States / Illinois
IL · #6 of 51 by structures
Cell towers in Illinois
Illinois has 5,168 constructed antenna structures in the FCC registry — 4% of the national total and number 6 of 51. The most common kind is the tower (40%), the median overall height is 207 feet, and 51% stand taller than 200 feet. The largest owner is American Tower, with 784 structures (15%).
- 1Constructed structures 5,168
- 2Median height 207 ft
- 3Largest owner American Tower
- 4Counties with a county page 95
Who owns Illinois's towers
The FCC registry names the owner of each structure. In Illinois the eight largest owner groups hold 2,622 of the 5,168 structures. Where a tower stands on leased land, that owner — or whoever bought the tower from it — is usually the landowner's tenant and the party a lease buyout offer is ultimately about.
Types and age
More of Illinois's registered structures went up in the 2000s than in any other decade (37%). A tower's age matters to a landowner because a ground lease runs for a set term plus renewals: the older the tower, the more of that term has been used, and the fewer years of rent are left to value when an offer arrives.
Every county
Counties with fewer than 10 structures have no page of their own; their towers are in the lookup.
Source: FCC Antenna Structure Registration, weekly public access file (r_tower.zip, created 2026-10-18); county names from the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 gazetteer. Checked 2026-10-23. Methodology.