Park City High School rises to No. 3 in Utah rankings

Park City High School is ranked No. 3 among Utah high schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings, up from No. 5 in the previous rankings. Photo: TownLift//Randi Sidman-Moore

PCHS moves up two spots in U.S. News & World Report’s latest list and remains Utah’s second-highest-ranked traditional public high school

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City High School has climbed to No. 3 among Utah high schools in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, moving up two spots from its previous No. 5 statewide ranking.

The 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings, released Tuesday, place Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy in Lindon at No. 1 in Utah, followed by Skyline High School in Salt Lake City at No. 2 and Park City High School at No. 3.

Because Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy is a charter school, Park City is the state’s second-highest-ranked traditional public high school, behind Skyline.

The new ranking marks an improvement for PCHS from the previous U.S. News list, when the school ranked fifth overall in Utah and second among traditional public high schools.

U.S. News evaluated nearly 18,000 public high schools nationwide for its latest rankings. Schools are evaluated using several measures, including college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency and performance, graduation rates, and the performance of underserved students.

Park City has consistently placed among Utah’s highest-ranked high schools in recent years. TownLift reported earlier this year that PCHS was No. 5 statewide in the previous rankings, behind three charter schools and Skyline High School.

The previous rankings also placed Park City among the top 5% of public high schools nationally. Park City School District reported at the time that 82% of students participated in Advanced Placement exams, with 74% passing at least one AP exam.

The newest Utah rankings also represent a significant shakeup at the top. Beehive Science and Technology Academy in Sandy, which had held Utah’s No. 1 position for several years, dropped to No. 11. Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy took over the top position and ranked No. 399 nationally.

The remainder of Utah’s top 10 includes American Preparatory Academy Draper #3 at No. 4, Corner Canyon High School at No. 5, the Academy for Math, Engineering and Science at No. 6, Itineris Early College High School at No. 7, InTech Collegiate High School at No. 8, Timpview High School at No. 9 and Crimson Cliffs High School at No. 10.

The rankings were released as Park City students begin the 2026-27 school year on Wednesday.