The cost of the next Utah high schools built along the Wasatch Front could exceed $145 million, an increase of nearly 50% in recent years. Blame it on Utah’s sizzling economy, ongoing building boom, low unemployment rate and the escalating cost of materials, driven in part by tariffs impacting steel and aluminum.
The 405,000-square-foot Farmington High School, which opened in 2018, cost $77.5 million. Jordan School District’s 391,000-square-foot Mountain Ridge High School in Herriman, which opened this fall, cost $82 million to build, including impact and architectural fees. That figure does not include the cost of furnishing the school and equipping it with technology and fixtures, which was about $5 million.
