Park City High School ranks fifth in Utah in U.S. News rankings

Park City High School held onto its spot as Utah’s No. 5 high school in U.S. News & World Report’s latest rankings, but the numbers show both strength and a ceiling. The school scored 94.92 out of 100, ranked 909th nationally, and remained the only high school in the Park City District.

The ranking matters because U.S. News does not sort schools on reputation alone. Its methodology weighs college readiness, math, reading and science assessment results, and graduation rates across nearly 18,000 public high schools reviewed nationwide. For Park City families, that means the school’s place in the top five reflects measurable academic performance, not just local pride.

Park City High School’s profile is strong on access and completion. The school reported an AP participation rate of 82 percent and a graduation rate of 94 percent, with 1,222 students enrolled in grades 9 through 12. Those are the kinds of figures that tend to lift a school in national comparisons because they point to students taking advanced coursework and finishing on time.

Still, the statewide ranking also shows where Park City is not yet separating itself from Utah’s highest tier. Beehive Science and Technology Academy, Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy, Skyline High School and InTech Collegiate High School all placed ahead of Park City in Utah. U.S. News’s framework suggests those schools edged past Park City on some mix of college readiness, state test performance and graduation outcomes, the same measures that determine whether a school rises from good to elite.

The national drop from 717th a year earlier to 909th this year is another useful marker for parents weighing the school’s trajectory. Park City kept its fifth-place finish in Utah, but its broader standing slipped, which signals that other schools around the country improved faster in the metrics U.S. News rewards.

For Summit County families, the takeaway is straightforward: Park City High School remains one of the state’s strongest public schools and a major asset for the district. But the latest ranking also shows the pressure points that matter most for long-term accountability, especially on college readiness and achievement outcomes that determine how far a strong local school can climb.