Cell towers in Story County, IA

The FCC registry lists 53 constructed antenna structures in Story County, 2% of Iowa's 3,266. Ownership is spread across 27 registrants; the largest, Array Digital Infrastructure, has 9 (17%). The three big tower companies — American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA — hold 10 between them.

Value a buyout offer

1Constructed structures 53
2Tallest 579 ft
3Largest owner Array Digital Infrastructure
4Median height (state 259 ft) 200 ft

Structures

rank 13 of 99 in IA

Most common type

Tower

36% of structures

Over 200 feet

47% of structures

Peak build decade

2000s

38% built then

Who owns the towers in Story County

27 different registrants own the 53 structures. 4 are registered to individuals or family trusts, whose names this site withholds. Owner names are the registrant's legal entity as filed with the FCC; the large tower companies file under many subsidiary names, which this site groups into families where the brand is in the name or listed in the company's SEC filings.

Constructed structures in Story County by owner group, bars to scale. Source: FCC ASR, October 2026.

Height and age

The median structure here stands 200 feet, 59 feet shorter than the Iowa median, typical of denser areas where more, shorter sites fill in coverage. The tallest is a other or unspecified near Ames at 579 feet, built in 1949. More than in any other decade, 38% were built in the 2000s.

Structures in Story County by type, bars to scale. Source: FCC ASR.

Structures in Story County by decade built, columns to scale. Source: FCC ASR.

Every registered structure

Sorted tallest first. The registration number opens the FCC record, which shows the exact location and the owner's contact for the structure. A tower on your land that is not in this list is probably under 200 feet and away from airports, so it did not need registering — see why some towers aren't listed.

FCC reg.	Type	Height	Built	City	Owner
1017331	Other or unspecified	579 ft	1949	Ames	Iowa State University of Science and Technology
1017366	Guyed tower	410 ft	1990	Ames	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1017494	Guyed tower	408 ft	1973	Ames	Vertical Bridge CC AM, LLC
1019015	Tower	406 ft	1998	Near Ames	Vertical Bridge CC FM, LLC
1303527	Lattice tower	399 ft	2017	Ames	IOWA STATE OF
1017332	Other or unspecified	367 ft	1985	Ames	Iowa State University of Science and Technology
1302285	Lattice tower	365 ft	2018	Nevada	INTERSTATE POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY
1227266	Guyed tower	310 ft	2001	Roland	American Towers LLC
1315283	Lattice tower	285 ft	2021	Maxwell	Private owner (name withheld)
1017363	Lattice tower	275 ft	1996	Huxley	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1216464	Tower	267 ft	2000	Roland	SBA Structures, LLC
1220813	Lattice tower	265 ft	2000	Nevada	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1226937	Tower	265 ft	2001	State Center	Communication Enhancement, LLC
1315284	Lattice tower	265 ft	2021	Mccallsburg	Private owner (name withheld)
1207229	Lattice tower	260 ft	2008	Cambridge	American Towers LLC
1252929	Tower	260 ft	2006	Zearing	Cellco Partnership
1252973	Lattice tower	260 ft	2006	Zearing	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1280539	Lattice tower	260 ft	2012	Huxley	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1280605	Tower	259 ft	2011	Cambridge	Cellco Partnership
1247340	Lattice tower	257 ft	2006	Collins	Cellco Partnership
1315282	Lattice tower	255 ft	2020	Nevada	Private owner (name withheld)
1315285	Lattice tower	255 ft	2021	Story City	Private owner (name withheld)
1023676	Tower	247 ft	1959	Kelley	Heartland Tower Inc.
1036131	Tower	245 ft	1950	Collins	Tower Sites, Inc.
1016624	Lattice tower	242 ft	1988	Ames	ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING CO
1226672	Tower	200 ft	2005	Ames	Crown Castle Tower 05 LLC
1226674	Tower	200 ft	2005	Nevada	Crown Castle Tower 05 LLC
1226678	Tower	200 ft	2005	Colo	Crown Castle Tower 05 LLC
1025582	Tower	199 ft	1978	Ames	IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
1225139	Tower	199 ft	2001	Ames	GoldenState Towers, LLC
1256690	Tower	199 ft	2007	Zearing	T-Mobile Central LLC
1256752	Guyed tower	199 ft	2007	Maxwell	TowerCo IV LLC
1309716	Lattice tower	199 ft	2019	Zearing	Vertical Bridge Development, LLC
1289905	Monopole	198 ft	2014	Roland	1 Source Towers, LLC
1255830	Monopole	194 ft	2011	Slater	American Towers LLC
1006189	Lattice tower	185 ft	1996	Ames	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1264168	Tower	180 ft	2009	Ames	STATE OF IOWA, DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION
1206488	Tower	171 ft	1999	Ames	Iowa Department of Transportation
1212203	Monopole	165 ft	2000	Ames	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1275861	Monopole	160 ft	2011	Colo	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1292505	Monopole	159 ft	2014	Ames	SBA Towers V, LLC
1016195	Tower	158 ft	1996	Ames	STC Five LLC
1237854	Tower	150 ft	2003	Ames	IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
1017333	Tower	147 ft	1988	Ames	Iowa State University of Science and Technology
1291556	Monopole	144 ft	2014	Ames	SBA Towers V, LLC
1298655	Monopole	135 ft	1997	Ames	TowerCo IV LLC
1256709	Tower	133 ft	2008	Ames	Cellco Partnership
1299880	Pole	129 ft	2017	Ames	Cellco Partnership
1240196	Monopole	125 ft	2003	Ames	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1301109	Monopole	125 ft	2017	Ames	StratCap Wireless Group
1038801	Pole	105 ft	1997	Ames	TowerCo IV LLC
1006110	On a building	100 ft	1996	Ames	T-Mobile Central LLC
1241145	Monopole	86 ft	2004	Ames	American Towers LLC

If you have a tower lease in Story County

Find your structure above, open its FCC record and confirm the owner — that is the company your lease runs to today, even if a different carrier signed it originally. Before answering a buyout offer, put your current rent, escalator and remaining term into the calculator to see what the rent is worth and what return the offer assumes.

Counties in Iowa with similar tower counts: Benton County (54), Lee County (54), Clinton County (53), Des Moines County (46), Tama County (46).

Source: FCC Antenna Structure Registration, weekly public access file (r_tower.zip, created 2026-10-18); constructed registrations only; locations rounded. Checked 2026-10-23. Methodology.