Tallest Buildings in the U.S., Ranked

After the Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s in the United States, skyscrapers represented much more than just buildings to house people and businesses. They were symbols of the way the American economy was recovering and how its people were finally getting back to work. 

Over the last century, our ingenuity has seen us push the envelope when it comes to making bigger and better skyscrapers, but most importantly taller skyscrapers. 

From coast to coast, these are the tallest buildings in the U.S. 

Location: New York City

Floors: 58

Opened: 2022

Bottom line: The original play for 50 Hudson Yards was entirely different from what it became. It was supposed to be a step-like structure but instead ended up as the three-part structure we got, with all rectangular fronts. 

While there are much taller buildings, we doubt there are many that can equal the exact financial wattage housed inside  50 Hudson Yards. The building already had a lease agreement with BlackRock, the world’s largest financial investment firm with assets of approximately $10 trillion, before construction even began.

The tenant taking up the most space at 50 Hudson Yards has been Facebook, which leases exactly 80 percent of the building’s space. 

Location: Los Angeles

Floors: 73

Opened: 1989

Bottom line: One of just three buildings on this list from California, U.S. Bank Tower is the only building on the list that opened in the 1980s. Built for $350 million and sold to One World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein for $430 million in 2020, U.S. Bank Tower was built to withstand up to an 8.3 earthquake on the Richter scale. 

One of the major revelations of the 9/11 Commission was that the original play for the 9/11 attacks was to hijack 10 planes, and U.S. Bank Tower was one of the targets. In 2006, President George W. Bush disclosed that another plan to hijack a plane and crash it into U.S. Bank Tower was foiled in mid-2002. 

From the time it opened in 1989 through 2010, the U.S. Bank Tower held the title of the world’s tallest building with a helipad until it was replaced by Beijing’s China World Trade Center Tower III. 

Location: Atlanta

Floors: 55

Opened: 1992

Bottom line: The only building from the southern portion of the U.S. to make the list, Bank of America Plaza is most notable in its architecture for the 90-foot spire at the top of the building covered in 24-karat gold leaf. 

Built for $150 million in the early 1990s, Bank of America Plaza was sold from its original owner, Cousins Properties, to BentleyForbes investments for a whopping $436 million in 2006 but ended up in foreclosure in 2012. 

Location: New York City

Floors: 66

Opened: 2022

Bottom line: One of two buildings on the list which opened in 2022, The Spiral made headlines in 2015 when building developer Tishman Speyer Properties was forced to pay $25 million to two men who refused to vacate an apartment that was located where the building was scheduled for construction at. 

Built at a staggering cost of $3.2 billion, The Spiral encompasses 2.2 million square feet and landed a signature tenant when pharmaceutical giant Pfizer decided to take up 800,000 square feet by making the building its worldwide headquarters.