diff --git a/docs/axes/labelling.md b/docs/axes/labelling.md
index ef43cdb01..5e4a6a76b 100644
--- a/docs/axes/labelling.md
+++ b/docs/axes/labelling.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ The scale label configuration is nested under the scale configuration in the `sc
 | -----| ---- | --------| -----------
 | `display` | `Boolean` | `false` | If true, display the axis title.
 | `labelString` | `String` | `''` | The text for the title. (i.e. "# of People" or "Response Choices").
+| `lineHeight` | `Number` | `` | Height of an individual line of text. If not defined, the font size is used.
 | `fontColor` | Color | `'#666'` | Font color for scale title.
 | `fontFamily` | `String` | `"'Helvetica Neue', 'Helvetica', 'Arial', sans-serif"` | Font family for the scale title, follows CSS font-family options.
 | `fontSize` | `Number` | `12` | Font size for scale title.
diff --git a/src/core/core.scale.js b/src/core/core.scale.js
index 471540e03..be69ed908 100644
--- a/src/core/core.scale.js
+++ b/src/core/core.scale.js
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ module.exports = function(Chart) {
 			labelString: '',
 
 			// display property
-			display: false
+			display: false,
 		},
 
 		// label settings
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ module.exports = function(Chart) {
 			var isHorizontal = me.isHorizontal();
 
 			var tickFont = parseFontOptions(tickOpts);
-			var scaleLabelFontSize = parseFontOptions(scaleLabelOpts).size * 1.5;
+			var scaleLabelLineHeight = helpers.getValueOrDefault(scaleLabelOpts.lineHeight, parseFontOptions(scaleLabelOpts).size * 1.5);
 			var tickMarkLength = opts.gridLines.tickMarkLength;
 
 			// Width
@@ -329,9 +329,9 @@ module.exports = function(Chart) {
 			// Are we showing a title for the scale?
 			if (scaleLabelOpts.display && display) {
 				if (isHorizontal) {
-					minSize.height += scaleLabelFontSize;
+					minSize.height += scaleLabelLineHeight;
 				} else {
-					minSize.width += scaleLabelFontSize;
+					minSize.width += scaleLabelLineHeight;
 				}
 			}
 
@@ -734,13 +734,14 @@ module.exports = function(Chart) {
 				var scaleLabelX;
 				var scaleLabelY;
 				var rotation = 0;
+				var halfLineHeight = helpers.getValueOrDefault(scaleLabel.lineHeight, scaleLabelFont.size) / 2;
 
 				if (isHorizontal) {
 					scaleLabelX = me.left + ((me.right - me.left) / 2); // midpoint of the width
-					scaleLabelY = options.position === 'bottom' ? me.bottom - (scaleLabelFont.size / 2) : me.top + (scaleLabelFont.size / 2);
+					scaleLabelY = options.position === 'bottom' ? me.bottom - halfLineHeight : me.top + halfLineHeight;
 				} else {
 					var isLeft = options.position === 'left';
-					scaleLabelX = isLeft ? me.left + (scaleLabelFont.size / 2) : me.right - (scaleLabelFont.size / 2);
+					scaleLabelX = isLeft ? me.left + halfLineHeight : me.right - halfLineHeight;
 					scaleLabelY = me.top + ((me.bottom - me.top) / 2);
 					rotation = isLeft ? -0.5 * Math.PI : 0.5 * Math.PI;
 				}