{"id":385172,"date":"2026-07-24T15:16:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/385172\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T15:16:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:16:32","slug":"what-is-the-tallest-building-in-texas-austin-takes-the-crown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/385172\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the tallest building in Texas? Austin takes the crown"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN (KXAN) \u2014 The old saying that everything is bigger in Texas also applies to the state’s skyline as well.<\/p>\n

Austin’s recently completed Waterline tower has claimed the title of the tallest building in Texas, ending Houston’s 44-year reign atop the state’s skyscraper rankings. The 74-story tower rises 1,025 feet above downtown Austin, surpassing Houston’s JPMorgan Chase Tower by 23 feet. It is also the 24th-tallest building in the United States.<\/p>\n

\"Austin's<\/p>\n

Austin’s recently completed Waterline tower has claimed the title of the tallest building in Texas, ending Houston’s 44-year reign atop the state’s skyscraper rankings. (KXAN Photo\/Andy Way)<\/p>\n

\"Austin's<\/p>\n

Austin’s recently completed Waterline tower has claimed the title of the tallest building in Texas, ending Houston’s 44-year reign atop the state’s skyscraper rankings. (KXAN Photo\/Andy Way)<\/p>\n

\"Austin's<\/p>\n

Austin’s recently completed Waterline tower has claimed the title of the tallest building in Texas, ending Houston’s 44-year reign atop the state’s skyscraper rankings. (KXAN Photo\/Andy Way)<\/p>\n

\"Austin's<\/p>\n

Austin’s recently completed Waterline tower has claimed the title of the tallest building in Texas, ending Houston’s 44-year reign atop the state’s skyscraper rankings. (KXAN Photo\/Andy Way)<\/p>\n

\"Austin's<\/p>\n

Austin’s recently completed Waterline tower has claimed the title of the tallest building in Texas, ending Houston’s 44-year reign atop the state’s skyscraper rankings. (KXAN Photo\/Andy Way)<\/p>\n

\"Austin's<\/p>\n

Austin’s recently completed Waterline tower has claimed the title of the tallest building in Texas, ending Houston’s 44-year reign atop the state’s skyscraper rankings. (KXAN Photo\/Andy Way)<\/p>\n

\"Austin's<\/p>\n

Austin’s recently completed Waterline tower has claimed the title of the tallest building in Texas, ending Houston’s 44-year reign atop the state’s skyscraper rankings. (KXAN Photo\/Andy Way)<\/p>\n

\"Austin's<\/p>\n

Austin’s recently completed Waterline tower has claimed the title of the tallest building in Texas, ending Houston’s 44-year reign atop the state’s skyscraper rankings. (KXAN Photo\/Andy Way)<\/p>\n

\"Austin's<\/p>\n

Austin’s recently completed Waterline tower has claimed the title of the tallest building in Texas, ending Houston’s 44-year reign atop the state’s skyscraper rankings. (KXAN Photo\/Andy Way)<\/p>\n

The milestone marks a new chapter in Texas architecture, which began with the completion of Dallas’ 14-story Praetorian Building in 1909, considered the state’s first skyscraper. More than a century later, Texas is home to some of the tallest buildings in the nation, with Houston, Dallas and Austin all boasting skyscrapers exceeding 875 feet.<\/p>\n

Waterline: Texas’ tallest building<\/p>\n

Waterline<\/a> officially became the tallest building in Texas following its completion in April. Located in downtown Austin, the mixed-use tower stands 1,025 feet tall and contains 74 floors. The project includes hotel, retail and office space, with residential options coming in September.<\/p>\n

Beyond setting a state record, Waterline elevated Austin into an elite group of American cities with skyscrapers topping 1,000 feet. That shortlist also includes Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Before Waterline’s completion, Houston’s JPMorgan Chase Tower held the Texas height record from 1982 until 2026.<\/p>\n

The 5 tallest buildings in Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Rank<\/p>\n

Building<\/p>\n

City<\/p>\n

Height<\/p>\n

Year Completed<\/p>\n

U.S. Rank<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Waterline<\/p>\n

Austin<\/p>\n

1,025 ft.<\/p>\n

2026<\/p>\n

24th<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

JPMorgan Chase Tower<\/p>\n

Houston<\/p>\n

1,002 ft.<\/p>\n

1982<\/p>\n

26th<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Wells Fargo Plaza<\/p>\n

Houston<\/p>\n

992 ft.<\/p>\n

1983<\/p>\n

34th<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Bank of America Plaza<\/p>\n

Dallas<\/p>\n

921 ft.<\/p>\n

1985<\/p>\n

40th<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Williams Tower<\/p>\n

Houston<\/p>\n

901 ft.<\/p>\n

1983<\/p>\n

46th<\/p>\n

Texas skylines<\/p>\n

Texas’ skyscraper history has shifted between Dallas and Houston for much of the last century.<\/p>\n

Houston remains the state’s skyscraper capital, holding three of the five tallest buildings in Texas. The aforementioned JPMorgan Chase Tower remains the tallest building in Houston and the tallest pentagonal (five-sided) building in the world.<\/p>\n

Dallas’ highest structure, Bank of America Plaza, reaches 921 feet and ranks as the fourth-tallest building in Texas and 40th nationally. Austin, meanwhile, has rapidly climbed the rankings with Waterline and “Sixth and Guadalupe,” which stands 875 feet tall and ranks as the seventh-tallest building in Texas.<\/p>\n

\u00a0These were Texas’ fastest-growing cities in 2025, according to new Census Bureau estimates\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Today, the state’s tallest towers reflect the economic growth of its largest cities<\/a> and prevalence of the “Texas Triangle,” the nickname of the area where most economic development and population growth can be found<\/a> in Texas.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN (KXAN) \u2014 The old saying that everything is bigger in Texas also applies to the state’s skyline…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385173,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,9259,56,8044,135855,135854,27],"class_list":["post-385172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-downtown-austin","tag-houston","tag-kxan","tag-tallest-building","tag-tallest-buildings","tag-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}