Top Five Right Now
Best Aviation Maintenance Schools: The Current Leaders
The top five of our best aviation maintenance schools ranking, out of 100 ranked schools. Scores are out of 100.
- #1 Southern Utah University Cedar City, Utah 75.3
- #2 Lake Area Technical College Watertown, South Dakota 69.9
- #3 Victor Valley College Victorville, California 68.8
- #4 Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, Denver Campus Broomfield, Colorado 68.7
- #5 Tarrant County College Fort Worth, Texas 66.9
Lowest Program Costs
- College of Alameda $2,208
- Chaffey College $2,208
- West Los Angeles College $2,292
Top Maintenance Bachelor's Degrees
Eligibility
Which Aviation Maintenance Schools Are Ranked
Only schools that report to IPEDS can be ranked, because the completion, tuition, and awards inputs come from IPEDS. That leaves 102 of the 225 FAA school locations, run by 101 institutions. Of those, 100 are scored: a campus that reports to IPEDS under another campus is counted once, and a program closing to new students is left out.
FAA-Approved Schools
225
FAA AV-Info, Sep 2026
School Locations Eligible
102
Reporting to IPEDS
Public Institutions
88
IPEDS
Private Nonprofit Institutions
5
IPEDS
Private For-Profit Institutions
8
IPEDS
Methodology
How the Best Aviation Maintenance Schools Ranking Is Scored
Each eligible school earns up to 100 points across five factors. A school that does not publish an input earns no points for it; nothing is estimated. Methodology version 1.1, updated September 22, 2026.
| Factor | Points | What It Measures | Data Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completion Outcomes | 30 | The institution's IPEDS graduation rate, scaled against the other eligible schools. The top of the scale is the cohort's 95th-percentile rate, so every school at or above it earns full points. | IPEDS graduation rate for the matched institution |
| Affordability | 25 | The school's own published total program cost when one is posted (or its published per-credit rate times the program's published credits); otherwise IPEDS in-state tuition scaled to the program's published length. Lower cost scores higher. | School's program or catalog page (published cost with its period), else IPEDS in-state tuition |
| Program Scale | 15 | Aviation maintenance awards per year reported to IPEDS, log-scaled so a very large program does not swamp the rest of the score. | IPEDS completions, CIP 47.0607 to 47.0609 |
| Pathway Breadth | 15 | How many credential routes the program offers, as stated on its own pages. Airframe and Powerplant Ratings (6), Associate Degree Option (5), Avionics Option (4). | School's program pages |
| Access | 15 | Features that make it easier for working adults and veterans to enroll and finish. GI Bill Approval (5), Evening, Weekend, or Hybrid Schedule (5), Published Start Dates (5). | School's program pages |
The full rules, including how affordability falls back to IPEDS tuition, are on our ranking methodology page.
Left Out on Purpose
What the School Rankings Do Not Score
- School-Reported Pass Rates
- Schools publish FAA test pass rates over different periods and test mixes, so the figures are not comparable from one school to the next.
- School-Reported Job Placement Rates
- Placement rates are self-reported with different definitions and follow-up windows, so they are not comparable either.
- Sponsorship or Partnership Status
- A sponsored listing never changes a score, a rank, or which schools are eligible.
- Reputation Surveys
- No survey or opinion input is used. Every input is a published figure.
Keep Exploring
Browse Aviation Maintenance Schools by State
State pages list every FAA-approved school, ranked or not, with distances and local pay.
States With the Most Schools
Sources
All sources retrieved .
Every figure on this page comes from a published source listed above. Our data methodology explains how the school list, distances, pay data, and rankings are built.