Seattle’s crane count—a semiannual report by Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) that literally just counts construction cranes currently erected in the city—shows that once again, Seattle has more cranes than any other city in the United States.

Back in January, we were also on top, although the number had ducked under 50 for the first time since 2015. But Seattle’s cranes seem back to business as usual now, popping back up to 65.

Mixed-use buildings are still the most common use for a crane in the city, making up a third of cranes at last count even more now, at 27. Residential follows behind with 17 cranes, with 11 working on commercial buildings.

Seattle not only has more cranes than any other major city in the country, it’s by a landslide—the city with the next-highest crane count is Chicago, with 40. The only North American city with more cranes than Seattle far outpaces everyone, though: Toronto, with a whopping 97.

Courtesy of RLB

Meanwhile, the cost of construction in Seattle has gone up about 5 percent in the last six months, which is about in the middle of U.S. city rankings—about on par with other cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. Construction costs rose nearly 7 percent in San Francisco—and Portland wasn’t too far behind.


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