Field day is the highlight of the elementary school year, and the shirts are part of why. Class-color tees, easy to spot from across the playground, kids excited because their grade gets its own color. But before you commit to the design, the PTA wants to know: how much will this actually cost? Here's the real 2026 pricing for field day shirts at elementary schools across the Treasure Valley.
The pricing fundamentals
Field day shirt cost depends on three things: the blank (the t-shirt itself), the decoration (the print on it), and the volume (how many shirts you're ordering).
- Blank cost: Gildan G500 5.3 oz cotton tee — our default field day blank — runs about $4.50 landed at 100+ pieces. Below that volume, blank cost climbs because catalog pricing tiers kick in at 12 / 36 / 72 / 144 / 288 piece quantities.
- Decoration cost: a 1-color front-chest print runs $2–$4 per shirt at 100+ pieces. Setup cost is fixed at $25–50, so the more shirts you spread it across, the lower per-piece.
- Volume: 50 shirts = $13/each. 150 shirts = $9/each. 350 shirts = $8/each. 600 shirts = $7.50/each. Volume always wins.
Real pricing tiers for typical school orders
- 50 shirts (single classroom or staff): $12–$14 per shirt. Total: $600–$700.
- 150 shirts (one grade level): $9–$11 per shirt. Total: $1,350–$1,650.
- 300 shirts (K–2 or 3–5): $8–$10 per shirt. Total: $2,400–$3,000.
- 600 shirts (full school, K–5): $7–$8 per shirt. Total: $4,200–$4,800.
These ranges include the blank, decoration, and basic mockup. Custom artwork beyond a school mascot or theme may add a one-time $50–$95 design fee.
The class-color question
The single most common field day design is class-color tees — each grade in a different color, same print on all of them. Kindergarten yellow, 1st blue, 2nd red, 3rd green, 4th orange, 5th purple is a common setup.
The good news: class-color orders don't cost more per-piece than single-color orders. The single print design fits on every blank color, the setup cost stays the same. We just produce six smaller sub-batches in one order.
The catch: every blank color you pick has to be available in every size you need. Most popular Gildan colors are stocked in YXS through Adult 3XL but some specialty colors only come in limited size ranges. We'll flag this at quote time.
Hidden costs to watch for
Five places budgets get blown:
- Rush production fees — if you order with less than 4 weeks before field day, rush charges of 20–35% kick in.
- Adult sizing 2XL+ — most blanks charge $2–$4 more per piece starting at 2XL. Plan for staff and chaperone sizes.
- Multi-color prints — going from 1-color to 2-color print adds $1–$2 per shirt. Going to 4-color full art adds $4–$6 per shirt.
- Sponsor logos on the sleeve — if a local business sponsors the field day, their logo is a small upcharge per piece.
- Vectorization fees — if your school logo is low-resolution, we charge $35–$95 to redraw it for clean printing.
When to order to be sure
Standard production at field-day volume (200+ pieces) takes 10–14 business days from mockup approval. Mockup approval typically takes 3–7 days (PTA + school admin review). Build in 4 weeks before field day for safety, 6 weeks for relaxed timeline.
The PTA presidents who order in February for a May field day never stress. The ones who place orders 10 days before field day pay rush charges and bite their nails.
Related
Want a real quote for your school's field day shirts? Send us the count, the date, and the design idea. Quote in one business day: (208) 954-9492.
How We Make This Stuff
Everything covered in this post is produced in our Meridian, Idaho shop at 2700 E Lanark St. Eagle Ridge Apparel is a family-run print shop serving the Treasure Valley since 2019 — we embroider, screen print, DTF, sublimate, laser-cut leather patches, laser-engrave drinkware, and UV-print promotional goods on equipment we operate ourselves. No outsourced decoration, no overseas fulfillment, no third-party middlemen.
Most custom apparel orders ship in 7–10 business days from approved mockup. Rush production in 3–5 business days is available on most decoration methods; embroidered hats are the tightest constraint. We hold no minimums on any decoration type — order one piece or one thousand — though pricing scales aggressively over 50, 100, and 250-piece tiers. Free digital mockups before production starts. We don't begin a run until you sign off on what it'll look like.
Two ways to order: design it yourself online in our designer tool (any quantity, any decoration method), or request a custom quote and we'll send back pricing within one business day. Talk to a real person at (208) 954-9492 or info@eagleridgeapparel.com — most inquiries get a response within two hours during the business day.