At a time when urban centers were growing increasingly crowded, the introduction of the safety elevator in 1853 ushered in the modern era of skyscrapers. These massive feats of engineering are now common in major U.S. cities like New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, rising hundreds of feet into the air and shaping iconic skylines.
Corporations have always competed for the honor of owning the tallest building in the city or state, and the competition continues to this day. California’s tallest building, the Wilshire Grand Center, officially opened in 2017. Standing 1,100 feet tall, it now towers over the rest of Los Angeles — and California for that matter.
Though only a handful of cities in the country are commonly associated with skyscrapers, there are now hundreds of skyscrapers in the United States spread across dozens of different states. Most states have at least one building taller than 500 feet.
New York, Illinois, California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas are the only states with finished buildings over 1,000 feet tall. Pennsylvania just recently joined the list, as Philadelphia’s Comcast Technology Center was completed in 2018, standing 1,121 feet high. The trend of skyscrapers, however, has not caught on everywhere. Vermont, Wyoming, and South Dakota do not have a single building that stands more than 200 feet. The tallest building in most states is owned and operated by a company looking to stand out in the skyline. But in North Dakota and West Virginia, the tallest structure is the state capitol building.
To determine the tallest building in every state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Only completely finished buildings were considered. Whether or not a building is completed also came from the CTBUH. Data for buildings under 500 feet tall came from various media sources.
1. Alabama: RSA Battle House Tower
> City: Mobile
> Height: 745 feet
> Floors: 35
> Year built: 2007
2. Alaska: Conoco-Phillips Building
> City: Anchorage
> Height: 296 feet
> Floors: 22
> Year built: 1983
3. Arizona: Chase Tower
> City: Phoenix
> Height: 483 feet
> Floors: 40
> Year built: 1972
4. Arkansas: Simmons Tower
> City: Little Rock
> Height: 546 feet
> Floors: 40
> Year built: 1986
5. California: Wilshire Grand Center
> City: Los Angeles
> Height: 1,100 feet
> Floors: 73
> Year built: 2017
6. Colorado: Republic Plaza
> City: Denver
> Height: 714 feet
> Floors: 56
> Year built: 1984
7. Connecticut: City Place I
> City: Hartford
> Height: 535 feet
> Floors: 38
> Year built: 1980
8. Delaware: River Tower at Christina Landing
> City: Wilmington
> Height: 340 feet
> Floors: 27
> Year built: 2007
9. Florida: Panorama Tower
> City: Miami
> Height: 867 feet
> Stories: 81
> Year built: 2018
10. Georgia: Bank of America Plaza
> City: Atlanta
> Height: 1,023 feet
> Floors: 55
> Year built: 1992
11. Hawaii: First Hawaiian Center
> City: Honolulu
> Height: 429 feet
> Floors: 30
> Year built: 1996
12. Idaho: 8th and Main Tower
> City: Boise
> Height: 315 feet
> Floors: 18
> Year built: 2014
13. Illinois: Willis Tower
> City: Chicago
> Height: 1,451 feet
> Floors: 108
> Year built: 1974
14. Indiana: Salesforce Tower
> City: Indianapolis
> Height: 701 feet
> Floors: 49
> Year built: 1990
15. Iowa: 801 Grand
> City: Des Moines
> Height: 630 feet
> Floors: 44
> Year built: 1991
16. Kansas: Epic Center
> City: Wichita
> Height: 320 feet
> Floors: 22
> Year built: 1989
17. Kentucky: 400 West Market
> City: Louisville
> Height: 549 feet
> Floors: 35
> Year built: 1992
18. Louisiana: One Shell Square
> City: New Orleans
> Height: 697 feet
> Floors: 51
> Year built: 1972
19. Maine: Agora Grand Event Center
> City: Lewiston
> Height: 220 feet
> Floors: 14
> Year built: 1890
20. Maryland: Transamerica Tower
> City: Baltimore
> Height: 529 feet
> Floors: 40
> Year built: 1973
21. Massachusetts: 200 Clarendon
> City: Boston
> Height: 790 feet
> Floors: 62
> Year built: 1976
22. Michigan: Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center
> City: Detroit
> Height: 727 feet
> Floors: 70
> Year built: 1977
23. Minnesota: IDS Center
> City: Minneapolis
> Height: 792 feet
> Floors: 55
> Year built: 1973
24. Mississippi: Beau Rivage Casino Hotel
> City: Biloxi
> Height: 346 feet
> Floors: 32
> Year built: 1999
25. Missouri: One Kansas City Place
> City: Kansas City
> Height: 623 feet
> Floors: 42
> Year built: 1988
26. Montana: First Interstate Center
> City: Billings
> Height: 272 feet
> Floors: 20
> Year built: 1985
27. Nebraska: First National Bank Tower
> City: Omaha
> Height: 634 feet
> Floors: 45
> Year built: 2002
28. Nevada: The Palazzo
> City: Las Vegas
> Height: 642 feet
> Floors: 53
> Year built: 2007
29. New Hamsphire: City Hall Plaza
> City: Manchester
> Height: 275 feet
> Floors: 20
> Year built: 1992
30. New Jersey: 30 Hudson Street
> City: Jersey City
> Height: 781 feet
> Floors: 42
> Year built: 2004
31. New Mexico: Albuquerque Plaza
> City: Albuquerque
> Height: 351 feet
> Floors: 22
> Year built: 1990
32. New York: 1 World Trade Center
> City: New York
> Height: 1,776 feet
> Floors: 94
> Year built: 2014
33. North Carolina: Bank of America Corporate Center
> City: Charlotte
> Height: 871 feet
> Floors: 60
> Year built: 1992
34. North Dakota: North Dakota State Capitol
> City: Bismarck
> Height: 242 feet
> Floors: 19
> Year built: 1934
35. Ohio: Key Tower
> City: Cleveland
> Height: 947 feet
> Floors: 57
> Year built: 1991
36. Oklahoma: Devon Energy Center
> City: Oklahoma City
> Height: 844 feet
> Floors: 52
> Year built: 2012
37. Oregon: Wells Fargo Center
> City: Portland
> Height: 546 feet
> Floors: 40
> Year built: 1973
38. Pennsylvania: Comcast Technology Center
> City: Philadelphia
> Height: 1,121 feet
> Stories: 59
> Year built: 2018
39. Rhode Island: Industrial National Bank Building
> City: Providence
> Height: 428 feet
> Floors: 26
> Year built: 1927
40. South Carolina: Capitol Center
> City: Columbia
> Height: 349 feet
> Floors: 25
> Year built: 1987
41. South Dakota: CenturyLink Tower
> City: Sioux Falls
> Height: 174 feet
> Floors: 11
> Year built: 1962
42. Tennessee: AT&T Building
> City: Nashville
> Height: 617 feet
> Floors: 33
> Year built: 1994
43. Texas: JPMorgan Chase Tower
> City: Houston
> Height: 1,002 feet
> Floors: 75
> Year built: 1982
44. Utah: Wells Fargo Center
> City: Salt Lake City
> Height: 422 feet
> Floors: 26
> Year built: 1998
45. Vermont: Ira Allen Chapel
> City: Burlington
> Height: 170 feet
> Stories: N/A
> Year built: 1926
46. Virginia: The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center & Residences
> City: Virgina Beach
> Height: 508 feet
> Floors: 38
> Year built: 2007
47. Washington: Columbia Center
> City: Seattle
> Height: 933 feet
> Floors: 76
> Year built: 1984
48. West Virginia: West Virginia State Capitol
> City: Charleston
> Height: 292 feet
> Floors: 4
> Year built: 1932
49. Wisconsin: U.S. Bank Center
> City: Milwaukee
> Height: 601 feet
> Floors: 42
> Year built: 1973
50. Wyoming: Wyoming Financial Center
> City: Cheyenne
> Height: 148 feet
> Floors: 11
> Year built: 1990