Why buildings skip the 13th floor
Roughly 13% of buildings in the United States skip the 13th floor, not because it doesn't exist, but because developers rename it to avoid losing nervous buyers.
Skipping the 13th floor is surprisingly common in American buildings. The practice appears in roughly 13% of buildings across the United States.
The reason behind the omission
Developers make this choice because they fear losing nervous buyers who are superstitious about the number 13. Rather than actually removing a floor, they simply change what the elevator button says.
The floor still exists
The 13th floor stays there anyway. The building doesn't become shorter. The floor between 12 and 14 is still the 13th level of the structure, just with a different label.
This approach represents design by anxiety. Builders accommodate irrational fears by changing names rather than addressing the superstition itself or the physical reality of their buildings.
