148 FAA Part 147 aviation maintenance schools, ranked for 2027 on cost, graduate earnings, completion and track record. Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (West Mifflin, PA) is first.
By Trevor Rupe, Contributor at Savo Media Group Updated
At a Glance
148 programs are at FAA-certificated Part 147 schools that meet the federal entry bar.
The median program charges about $5,040 a year in tuition and fees; Antelope Valley Community College District is lowest at $1,124 a year, in-state.
The median graduation rate is 43%, counted for the whole school.
BLS reports a May 2025 median of $79,870 for aircraft mechanics and service technicians (SOC 49-3011).
The score is the same for every aviation mechanic school on the site, so a 70 here means what a 70 means on any other list.
The Top 10 Aviation Mechanic Schools
Each card shows what the aviation mechanic school charges, how many of its students finish and what its graduates earn. The 25 highest-scoring programs of 148. Each score is out of 100 and comes from the method below.
Rank 1
Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT)
Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics
West Mifflin, PA
Score73.0
FAA Part 147
Private Nonprofit
Certificate
Cost
$18,730a year
Graduation rate
76%within 150% of normal time
Graduate earnings
$81,408median four years after completing, certificate level
Awards
337in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Earns its place with graduates earning a median $81,408, a 76% graduation rate and 337 awards in 2024-25, among the larger aviation maintenance programs. Its figures cover its accredited sites in Hagerstown, MD; Vienna, OH; West Mifflin, PA; Myrtle Beach, SC.
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional), College Scorecard and the FAA school list.
Rank 4
Aviation Maintenance Technology
Tarrant County College District
Fort Worth, TX
Score70.9
FAA Part 147
Public
AAS
Cost
$1,863a year, in-district
Graduation rate
34%within 150% of normal time
Graduate earnings
$70,953median four years after completing, certificate level; school-wide across its mechanic programs
Awards
119in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Earns its place with a price toward the low end of ranked aviation maintenance programs ($1,863 a year, in-district), graduates earning a median $70,953 and 119 awards in 2024-25.
Graduate earnings: four years after finishing, certificate level; school-wide, covering its mechanic programs
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional), College Scorecard and the FAA school list.
Rank 7
Aviation Maintenance Technician Program
Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Teterboro
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Score69.7
FAA Part 147
Private For-Profit
Certificate
Cost
$16,757a year
Graduation rate
70%within 150% of normal time
Graduate earnings
$71,246median four years after completing, certificate level
Awards
289in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Earns its place with graduates earning a median $71,246, a 70% graduation rate and 289 awards in 2024-25, among the larger aviation maintenance programs.
Graduate earnings: four years after finishing, certificate level
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional), College Scorecard and the FAA school list.
Rank 8
Aviation Maintenance Technology
Antelope Valley Community College District
Lancaster, CA
Score69.6
FAA Part 147
Public
Associate in Science
Cost
$1,124a year, in-state
Graduation rate
34%within 150% of normal time
Awards
592in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Scores well on a price toward the low end of ranked aviation maintenance programs ($1,124 a year, in-state) and 592 awards in 2024-25, among the larger aviation maintenance programs.
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional) and the FAA school list.
Rank 9
Aircraft Maintenance Technology
Mt San Antonio College
Walnut, CA
Score69.4
FAA Part 147
Public
Aircraft Powerplant Maintenance Technology - Day
Cost
$1,364a year, in-state
Graduation rate
45%within 150% of normal time
Awards
46in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Ranked on a price of $1,364 a year, in-state, a 45% graduation rate and 46 awards in 2024-25. Applications for fall 2026 and spring 2027 are closed and the waitlists are full.
Each program is scored out of 100 on five published measures, and the scores are absolute: no program is scaled to the top
one, so a score of 70 means the same thing on every list and every state page. This list is in score order. A program is on this list when the FAA certificates it as a Part 147 aviation maintenance technician school and it meets the entry bar.
The five scored factors and their weights
Factor
Weight
What it reads
Cost
25 of 100
What a year of tuition and fees costs, compared with every other ranked program in the same area.
Graduate Earnings
25 of 100
What the school’s graduates in mechanic and repair programs earn, from federal data.
Completion
20 of 100
The share of the school’s first-time, full-time students who finish within 150% of normal time.
Track Record
15 of 100
How many credentials the program awards in a year.
Program Reputation
15 of 100
A 0 to 4 rating of how employers in the trade regard the program, made by Cloudflare’s Clef language model from the same few facts for every program.
Ties are broken by Cost, then Graduate Earnings, then school name. Scores are shown to one decimal and programs are ordered by the unrounded score, so two programs can show the same score at different ranks. How We Rank gives the formulas, the data sources and the disclosures for each figure.
FAA Part 147 Certification and the A&P Route
The FAA certificates aviation maintenance technician schools under 14 CFR Part 147, and every aviation mechanic school on this list holds that certificate. Part 147 schools teach to the FAA’s Airman Certification Standards, hold shop classes to 25 students per instructor, and must keep graduate pass rates up: at least 70% of graduates who test within 60 days must pass, measured over the most recent three years.
A Part 147 school is one route to the Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificate, not the only one. Under 14 CFR 65.77 an applicant can instead show at least 18 months of practical experience for an airframe or powerplant rating, or 30 months for both, and the FAA says graduation from a certificated school is one way to meet the experience requirement.
What the Numbers Show About Aviation Maintenance Programs
The list covers 148 aviation maintenance programs at 148 schools in 42 states and territories. The median school graduates 43% of its first-time, full-time students, counted over one and a half times the normal program length. The median program charges about $5,040 a year in tuition and fees, from $1,124 a year, in-state at Antelope Valley Community College District (Lancaster, CA) to $39,200 a year at Lewis University (Romeoville, IL).
102 of the 148 programs award associate’s degrees, and the rest award certificates. 117 are at public institutions and 24 at private for-profit schools. The states with the most ranked programs are California (19), Florida (11) and Texas (11).
How to Choose an Aviation Mechanic School
An aviation mechanic school appears here only if it holds an FAA certificate under 14 CFR Part 147. Every school on this list does, so the comparison is price, completion and graduate earnings.
A school is not the only route to the Airframe and Powerplant certificate, since 14 CFR 65.77 lets an applicant show practical experience instead. A student who prefers a certificated program can use this ranking to set one aviation mechanic school against another.
Each card prints its price with its unit, because a program may be priced by the year or as a whole. The graduation rate beside it is the whole school’s, and graduate earnings are a College Scorecard median. Weigh an aviation mechanic school on all three together, and keep its location and schedule in mind when you narrow the list.
Graduating from an aviation mechanic school is one way to meet the FAA experience requirement; the career guide covers the A&P steps.
Questions About Aviation Mechanic Schools
How are the best aviation mechanic schools chosen?
Only accredited programs are ranked, and each is scored out of 100 from published federal data. Programs are ranked on cost (25 points), graduate earnings (25), completion (20), track record (15) and program reputation (15). Scores are absolute, and every list and state page keeps the same national scores. How We Rank gives the formulas and the data sources.
Do I have to attend a Part 147 school to become an A&P mechanic?
No. The FAA lets an applicant show practical experience instead: at least 18 months for an airframe or powerplant rating, or 30 months for both (14 CFR 65.77). Graduating from a certificated school is one way to meet the experience requirement, and it is the route this ranking covers.
How much does aviation maintenance school cost?
Among the 148 programs on this list, the median reports about $5,040 a year in tuition and fees for 2024-25, from $1,124 a year, in-state at Antelope Valley Community College District in Lancaster, CA to $39,200 a year at Lewis University in Romeoville, IL. Community colleges that charge by the year sit at the low end; schools that price the whole program show that price and its length on each card, and the yearly figure is only what the cost score reads. Books, tools and living costs are not included.
What does the graduation rate on each card measure?
It is the federal graduation rate within 150% of normal time for the whole school: of the first-time, full-time students who started, the share who finished a credential within one and a half times its normal length. It is not a rate for the trade program alone, and a school with a small entering class can show a rate near 0% or 100%.
Where do the graduate earnings figures come from?
They are College Scorecard medians for the school’s graduates in mechanic and repair programs (federal field 47.06), four years after completing where that is published and one year after where it is not. Scorecard pools every mechanic and repair program a school offers at that credential level, and a chain’s campuses share one figure, so a card’s earnings figure describes the school’s graduates in these trades, not one program alone.
How much do aviation maintenance technicians earn?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median of $79,870 a year for aircraft mechanics and service technicians (SOC 49-3011) in its May 2025 estimates, with the lowest-paid tenth earning under $48,780 and the highest-paid tenth over $128,890. Pay depends on the state, the employer and the work; each state ranking on this site shows the state’s median.
How do I find a good aviation mechanic school?
Start with FAA Part 147 certification, which every school on this list holds. Then compare each aviation mechanic school on the price with its unit, the graduation rate and the graduate earnings on its card.
Is an aviation mechanic school the same as an A&P school?
Usually the terms mean the same thing: an aviation mechanic school with a Part 147 certificate trains students toward the Airframe and Powerplant certificate. The FAA certificates the school; the A&P certificate itself is issued to a person.
Sources for Aviation Mechanic Schools
U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Completions (awards July 2024 to June 2025, provisional), tuition and fees for 2024-25, graduation rates within 150% of normal time and the institutional directory.
This site earns money from sponsored school listings served by the education ad network Esyoh, which are marked as ads wherever they appear. Schools pay to appear in those listings, not in the rankings: a listing is not scored, and no listing can change a ranking. Rankings come from published records, and program details from each school’s own published pages.
