Career Training Path › Aviation maintenance (A&P) schools › California
Aviation maintenance (A&P) schools in California
California has 20 accredited campuses awarding aviation maint. credentials. If you finish and work as an aircraft mechanic in California, expect to start around $53,860–$68,390 and reach a median of $86,100 with experience; the top quarter earn $99,650 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, California). Graduates of these California programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $41,331 in their first year, against $41,628 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What aircraft mechanics and service technicians earn in California
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 12,590 employed in California. National median: $79,870.
Campuses in California, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: AlamedaBakersfieldCosta MesaCulver CityFairfieldFremontFresnoGilroyInglewoodLancasterRancho CucamongaReedleyRiversideSacramentoSan BernardinoSan DiegoSan FranciscoSaratogaVictorvilleWalnut
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Joaquin Valley College-Trades Education Center | Fresno | for-profit | 27 | $54,937 | $20,000 | 80% | $32,406 |
| Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Fremont | Fremont | for-profit | 105 | $50,396 | $32,488 | 57% | not reported |
| Spartan College of Aeronautics & Technology | Inglewood | for-profit | 208 | $45,075 | $20,000 | 64% | $39,104 |
| Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology | Riverside | for-profit | 150 | $42,629 | $20,000 | 69% | $39,393 |
| Victor Valley College | Victorville | Public | 99 | $40,033 | not reported | 62% | not reported |
| San Diego Miramar College | San Diego | Public | 46 | $39,009 | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Antelope Valley Community College District | Lancaster | Public | 443 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| West Los Angeles College | Culver City | Public | 122 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Reedley College | Reedley | Public | 107 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| College of Alameda | Alameda | Public | 75 | not reported | not reported | 33% | not reported |
| Orange Coast College | Costa Mesa | Public | 60 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| Gavilan College | Gilroy | Public | 40 | not reported | not reported | 43% | not reported |
| Mt San Antonio College | Walnut | Public | 36 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Sacramento City College | Sacramento | Public | 34 | not reported | not reported | 34% | not reported |
| Chaffey College | Rancho Cucamonga | Public | 31 | not reported | not reported | 36% | not reported |
| San Bernardino Valley College | San Bernardino | Public | 15 | not reported | not reported | 28% | not reported |
| California Aeronautical University | Bakersfield | for-profit | 14 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Solano Community College | Fairfield | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| City College of San Francisco | San Francisco | Public | 3 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| West Valley College | Saratoga | Public | 2 | not reported | not reported | 51% | not reported |
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.