The high cost of installing elevators is the major reason why there are fewer of them being built in America. In his research, Smith points to two major factors that inflate the cost of elevator construction in America. Elevator construction is the highest-paid speciality construction job in the U.S., with hourly wages in excess of $51 in 2024. As the Center for Building in North America points out in its report, probably the biggest impediment to cheap elevator construction is the union's steadfast opposition to using prefabricated elevators. If the trade-off for higher construction costs was a greater degree of safety, then we should be happy to pay it.