New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with a metropolitan area population of over 19 million as of 2025. Its skyline is one of the largest in the world, and the largest in the United States, in North America, and in the Western Hemisphere. Throughout the 20th century, New York City's skyline was by far the largest in the world. New York City is home to more than 7,000 completed high-rise buildings of at least 115 feet (35 m), of which at least 102 are taller than 650 feet (198 m). The tallest building in New York is One World Trade Center, which rises 1,776 feet (541 m). The 104-story skyscraper also stands as the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest building in the world.

The city is home to many of the earliest skyscrapers, which began to appear towards the end of the 19th century. A major construction boom in the 1920s saw the completion of some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world at the time, including the Chrysler Building in 1930 and the Empire State Building in 1931 in Midtown Manhattan. At 1,250 feet (381 m) and 102-stories, the Empire State Building stood as the tallest building in the world for almost four decades; it remains among the city's most recognizable skyscrapers today. Following a lull in skyscraper development during the 1930s to 1950s, construction steadily returned. The Empire State Building was dethroned as the world's tallest building in 1970, when the 1,368-foot (417 m) North Tower of the original World Trade Center surpassed it. The North Tower, along with its twin the South Tower, held this title only briefly as they were both surpassed by the Willis Tower (then Sears Tower) in Chicago in 1973. The Twin Towers remained the tallest buildings in New York City until they were destroyed in the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Starting from the mid-2000s, New York City would undergo an unprecedented skyscraper boom. The new One World Trade Center, part of the redevelopment of the World Trade Center, began construction in 2006 and was completed in 2014. It surpassed the Empire State Building as the city's tallest, and overtook the Willis Tower to become the tallest building in the United States. In Midtown Manhattan, a luxury residential boom led to the completion of Central Park Tower, the second-tallest building in the city at 1,550 feet (472 m), with the highest roof of any building outside Asia; 111 West 57th Street, the city's third tallest building and the world's most slender skyscraper at 1,428 feet (435 m), and 432 Park Avenue, the city's fifth tallest building at 1,397 feet (426 m). The tallest office skyscraper in Midtown, One Vanderbilt, is the fourth-tallest building in the city at 1,401 feet (427 m). New York City has the third-most supertall skyscrapers in the world.

The majority of skyscrapers in New York City are concentrated in Midtown and Lower Manhattan, although other neighborhoods of Manhattan and the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx are also home to a substantial number of high-rises. A popular misconception holds that the relative lack of skyscrapers between Lower and Midtown Manhattan is due to the depth of the bedrock beneath the two districts. Since the 2010s, an increasing number of skyscrapers have been built in Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City, as well as along the East River in Brooklyn and Queens.