Aviation Maintenance School Rankings for 2027: National, State, and City

Each state ranking orders the state's FAA-approved schools by score, with top picks, the schools not ranked, high school programs, and local pay. States with no school rank the nearest ones across the line.

• Alabama 5 schools
• Alaska 3 schools
• Arizona 4 schools
• Arkansas 5 schools
• California 20 schools
• Colorado 5 schools
• Connecticut 2 schools
• Delaware 1 school
• Washington, DC 1 school
• Florida 19 schools
• Georgia 9 schools
• Hawaii 1 school
• Idaho 1 school
• Illinois 6 schools
• Indiana 4 schools
• Iowa 5 schools
• Kansas 2 schools
• Kentucky 4 schools
• Louisiana 4 schools
• Maine 1 school
• Maryland 2 schools
• Massachusetts 5 schools
• Michigan 6 schools
• Minnesota 4 schools
• Mississippi 3 schools
• Missouri 3 schools
• Montana 1 school
• Nebraska 1 school
• Nevada 1 school
• New Hampshire 1 school
• New Jersey 1 school
• New Mexico 2 schools
• New York 6 schools
• North Carolina 7 schools
• North Dakota 1 school
• Ohio 11 schools
• Oklahoma 7 schools
• Oregon 4 schools
• Pennsylvania 5 schools
• Puerto Rico 1 school
• Rhode Island Nearby schools
• South Carolina 3 schools
• South Dakota 1 school
• Tennessee 8 schools
• Texas 21 schools
• Utah 3 schools
• Vermont 1 school
• Virginia 4 schools
• Washington 6 schools
• West Virginia 2 schools
• Wisconsin 2 schools
• Wyoming Nearby schools

The 25 most populous metro areas we cover, largest first, with each city's top-ranked school. Each city ranking scores the schools within 100 miles and adds local pay, airports, and employers.

1. New York City NY

   #1 Vaughn College 50.5

2. Los Angeles CA

   #1 Spartan Los Angeles 74.1

3. Chicago IL

   #1 Lewis University 61.1

4. Dallas-Fort Worth TX

   #1 Tarrant County College 66.4

5. Houston TX

   #1 AIM Houston 49.7

6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale FL

   #1 Broward College 73.8

7. Washington, DC

   #1 UDC-CC 50.7

8. Atlanta GA

   #1 AIM Atlanta 61.3

9. Philadelphia PA

   #1 Johnson College 50.7

10. Phoenix AZ

    #1 Pima Community College 52.8

11. Boston MA

    #1 Nashua Community College 51.3

12. Riverside-San Bernardino CA

    #1 San Diego Miramar College 74.6

13. San Francisco-Oakland CA

    #1 Gavilan College 67.0

14. Detroit MI

    #1 UTI Canton 51.6

15. Seattle-Tacoma WA

    #1 Clover Park Technical College 52.8

16. Minneapolis-St. Paul MN

    #1 Lake Superior College 48.4

17. Tampa-St. Petersburg FL

    #1 A&P Mechanic Institute 44.7

18. San Diego CA

    #1 San Diego Miramar College 74.6

19. Denver CO

    #1 Spartan Denver 61.8

20. Orlando FL

    #1 A&P Mechanic Institute 44.7

21. Charlotte NC

    #1 GTCC 55.4

22. Baltimore MD

    #1 UDC-CC 50.7

23. St. Louis MO

    #1 Lincoln Land Community College 55.9

24. San Antonio TX

    #1 Hallmark University 63.9

25. Austin TX

    #1 Hallmark University 63.9

The same national scores, filtered to the schools that fit one need.

• Best Military-Friendly Aviation Maintenance Schools

  Schools that state GI Bill approval, ranked on the national score plus the military benefits each names.

• Best Avionics Schools

  Aircraft mechanic schools with a stated avionics certificate, track, or option, ranked.

• Best Helicopter Mechanic Schools

  Schools that state helicopter or rotorcraft training in the program, ranked.

• Accelerated Aviation Maintenance Programs

  Programs that publish a length of 18 months or less for both ratings, ranked.

• Evening Aviation Maintenance Programs

  Programs with evening, weekend, part-time, or hybrid schedules, ranked.

• Best Community College Aviation Maintenance Programs

  Public two-year colleges with FAA-approved programs, ranked on the national score.

• Best Aviation Maintenance Associate Degrees

  FAA-approved schools that offer an associate degree in aviation maintenance, ranked.

• Aviation Maintenance Schools With Airline Partnerships

  Schools that name an airline or maintenance partner program, ranked.

• High School Aviation Maintenance Programs

  Career-tech centers and college dual enrollment for high school students, ranked on program depth and access.

Methodology version 2.1, updated October 9, 2026. Outcomes, Cost, and Scale are measured from IPEDS and published prices; Program Depth and Access come from what each school states.

Outcomes, Cost, and Scale are measured factors. When a school has no figure for one, it scores the peer median for that factor: 15 of 30 for Outcomes and 12.5 of 25 for Cost, which are percentile-scored, and the real median Scale score for Scale, which is log-scaled. Score breakdowns label these points "Peer median".

The full rules are on our ranking methodology page.