497 accredited schools sorted by yearly tuition and fees, lowest first, so the cheapest mechanic schools lead. Antelope Valley Community College District (Lancaster, CA) is the lowest at $1,124 a year, in-state.
By Trevor Rupe, Contributor at Savo Media Group Updated
At a Glance
497 schools reported a 2024-25 price for a ranked program; each school appears once, with its lowest-priced program.
The lowest is $1,124 a year, in-state at Antelope Valley Community College District; the median is about $4,776 a year.
424 of the 497 are public institutions.
Prices are tuition and fees only. Books, tools and living costs are not included.
Price is 25 of the 100 points, so one of the cheapest mechanic schools can still rank lower on the trade lists.
The Top 10 Cheapest Mechanic Schools
The cheapest mechanic schools come first, each with its lowest-priced ranked program. The 25 highest-scoring programs of 497. Each score is out of 100 and comes from the method below.
Rank 1
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
Ranked #8 of 148 aviation maintenance programs nationally. Earns its place with 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 ASE accreditation list.
Rank 3
Automotive Technology
San Diego Miramar College
San Diego, CA
Score67.6
ASE Accredited Program
Public
Associate of Science
Honda PACT
Mopar CAP
Cost
$1,146a year, in-state
Graduation rate
48%within 150% of normal time
Graduate earnings
$43,285median one year after completing, certificate level; school-wide across its mechanic programs
Awards
94in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Ranked #15 of 415 automotive programs nationally. Stands out for a price toward the low end of ranked automotive programs ($1,146 a year, in-state) and 94 awards in 2024-25.
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional), College Scorecard and the ASE accreditation list.
Rank 4
Automotive Technology
Chabot College
Hayward, CA
Score73.9
ASE Accredited Program
Public
Automotive Technology
Cost
$1,150a year, in-state
Graduation rate
47%within 150% of normal time
Awards
111in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Ranked #6 of 415 automotive programs nationally. Earns its place with a price toward the low end of ranked automotive programs ($1,150 a year, in-state) and 111 awards in 2024-25.
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional) and the ASE accreditation list.
Rank 5
Automotive Technology
Cypress College
Cypress, CA
Score71.1
ASE Accredited Program
Public
Associate in Science, 73 units
Toyota T-TEN
Cost
$1,150a year, in-state
Graduation rate
37%within 150% of normal time
Awards
258in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Ranked #9 of 415 automotive programs nationally. Scores well on a price toward the low end of ranked automotive programs ($1,150 a year, in-state) and 258 awards in 2024-25, among the larger automotive programs.
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional) and the ASE accreditation list.
Rank 6
Automotive Technology
Saddleback College
Mission Viejo, CA
Score73.9
ASE Accredited Program
Public
Associate of Science
Cost
$1,156a year, in-state
Graduation rate
48%within 150% of normal time
Awards
96in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Ranked #7 of 415 automotive programs nationally. Stands out for a price toward the low end of ranked automotive programs ($1,156 a year, in-state) and 96 awards in 2024-25.
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional) and the ASE accreditation list.
Rank 7
Automotive Technology
Las Positas College
Livermore, CA
Score64.2
ASE Accredited Program
Public
AS
Cost
$1,168a year, in-state
Graduation rate
53%within 150% of normal time
Awards
21in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Ranked #40 of 415 automotive programs nationally. Earns its place with a price toward the low end of ranked automotive programs ($1,168 a year, in-state) and a 53% graduation rate.
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional) and the ASE accreditation list.
Rank 9
Automotive Technology
Pasadena City College
Pasadena, CA
Score76.6
ASE Accredited Program
Public
Associate in Science
Honda PACT
Cost
$1,180a year, in-state
Graduation rate
48%within 150% of normal time
Awards
171in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Ranked #2 of 415 automotive programs nationally. Stands out for a price toward the low end of ranked automotive programs ($1,180 a year, in-state) and 171 awards in 2024-25, among the larger automotive programs.
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional) and the ASE accreditation list.
Rank 10
Automotive Mechanics
San Joaquin Delta College
Stockton, CA
Score67.2
ASE Accredited Program
Public
Associate in Science
Cost
$1,180a year, in-state
Graduation rate
35%within 150% of normal time
Awards
98in 2024-25
Why it ranks here
Ranked #16 of 415 automotive programs nationally. Earns its place with a price toward the low end of ranked automotive programs ($1,180 a year, in-state) and 98 awards in 2024-25.
Master Technician students can earn Level I and Level II certification toward California Smog Check Inspector and Smog Check Repair Technician licenses through the Bureau of Automotive Repair. Source for San Joaquin Delta College, Automotive Mechanics
Source: IPEDS 2024-25 (provisional) and the ASE accreditation list.
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 ordered by yearly tuition and fees as the Cost factor scores them, lowest first; every program keeps its national score. A program is on this list when it is a ranked program with a price reported to IPEDS for 2024-25; a school appears once, with its lowest-priced ranked program.
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.
Every School Here Is Accredited
Price alone does not put a program on this list. Each one holds ASE Education Foundation accreditation in its trade (Automobile, Medium/Heavy Duty Truck, or Collision Repair and Refinishing) or is an FAA-certificated Part 147 aviation maintenance school, and meets the same federal entry bar as the national rankings.
Accreditation is not ASE certification. ASE certifies individual technicians who pass its tests and have full-time, hands-on work experience or a combination of formal training and experience.
How the Price Is Counted
The order is the yearly figure the Cost score reads. For a college that prices by the year, that is the in-district tuition and fees where the college charges a district rate and the in-state rate where it does not; California community colleges charge residents a low per-unit enrollment fee, and that fee is the real price a California resident pays, so several of them are among the lowest.
For a school that prices a whole program, the yearly figure is the program price spread over a year, so a program shorter than a year is scored on a figure above what a student pays in total. Each card shows the whole-program price and its length, and the yearly figure is shown only beside it.
A low price is not a recommendation by itself. Each program here keeps the national score the trade ranking gave it, and the card shows its graduation rate and graduate earnings beside the price. The lowest-priced programs are in California (51), Florida (33), Texas (29) and Illinois (28).
Finding the Cheapest Mechanic Schools
The list is sorted by the yearly figure for tuition and fees, lowest first, and every program is accredited. A low price puts a school near the top here, but it does not make it the best choice for every student.
Many of the cheapest mechanic schools are community colleges that charge by the year, and California community colleges charge residents a low per-unit enrollment fee. Schools that price a whole program show that price and its length, with the yearly figure only beside it.
Before you choose among the cheapest mechanic schools, read the graduation rate and the graduate earnings on each card. A school can be among the cheapest and still rank lower on the trade lists, because price is 25 of the 100 points.
These programs train for the mechanic trades covered in the career guides, and the salary pages give BLS May 2025 pay for each trade by state and metro area.
The cheapest mechanic schools lead into the same careers as any other; the salary pages show what each trade pays.
Questions About Cheapest Mechanic Schools
What is the cheapest mechanic school?
Antelope Valley Community College District in Lancaster, CA reports the lowest yearly figure for tuition and fees among ranked programs, $1,124 a year, in-state. The median school on this list reports about $4,776 a year.
Is the cheapest program the best value?
Not always. Price is one of five factors, worth 25 of 100 points. A cheaper program with a low graduation rate or low graduate earnings can be a worse value than a costlier one, which is why each card shows all three figures. The trade rankings weigh them together.
Why does a price show a program length?
Some schools price a whole program rather than a year of tuition. Those cards show the whole-program price and the number of months it covers, so a short program is not mistaken for a year-long one.
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%.
Which are the cheapest mechanic schools?
The first ranks on this list, by yearly tuition and fees among accredited programs. Most are community colleges, and the card names the school and its price with its unit.
Are the cheapest mechanic schools accredited?
On this list, yes. A school is here only if its program holds ASE Education Foundation accreditation or it is an FAA Part 147 school, so the cheapest mechanic schools shown all meet an accreditor’s standard.
Sources for Cheapest 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.
