Louisville at a Glance
Aviation Maintenance Schools Near Louisville
2
Within 100 mi, FAA 2026
Top Score Nearby
59.8
Somerset Community College
Aircraft Mechanic Jobs, Louisville Metro
470
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Metro Median Pay
$76,800
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Location Quotient
0.77
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Area covered: Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area (CBSA 31140).
UPS Worldport sits at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, which landed 17,985,026,483 pounds of cargo in 2024. UPS built a new maintenance hangar there large enough to hold two widebody freighters at once, tripling its heavy freighter maintenance capacity. Local aircraft mechanics and service technicians earn a median $76,800 a year, just below the $79,870 U.S. median.
Training is close by. Jefferson Community and Technical College, in Louisville, is 11.8 miles away with an AAS in aviation maintenance technology and several shorter certificate options. Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, in Harrison, Ohio, is 87.9 miles out with co-op partnerships that include GE Aviation and Kroger Aviation.
Top Picks
Top Picks Near Louisville
Among the aviation maintenance schools near Louisville, a pick appears only when one school clearly leads on its figure; ties produce none.
Top Pick Near Louisville
Best Outcomes Near Louisville
Highest overall score of the 3 ranked schools, 59.8 out of 100.
Highest IPEDS graduation rate of the 2 ranked schools that report one: 43%.
Louisville Ranking
Top-Ranked Aviation Maintenance Schools Near Louisville
The ranked aviation maintenance schools within 100 miles of Louisville, ordered by score, plus the nearest ranked schools out to 101 miles so the list has at least 3. Scores are national, out of 100, and the table after the cards shows the points behind them.
Distances are straight-line miles from the center of Louisville.
Score bars: Outcomes (30)Cost (25)Program Depth (20)Access (15)Scale (10)
-
- Top Pick Near Louisville
- Best Outcomes Near Louisville
#1
Somerset Community College
Somerset, Kentucky 101 miles from Louisville #29 nationally
59.8 of 100
Somerset Community College fits Kentucky residents who want a public associate degree in aviation maintenance with tuition potentially covered by the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship, at a campus next to Somerset/Pulaski County Airport.
- Type
- Community College
- Credentials
- Associate in Applied Science (AAS) Degree (66 credits); Airframe and Power Plant Maintenance Technician Diploma (57 credits); plus 2 more
- Length
- two years at full-time status for the AAS degree
- GI Bill
- Approved
-
#2
Jefferson Community and Technical College
Louisville, Kentucky 12 miles from Louisville #30 nationally
59.0 of 100
This program fits students near Louisville who want a public four-semester Aviation Maintenance Technology program with an optional avionics certificate and a selective admissions process.
- Type
- Community College
- Credentials
- Associate of Applied Science (AAS); Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance Technician Diploma; plus 1 more
- Length
- four semesters, or two years
- GI Bill
- Approved
- Avionics
- Introduction to Aviation Electronics certificate
-
#3
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
Harrison, Ohio 88 miles from Louisville #95 nationally
45.7 of 100
This program fits Cincinnati-area students who want an associate degree with co-op ties to regional and national carriers, plus transfer pathways into four-year aviation and engineering programs.
- Type
- Community College
- Credentials
- Associate of Applied Science (AAS)
- Length
- 6 semesters (104 total credits)
| Rank | School | Score | Outcomes (30) | Cost (25) | Program Depth (20) | Access (15) | Scale (10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset Community College | 59.8 | 20.2 | 15.6 | 14 | 5 | 5 |
| 2 | JCTC | 59.0 | 11.4 | 15.6 | 20 | 5 | 7 |
| 3 | Cincinnati State | 45.7 | † | † | 14 | 0 | † |
See the full best aviation maintenance schools in Kentucky ranking.
BLS Wage Data
Aircraft Mechanic Salary in Louisville
Aircraft mechanics in the Louisville metro area earn a median of $76,800 a year ($36.92 an hour), $8,880 above the Kentucky median of $67,920.
Louisville Pay vs. Kentucky and U.S. Medians
The Louisville median is $3,070 below the U.S. median of $79,870.
Avionics Technician Pay in Louisville
BLS counts avionics technicians in the Louisville metro area, with a median of $42,440 a year.
Compare metro areas across the state on the Kentucky aircraft mechanic salary page, or see the national aircraft mechanic salary breakdown.
Local Employers
Where Aircraft Mechanics Work in Louisville
BLS counts 470 aircraft mechanic jobs in the Louisville metro area as of May 2025, a location quotient of 0.77.
A location quotient above 1.00 means these jobs make up a larger share of local employment than they do nationally.
Air Cargo
UPS Airlines
Aircraft maintenance hangar at UPS Worldport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport
UPS built a new aircraft maintenance hangar at its Worldport hub in Louisville large enough to hold two Boeing 747-8 freighters, tripling its 747 maintenance capacity there.
UPS invested $220 million in this facility
Source: UPS adds twin-bay maintenance hangar at Worldport hub (freightwaves.com)
Airports
Commercial and Cargo Airports in the Area
Louisville Muhammad Ali International (SDF) recorded 2,343,305 passenger boardings in 2024, the most of the airports listed here.
| Airport | FAA ID | Hub Class | Passenger Boardings, 2024 | All-Cargo Landed Weight, 2024 (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville Muhammad Ali International | SDF | Small hub | 2,343,305 | 17,985,026,483 |
Local Context
UPS Worldport Anchors the Airport
UPS Airlines built a new aircraft maintenance hangar at its Worldport hub in Louisville, sized to hold two widebody freighters at once. That tripled the airline's heavy freighter maintenance capacity at the airport, a sign of how much maintenance work runs through Louisville Muhammad Ali International alongside the cargo operation.
The airport landed 17,985,026,483 pounds of cargo in 2024, nearly all of it tied to the overnight UPS sort operation. That volume keeps ramp and hangar crews busy well beyond the passenger side of the airport.
Aviation Maintenance Schools Near Louisville: Common Questions
What Schools Near Louisville Train Aircraft Mechanics?
What Do Aircraft Mechanics Earn in Louisville?
Who Is the Largest Aviation Maintenance Employer in Louisville?
How Far Is Training From Where Mechanics Work in Louisville?
Do Hours at a Local Employer Count Toward FAA Certification?
More Metro Guides
Aviation Maintenance School Rankings in Other Metro Areas
Sources for School and Pay Data
- FAA AV-Info Part 147 school records
- Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025: Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (49-3011)
- Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025: Avionics Technicians (49-2091)
- Commercial Service Airports, CY2024 Enplanements
- Passenger Boarding (Enplanement) and All-Cargo Data for U.S. Airports
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
- UPS Airlines: UPS adds twin-bay maintenance hangar at Worldport hub
All sources retrieved .
Read how we source and check school, wage, and airport data for every page on this site.