Quarterly Financial Data (Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2021	Sep. 30, 2021	Jun. 30, 2021	Mar. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Quarterly Financial Data [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 595,262	$ 589,305	$ 575,528	$ 548,739	$ 535,905	$ 522,940	$ 507,226	$ 517,067	$ 2,308,834	$ 2,083,138	$ 2,014,645
Operating income	197,376	211,776	199,764	173,579	165,100	160,337	157,054	151,203	782,495	633,694	583,488
Depreciation, accretion, and amortization	(169,895)	(170,916)	(175,469)	(183,881)	(180,383)	(180,302)	(178,706)	(182,579)	(700,161)	(721,970)	(697,078)
Net income attributable to SBA Communications Corporation	$ 48,902	$ 47,798	$ 152,669	$ (11,745)	$ 105,781	$ 22,568	$ 22,813	$ (127,058)	$ 237,624	$ 24,104	$ 146,991
Net income (loss) per common share - basic	$ 0.45	$ 0.44	$ 1.40	$ (0.11)	$ 0.96	$ 0.20	$ 0.20	$ (1.14)	$ 2.17	$ 0.22	$ 1.30
Net income (loss) per common share - diluted	$ 0.44	$ 0.43	$ 1.37	$ (0.11)	$ 0.94	$ 0.20	$ 0.20	$ (1.14)	$ 2.14	$ 0.21	$ 1.28