What is the minimum ceiling height that is good?

I think anything below 8 1/2' is noticeable. Personally I would never live in anything under 9' - which means brokers will call it 10'.

Below 8' is not to NYC building codes.

"Below 8' is not to NYC building codes."

Nope.

Somewhere I saw 7'6", and 7' in bathrooms and ancillary spaces. Can't find it now, and has probably changed anyway.

30 yrs, in general, it is 8ft. Please refer to Section BC 1208 of the building code from 2008 (pretty sure that ceiling hts haven't changed since then ): http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/newyorkcity/Building/Building-Frameset.html

1208.2 Minimum ceiling hts - habitable rooms and spaces shall have a ceiling ht of not less than 8 feet.
Occupiable spaces and corridors ... not less than 7'6". Bathroom, toilet rooms, kitchens (other than I-1 and R occ.)
storage rooms & laundry rms not less than 7'. Blabla

Exceptions:
1. Provided for some 1-fam/2-fam projecting beams/girders - 7'
2. Habitable rms in basements of 1-fam dwellings - 7'
3. Provided for basements in multiple dwellings
4. Mezzanines.

So yes, I stand by my assertion that 8' is not to building codes, as the original poster probably meant in living areas.

nyc10023. The current building codes may not allow for ceiling heights below 8' in living areas, but how long has it been that way? There seem to be many "white brick" buildings where less than 8' is the norm.

As for the OP's question, I agree with Jazzman. 8.5' is the absolute minimum.

you really want at least 9'.

Yes, if everything in proportion. Sometimes we tend to fetishize the high ceiling.

Apropos of nothing, I grew up in a 19th-century house with small rooms but high (11') ceilings. First thing my parents did 50 years ago was fur them down a foot. Nobody'd ever do that now, but the rooms did look better, I think. Subsequent owner has put them back, and the rooms look even smaller.

NWT; agreed. The general thing is that you don't want the height to exceed either the length or width. Look at the br's in 111 4th Ave for example.

For me, sunlight is way more important. Our current place has barely 8' ceilings but great sunlight, while our old apartment was 9.5' ft and faced brick walls. But I think 8' would be a minimum.

I definitely think you have to match it to room sizes. Golden ratio!

I was told by a realtor this afternoon that 9'ceilings meant a 'loft'!!
In college I had a room that was 10x7 with a 12 ft ceiling and I always lay in bed and thought how great it would be if I could figure out how to turn it on its side.

10 or 11, depending on room size to me is the most desirable hight. 9 is too low. 12 is too high. IMHO.

"I was told by a realtor this afternoon that 9'ceilings meant a 'loft'!!"

Well, if a realtor said it, it must be true!

Just like Downtown Brooklyn is "Brooklyn Heights"; 450 square feet is actually 600 square feet; if it's less than 20 blocks, it's only "steps away" from whatever; a wide hallway is actually a "library/office"; if the kitchen is big enough that you can open the oven door all the way, it's a "chef's kitchen"; and a sunken living room qualifies the apartment as a "duplex".

"9 is too low. 12 is too high."

Again, it depends on the room size.

9 foot ceilings in a typical prewar apartment with rooms averaging 10 or 12 feet by 20 feet are perfect. 9 foot ceilings, however, in a "loft" space with a 38-foot living room would make it look like a long hallway -- for that you'd want ceilings at least 12 feet, preferably 15 feet.

Conversely, ceilings higher than 10 feet in a 10x10 bedroom would make you feel like you're living at the bottom of a Tupperware container.

""I was told by a realtor this afternoon that 9'ceilings meant a 'loft'!!"

Well, if a realtor said it, it must be true!

Just like Downtown Brooklyn is "Brooklyn Heights"; 450 square feet is actually 600 square feet; if it's less than 20 blocks, it's only "steps away" from whatever; a wide hallway is actually a "library/office"; if the kitchen is big enough that you can open the oven door all the way, it's a "chef's kitchen"; and a sunken living room qualifies the apartment as a "duplex". "

ROTFL.

We could make that a long, long list. 9 foot lofts. OMG.

A walk-in closet is a "media room" or "study".
Cheap appliances with aluminum finishes are a "chef's kitchen" (all the chefs I know use maytag).
Any location they're talking about is "prime".
[lic, gowanus, a hut under the BQE, choose one] "is the next soho".
"quick commute" means two subway transfers

8'2" seems, in my experience, to be the most common ceiling height (I brought my tape measure to all the units I saw).

But personally, I wouldn't want to reside in a dwelling with less than 9'. I lived for 10 years in 8' ceilings and, especially during the summer, it can feel oppressive, boxed in.

The condo I finally bought has 9'6" and I love it.

""quick commute" means two subway transfers"

Hee hee -- no ... "quick commute" means it's within 18 blocks of ANY subway station, even the "G" or the "7".