Houston is the largest city in theU.S. state ofTexas. Its metropolitan area ofGreater Houston has a population of 7.8 million as of 2024. The city is home to 114 completed high-rise buildings that stand taller than 300 feet (91 m), 40 of which are taller than 492 ft (150 m).[2][3] Houston's skyline is one of the largest in theUnited States, with the fourth-most skyscrapers taller than 492 ft (150 m) in the country afterNew York City,Chicago, andMiami; the skyline is the second-largest in theSouthern United States, after Miami, and the largest in Texas. The tallest building in the city is theJPMorgan Chase Tower, which rises 1,002 ft (305 m) inDowntown Houston and was completed in 1982. It stood as the tallest building in Texas until the topping out ofWaterline inAustin in 2025. It is one of the city's twosupertall skyscrapers, the other beingWells Fargo Plaza, Houston's second-tallest building at 992 ft (302 m). Five of the tentallest buildings in Texas are located in Houston.[4]
While predominantly a low-rise city, Houston contains several high-rise neighborhoods. The tallest skyscrapers are concentrated inDowntown Houston, forming a central skyline bounded byInterstate 10 to the north,Interstate 45 to the northwest and southwest, andInterstate 69 to the southeast. Downtown Houston is dominated by office buildings; the 25-tallest buildings in Houston are all office skyscrapers. Approximately 6 miles west of downtown is the business district ofUptown Houston, which has the second-largest collection of high-rises in the city. By far the tallest building in Uptown is theWilliams Tower, the third-tallest building in the city at 901 ft (275 m). Until the completion of theBrooklyn Tower in New York City in 2022, the Williams Tower was the tallest skyscraper in the United States outside of a city's central business district.[5]
TheTexas Medical Center (TMC), southwest of downtown, is Houston's third major high-rise cluster. The largest medical center in the world, the skyline of the TMC consists of several high-rise hospitals, as well as offices for medical institutions.[6] Shorter and smaller clusters of tall buildings are found inGreenway Plaza/Upper Kirby,Memorial City, theHouston Energy Corridor,Greenspoint, andWestchase/Walnut Bend, as well as an emerging cluster in the city'sMuseum District. Due to Houston's lack of comprehensivezoning laws, there are a substantial number of individual high-rises located outside of these areas.
The history of high-rises in Houston began with the original 6-story Binz Building in 1895, regarded as the first skyscraper in Houston. The city's skyline saw an early stage of growth in the 1920s. Owing to theGreat Depression andWorld War II, little growth occurred from the 1930s to the mid-1950s. Houston's skyline grew steadily in the 1960s. New towers offered office space for oil and energy companies. The rate of development increased in the 1970s, and surged during the late 1970s and early 1980s as the price of oil increased during the1970s energy crisis. During the 1980s to early 1990s, Houston hadone of the largest skylines in the world. Following the1980s oil glut and Texas real-estate crash, high-rise construction declined sharply. Houston's skyline resumed growth in the 2000s. Two major office skyscrapers taller than 700 ft (213 m) have been added since 2010:609 Main at Texas in 2017, and Texas Tower in 2021.
Number of buildings by height in Houston by the end of each year, taking into account demolished buildings and buildings whose heights were increased following a renovation. Click on the legend to toggle a specific height on or off. Viewchart definition.
The history of skyscrapers in the city began with the construction of the original 6-story Binz Building in 1895, regarded as the first skyscraper in Houston. The city's skyline saw an early stage of growth in the 1920s, with early skyscrapers such as theCarter Building, theNiels Esperson Building, and theGulf Building, which stood as the tallest building in Houston for over three decades until 1963. Owing to theGreat Depression andWorld War II, little growth occurred from the 1930s to the mid-1950s. Houston's skyline grew steadily in the 1960s. New skyscrapers offered office space for oil and energy companies, an industry central to the city. The rate of skyscraper development increased in the 1970s, and especially surged during the late 1970s and early 1980s as the price of oil increased during the1970s energy crisis. Many notable skyscrapers were completed during this period, including Houston's four tallest buildings. As a result, Houston's skyline is known for the prevalence ofpostmodern architecture, such as theTC Energy Center with its steeply pitched gabled roofline.
Following the1980s oil glut and Texas real-estate crash, high-rise construction declined sharply. The city saw no new major office buildings until 2002, when1500 Louisiana Street was completed. The building was meant to serve asEnron's new headquarters; however, the company collapsed before the building was finished. Houston's skyline returned to growth in the 2000s. Residential towers have become increasingly common, including isolated towers in low-rise neighborhoods between Downtown and Uptown Houston. In downtown, new high-rise buildings have mainly been built on the east side. Two major office skyscrapers taller than 700 ft (213 m) have been added since 2010:609 Main at Texas in 2017, and Texas Tower in 2021. The skyline of the Texas Medical District changed significantly in the 2010s, including the construction of its tallest building, the Methodist Outpatient Care Center, in 2010.
The map below shows the location of buildings taller than 300 feet (91 m) in Houston.Downtown Houston is in the northeast of the map, whileUptown Houston is in the northwest, andTexas Medical Center is in the south. Each marker is colored by the decade of the building's completion.
Not included are BP West Lake One and the Energy Center buildings in theEnergy Corridor, Memorial Hermann Tower inMemorial City, Noble Energy Center Two in northwestern Houston, 4 Greenspoint Plaza inGreenspoint, and four high-rise buildings inWalnut Bend.
Downtown Houston is the neighborhood with the most high-rises in Houston, containing around half of the buildings taller than 300 ft (91 m) in the city.
Downtown Houston
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Buildings taller than 300 ft (91 m) in Downtown Houston.
Map all coordinates usingOpenStreetMapDownload coordinates asKML
This list ranks completed andtopped out skyscrapers in Houston that stand at least 300 feet (91 m) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. This height includesspires and architectural details but does not include antennamasts. Buildings tied in height are sorted by year of completion, and then alphabetically.[b][2][7][3]
Was the tallest building in Houston upon completion
Tallest all-glass building in theWestern Hemisphere. Formerly known as the Allied Bank Plaza and First Interstate Bank Plaza. Also known by its street address, 1000 Louisiana.[11][12][13]
Tallest building completed in Houston in the 1960s. Tallest building in Houston from 1963 to 1970. Formerly known as the Humble Oil Building until 1973.[61][62][63]
Tallest building completed in Houston in the 1920s and in the first half of the 20th century. Tallest building in Houston from 1929 to 1963.[168][169][170]
This building was originally built as the Melrose Building, at a height of 308 ft (94 m). It was renovated as Le Meridian Hotel in 2017, and its height was increased.[213][214]
There are several high-rises taller than 300 feet (91 m) inGreater Houston that are located outside of the city of Houston: three inGalveston, two inThe Woodlands, and one inPasadena. Three of them are residential and hotel buildings built on Texas' coastline during the2000s real estate boom.
Tallest building in The Woodlands. Tallest building in Greater Houston located outside Houston. Also known as 1201 Lake Robbins Drive or Anadarko Tower I.[262]
This table lists buildings under construction in Houston that are expected to be at least 300 ft (91 m) tall, as of 2025. The "Year" column indicates the estimated year of completion.
This table lists approved and proposed in Houston that are expected to be at least 300 ft (91 m) tall, as of 2025. The "Year" column indicates the estimated year of completion. A dash “–“ indicates information about the building is unknown or has not been released.
Since 1895, the year the first high-rise in the city was constructed,[274] the title of the tallest building in Houston has been held by eleven high-rises.
^If two or more buildings are of the same height, they are listed in order of floor count, then alphabetically. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was originally completed.
^Bradley, Robert L. (2011).Edison to Enron : energy markets and political strategies. Hoboken, NJ: Scrivener. pp. 345–346.ISBN978-1-118-19248-1.OCLC768243511.
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