Enrollment
1,973
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Salt Lake City, UT
Highland High
Federal NCES profile for Highland High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 490087000496
👥 S:T ratio 5
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 28
📋 Attendance 48
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Highland High earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 74% of Utah schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Utah.
- #7 of 7
- high schools in Salt Lake City · Resource Index
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 23.8:1
- large classes for Utah
- 27.1%
- free-lunch eligible
Highland High has class sizes larger than 74% of Utah schools. Computed live against every Utah school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Highland High ranks #7 of 7 high schools in Salt Lake City, UT.
School address
District: Salt Lake District · Utah
NCES ID 490087000496 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
83.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.8:1
vs 21.4:1 Utah avg
+11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.1%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
-3% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highland High compares with Utah and U.S. medians
What stands out at Highland High
Highland High is a large high school in Salt Lake City, Utah, enrolling 1,973 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 23.8:1 puts it in the larger third of Utah schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 27.1% lands close to the Utah typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Utah, bigger than 96% of state schools at 1,973 students.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,065 scored Utah schools.
Against 57 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #34.
Its student body is led by White (61%) and Hispanic or Latino (24%) (diversity index 56/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 21 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 359 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.8% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Salt Lake District spends $12,784 per pupil, 31% above the Utah average, a better-resourced district than most.
Salt Lake District also operates West High (2,503 students) and East High (1,764 students) alongside Highland High.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Highland High compares
Highland High on the metrics families compare, against Utah and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Utah | Utah avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23.8:1 | ▲ 11% | 21.4:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.1% | ▼ 3% | 28.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,973 | top 4% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
23.8:1
Leaner classes than 7% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,973
Bigger than 98% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
27.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 3% below the Utah average of 28.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
23.8:1
students per teacher
- 11% above state mean
Top 74% in Utah - lower ratio than 26% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
20.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$12,784
per pupil, district-wide
- above Utah avg of $9,792
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors5.5 FTE
Per 359 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 61.3%
Hispanic or Latino 23.7%
Two or More 5.1%
African American 3.9%
Asian 2.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.6%
Largest group: White at 61.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 56.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 56.3, Highland High is more mixed than the Utah school average of 40.9.
Programs
AP courses offered 21
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Salt Lake District, which includes Highland High.
$12,784
Per student
+31%
vs Utah
Avg $9,792
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 59.3%
State 26.5%
Federal 14.2%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Highland High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| West High | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| East High | Similar size | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Glendale Middle | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Mountain View School | Smaller | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Clayton Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Highland High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,503
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 1,764
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 678
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 629
- Students per teacher
- 26.2:1
- Resource Index
- 17/100
- Enrollment
- 567
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Utah, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~1,973 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~23.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Highland High's federal record.
- Compare Highland High against another school. Compare schools
- Salt Lake District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Highland High
How many students attend Highland High?
Highland High has 1,973 students enrolled. It is a high school in Salt Lake City, UT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highland High?
The student-teacher ratio at Highland High is 23.8:1, which is 11% higher than the Utah average of 21.4:1 and 52% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Highland High?
27.1% of students at Highland High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highland High?
The largest demographic group at Highland High is White at 61.3% of enrollment, in Salt Lake City, UT. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 56.3/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highland High?
Highland High has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Highland High rank among high schools in Salt Lake City?
By Resource Investment Index, Highland High ranks #7 of 7 high schools in Salt Lake City, UT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Salt Lake City on the city page.
Is Highland High a good school?
Highland High earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 74% of Utah schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Utah. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Salt Lake District?
Besides Highland High, Salt Lake District also operates West High (2,503 students), East High (1,764 students), and Glendale Middle (678 students). See the Salt Lake District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.