Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

School Costs: Did You Know...

  • 07/01/15

School districts in the United States spent more than $14 billion ($14,123,865,000) on construction projects completed during the 2014 calendar year. Almost $7.8 billion of that was spent on new schools, accounting for 55 percent of the construction dollars.

The balance was split between additions to existing buildings (accounting for $3.2 billion) and the retrofitting and modernization of existing structures that accounted for $3.14 billion. The difference of spending for new buildings and existing ones was very close to the pattern of the previous year.

Looked at in terms of on-going educational construction, school districts in the United States appear to be involved in almost $40 billion worth of construction activity right now, and that is probably a low-ball estimate.

In 2014, the median elementary school in the United States cost $211.55 per square foot to build. Median spending was $43,693 per pupil and the median elementary school provided 188 square feet for each student. The median elementary school reported was designed for 624 students and encompasses 84,700 square feet at a total cost of $16,269,543.

The median cost of a middle school is $242.96 per square foot. Median spending per pupil was $43,635 and the median middle school provides 173.4 square feet per student. The median number of students in middle schools built in 2014 is 612 and the building size is 118,500 square feet. The cost is $26.5 million.

The median high school cost $45 million and provided 173,727 square feet. It was designed to accommodate 1,000 students. The median high school provides 180 square feet per student at $49,000 for each student. The cost per square foot was $235.29.

Source: School Planning & Management’s 20th Annual School Construction Report

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • California Middle School Breaks Ground on Major Renovation Project

    The Hillsborough City School District (HCSD) in Hillsborough, Calif., recently began construction on new multipurpose and administration facilities for Crocker Middle School, according to a news release.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Texas A&M Opens First Building at Fort Worth Campus, Breaks Ground on Research Facility

    The Texas A&M University System marked a major milestone in the development of its Fort Worth campus by opening its first completed academic building and breaking ground on a second facility designed to expand research and industry collaboration.

  • Cal Poly Humboldt Starts Construction on Healthcare Education Hub

    California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, Calif., recently announced that work has begun on a renovation project that will turn the Stewart Building into a new Healthcare Education Hub, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Sundt Construction Inc. for construction services.