Adding a single floor to a skyscraper costs an average of $10 million.

The escalating cost of skyscrapers stems from the "premium for height" principle in structural engineering. As buildings grow taller, lower floors must be reinforced to support the massive weight of everything above them. This typically requires high-strength concrete and massive steel beams, where material costs increase exponentially rather than linearly with height.Wind resistance is another critical cost driver. At extreme heights, buildings must incorporate tuned mass dampers—large counterweights that prevent excessive swaying. These systems, combined with aerodynamic shaping, require complex wind tunnel testing and expensive custom fabrication.Vertical transportation adds substantially to construction budgets. Modern supertall buildings like the Burj Khalifa, completed in 2010, require sophisticated elevator systems capable of traveling at speeds up to 10 meters per second. These systems consume valuable floor space and demand dedicated mechanical levels, reducing rentable area while increasing construction complexity.Logistics represent the final major cost factor behind the $10 million per floor average. Transporting thousands of workers and tons of material hundreds of meters into the air requires specialized cranes and meticulous scheduling. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), these combined factors make supertall structures among the most expensive investments in the modern world.