Ceiling Height Matters

Not true; standardized high-volume lumber dimensions make it much cheaper to build walls that are slighly less than 8 feet high. Hardware stores even sell pre-cut studs at 92 5/8" instead of 96".

The building code is another obstacle. It requires kiln-dried stamped+certified stud lumber for walls, and getting those in anything over 8 feet is a custom order (the 2x4x10s you see at your local hardware store are not certified for this). Above 11 foot ceilings the building code requires you to get an engineer to design the house and wet-stamp the plans.

I find this kind of logic sufficiently compelling that I have never rented more than a single room, so I guess I was never going to agree with OP in the first place.

It is only a matter of cost. To clean, temperature, regulations, building materials, the fact it is bespoke.

An argument of height vs floor space if you acknowledged the trade off however would be interesting. Are we choosing footage when really we would prefer height.

It should be possible to hit the ceiling with a normal fly swatter. It should be possible to stand on a normal chair to change a lightbulb.

As long as those requirements are met, taller is better. Height minimizes the risk of impact with light fixtures.

That comes out to be 9 to 10.5 feet.

Note that staircases are special. People do not merely stand on each step. People leap up and down the stairs, so extra height is needed to reduce the risk of impact and a serious injury. The ceiling right at the bottom of the stairs, on the landing, is commonly far too short.

People in a large open restaurant with high ceilings will tend to avoid sitting in the middle.

Using churches for examples of how residential space should look isn’t very convincing. Most people wouldn’t want to live in a church.

I have lived in a home with high ceilings. I find them gaudy and poor design features, unless you live alone. If you have high ceilings, particularly in open floor plans, everyone is going to hear everything all the time. Doubly true if the stair case opens up to a wide space instead of being closed off.