Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, with a metropolitan area of over 1.5 million residents. It is home to over 120 high-rise buildings, 53 of which stand 200 feet (61 m) or taller as of 2026. Milwaukee has the largest skyline in Wisconsin and the second largest on the shores of Lake Michigan, after Chicago. Four of the city's buildings are skyscrapers greater than 492 feet (150 m). The tallest building in Milwaukee and Wisconsin is the 42-story, tall U.S. Bank Center, which was completed in 1973.
The history of skyscrapers in Milwaukee began with the completion of the Pabst Building in 1891. Standing tall, it was Milwaukee's first high-rise, and the tallest building in the city until the Milwaukee City Hall was completed four years later. At the time of its completion, the city hall was the tallest habitable building in the United States; it dominated Milwaukee's skyline for nearly eighty years, despite a construction boom during the Roaring Twenties. Following this, there was little high-rise construction until the 1960s, when a boom took place until the early 1970s which saw the U.S. Bank Center dethrone the city hall as Milwaukee's tallest building. Another boom occurred in the late 1980s, which brought about the 100 East Wisconsin, currently the city's third tallest. By the end of the boom in 1992, six of the eight tallest buildings in Milwaukee had been built after 1985.
Following a lull in the 1990s, skyscraper development has continued into the 21st century. Of the 15 buildings taller than 300 ft (91 m) in Milwaukee, eight were built after 2000. Significant additions include residential buildings such as the Moderne, the tallest building in the city west of the Milwaukee River, in 2005, and University Club Tower in 2007. Northwestern Mutual, a local financial services company, demolished their 16-story headquarters to make way for Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons. Built in 2017 at , it is the city's second tallest building. The Couture became the tallest residential tower in Wisconsin upon completion in 2024. Milwaukee's skyline has recently become notable for mass timber high-rises. Ascent MKE, the world's tallest timber building, opened in 2022; work on The Edison, an even taller 32-story mass-timber structure, started in 2025.
The majority of Milwaukee's tallest buildings are located downtown, north of Interstate 794, south of East Juneau Avenue, east of Interstate 43, and west of Lake Michigan. The Milwaukee River runs through the skyline, separating it into a more built-up eastern half and a less dense western half. The downtown skyline has begun to expand south of Interstate 794, with the completion of 333 North Water in 2024. Extending the skyline northeast of downtown is a line of residential high-rises running along North Prospect Avenue, facing Lake Park and Veterans Park to their southeast. This grouping of towers in the Lower East Side and Northpoint neighborhoods of Milwaukee's East Side has seen recent growth with the St. Johns on the Lake and Park Lafayette twin complexes.
History In 2023, Northwestern Mutual announced it would undertake renovation on its 18-story North Tower to match the appearance of its recently built Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons. The $500 million renovation is expected to be completed in 2027.
In 2025, The Edison broke ground, and is expected to become the world's tallest mass-timber building. It will be located south of Interstate 794, joining the recently completed 333 North Water in marking a southward expansion of the skyline. Work on The Edison was halted later that year, with the developer citing increased costs due to tariffs imposed during the second Trump administration.
Cityscape
Map of tallest buildings The maps below show the location of buildings taller than 200 ft (61 m) in Downtown Milwaukee, where the majority of such buildings are. Each marker is numbered by the building's height rank, and colored by the decade of its completion.
Tallest buildings
This list ranks completed skyscrapers and high-rises in Milwaukee that stand at least 200 ft (61 m) tall as of 2026 based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The “Year” column indicates the year of completion. Buildings tied in height are sorted by year of completion, and then alphabetically.