Is A&P School Worth the Cost? Tuition vs. Mechanic Pay at 41 FAA Schools

How Many Months Does A&P School Take to Repay?

For 41 schools we took the program price the school publishes and divided it by one month of aircraft mechanic pay in that state. 13 schools land between 1 and 3 months, and the single cheapest, Cuesta College, costs 0.31 months of pay. The costliest, Saint Francis University, costs 8.5.

Pay during school is the missing piece. The 14 priced schools that publish a length in months have a median of 16 months. You won't earn a mechanic's wage for that stretch, so the real cost is the price plus that time.

Public Colleges vs. Private Schools: Which Costs Less to Repay?

Public schools repay faster by a wide margin. The 29 public schools range from 0.31 to 5.4 months of pay, with a median of 1.5. The 12 private schools range from 3.7 to 8.5, with a median of 5.1.

The ranges overlap only at the edges. The costliest public program takes 5.4 months of pay, and the cheapest private one takes 3.7. Private schools often include more in the price, such as books, tools, or FAA exam fees, so compare what each price covers on the aviation maintenance school cost guide.

Which States Have the Cheapest A&P Schools Compared to Pay?

23 states have at least one school in the priced data. California comes out cheapest because its 5 priced schools are all public colleges with low in-state tuition, against a state median of $86,100. Pennsylvania comes out highest, with a median price of $49,833 against $78,000 in pay.

States with one priced school show that school's figure, so treat single-school states as a data point, not a state average. Pair this with the state's own page: see aviation maintenance schools in California or the California mechanic salary data.

Which States Have the Most FAA-Approved A&P Schools?

Texas has 21 FAA-approved schools, California has 20, and Florida has 19. Together they hold 60 of the 225 schools. 14 states and territories have exactly one, and Rhode Island and Wyoming have none.

If your state has one school, the price you pay may not be a choice. Look at rankings by state for the nearest options across a border.

Published Price and Payback at All 41 Schools

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What Does A&P School Payback Mean for You?

Start with the price, then ask what it covers. A $2,208 community college program and a $55,415 private one both lead to the same FAA exams. The difference is time, location, and what the school includes. If a public college is within reach, the numbers favor it. If it has a waitlist or no night classes, a private school can still repay in about 5.1 months of pay.

Plan with the cautious number. At bottom-quartile pay the median payback is 3.8 months, and taxes, tools, and the months you spend in class all stretch it. These figures cover tuition only, not rent or lost wages. For help comparing schools, see the most affordable aviation maintenance schools and the best aviation maintenance schools.

How We Calculated A&P School Payback

Sample. 41 FAA-approved schools out of 225 that publish a total program price on their own websites, checked September 22, 2026. Programs closing to new students are left out, and so are schools that list only a per-credit or per-year rate.

Price. The figure each school publishes, as used on our cost guide. Prices do not cover the same items: some include books, tools, and exam fees, and some are tuition only. A price shown as a range uses its low end.

Pay. The BLS May 2025 median annual wage for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (SOC 49-3011) in the school's state, divided by 12. The bottom-quartile figure uses the 25th percentile wage the same way.

Payback. Price divided by one month of pay. It is gross pay before taxes, and it ignores wages you give up while in school. State figures are medians of each state's schools. Data pulled October 6, 2026.

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