× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
The Petronas Towers measures 452 m, which is 1,483 ft or 494.2 yards. The Empire State Building measures 443 m, which is 1,454 ft.
The difference between them is 8.7 m (28.5 ft). In metres the smaller one is 443.2 against 451.9, so the 1.02× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, the Petronas Towers or the Empire State Building?
The Petronas Towers is bigger. At 452 m it is 1.02× the size of the Empire State Building, which is 443 m.
How many times does the Empire State Building fit along the Petronas Towers?
Less than twice: the Empire State Building is 98% of the size of the Petronas Towers, so one fits with 8.7 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are height figures. The Petronas Towers is architectural height; the Empire State Building is to the tip of the antenna (381 m to the roof).
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, the Petronas Towers is about 266 people tall and the Empire State Building is about 260.7. The gap of 8.7 m is 5.1 people.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each item has its own page that names the measurement and links to the Wikipedia article it was taken from. Some figures are rounded, and animals vary from one individual to the next, so treat them as representative values rather than records for every case.
How the sizes are taken. Each figure says what it measures — height, length, diameter or elevation — and for which individual or convention. Everything is drawn standing upright on one baseline so a single scale holds, including things that are long rather than tall. Values come from the linked Wikipedia article for each item.