Traveling around the US, in search of multifamily high rise division work, which is our specialty here at Magiglide made me realize that my preconceptions for what I believe are the largest high rise cities, are actually not related to population sizes. We are based in Chicago, so are very familiar with the skyline here. I came across a very interesting data driven list done by skyscrapercenter.com, which compares the world’s largest skylines.

This information was last updated in January 2023. Now, something to keep in mind, the data below is only representative of buildings that are over 150 meters tall.

Let’s dive in.

Let’s break this out when looking at the cities side by side, with a bar graph. The number one largest city, as shown above, has 309 buildings that are over 150 meters high, 95 buildings over 200 meters high, and 16 buildings that are over 300 meters high. The overall count for New York, is then 420 tall buildings.

Chicago ranks in 2nd place with 135 buildings over 150 meters high, 36 buildings over 200 meters high, and 7 buildings over 300 meters high. The overall count for Chicago, is then 178 tall buildings.

Miami comes in next, 3rd place with 58 buildings over 150 meters high, 7 buildings over 200 meters high, and 0 buildings over 300 meters high. The overall count for Miami is 65 tall buildings.

Houston is ranked in 4th place, with 40 buildings over 150 meters high, 16 buildings over 200 meters, and 2 buildings over 300 meters high. The overall count for Houston is 58 tall buildings.

KEY

150 m is about 492 feet

200 m is about 656 feet

300 m is about 984 feet

Taking a look at the graph below, it is shocking to see just how large New York City’s high rise division is. Keep on building US!