The United States is home to some of the world’s tallest buildings, with the majority located in New York and Chicago. According to the latest data from the Council on Vertical Urbanism, these two cities account for 14 of the 20 tallest buildings in the country.
New York and Chicago have a history stretching over a century of skyscraper construction, financing, and engineering innovation. Currently, One World Trade Centre (1,776 ft) and Central Park Tower (1,550 ft) are the tallest buildings in the US, both located in Manhattan.
Chicago helped pioneer the skyscraper era but New York eventually pulled ahead in scale and concentration of supertall structures. The city’s skyline continues to grow with JPMorgan Chase World Headquarters (1,388 ft), scheduled for completion in 2025, entering the top 10 tallest buildings globally.
Outside New York and Chicago, only three buildings make the top 20: Philadelphia’s Comcast Technology Centre, Los Angeles’ Wilshire Grand Centre, and San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower. This highlights the dominance of the East Coast and Midwest in terms of skyscraper construction.
The ranking excludes detachable equipment such as antennae but includes fixed rooftop spires. The timeline of US skyscrapers shows the Chrysler Building (1,046 ft) briefly held the world’s tallest title in 1930 before being surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931. Chicago’s Sears Tower, now known as Willis Tower, became the tallest US building in 1974 until One World Trade Centre topped out in 2014.