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Best Schools for Air Transportation in 2026

54 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Air Transportation, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Air Transportation graduate earns $44,286/yr across 54 schools.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$44,286/yr

Avg DW Score

49/100

AI Risk

Moderate

37% task exposure

All Air Transportation Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Utah Valley University Orem, UT · Public	67 64–67	$56,402/yr	33.0x
2	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide Daytona Beach, FL · Private nonprofit	64 61–64	$54,827/yr	17.0x
3	University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE · Public	62 61–62	$42,837/yr	27.9x
4	University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND · Public	62 60–63	$46,193/yr	19.9x
5	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	62 59–62	$56,487/yr	15.5x
6	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN · Public	61 60–62	$45,193/yr	21.2x
7	Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus Portales, NM · Public	61 59–62	$88,085/yr	31.1x
8	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN · Public	60 59–61	$45,190/yr	19.3x
9	Florida Institute of Technology-Online Melbourne, FL · Private nonprofit	59 57–59	$47,019/yr	14.9x
10	University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK · Public	58 58–58	$40,796/yr	24.5x
11	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	58 57–59	$46,267/yr	22.1x
12	Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA · Public	58 58–59	$40,025/yr	22.6x
13	Middle Georgia State University Macon, GA · Public	58 58–59	$41,028/yr	40.4x
14	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN · Public	57 56–57	$43,909/yr	17.6x
15	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	56 55–57	$44,481/yr	14.5x
16	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO · Public	55 54–55	$43,922/yr	14.8x
17	Polk State College Winter Haven, FL · Public	55 53–55	$50,499/yr	36.5x
18	Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA · Public	55 54–56	$43,171/yr	14.8x
19	Liberty University Lynchburg, VA · Private nonprofit	55 52–55	$50,629/yr	8.7x
20	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH · Public	54 54–55	$40,876/yr	14.3x
21	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	54 54–54	$40,102/yr	14.5x
22	Everglades University Boca Raton, FL · Private nonprofit	54 51–54	$53,331/yr	7.9x
23	Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA · Public	53 55–54	$35,669/yr	20.3x
24	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Prescott, AZ · Private nonprofit	52 49–52	$54,827/yr	4.0x
25	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, FL · Private nonprofit	52 49–52	$54,827/yr	4.0x
26	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL · Public	52 51–53	$44,063/yr	11.6x
27	Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN · Public	52 52–52	$40,112/yr	15.2x
28	Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY · Public	52 51–52	$41,960/yr	15.9x
29	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS · Public	48 45–48	$51,198/yr	10.7x
30	Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY · Public	48 50–48	$35,625/yr	15.2x
31	Hallmark University San Antonio, TX · Private nonprofit	48 47–48	$79,086/yr	—
32	Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL · Private nonprofit	47 45–47	$47,019/yr	3.4x
33	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI · Public	46 48–47	$34,872/yr	11.6x
34	Westminster University Salt Lake City, UT · Private nonprofit	46 45–46	$42,917/yr	3.8x
35	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK · Public	45 43–45	$45,682/yr	10.2x
36	Jacksonville University Jacksonville, FL · Private nonprofit	44 42–44	$45,875/yr	2.9x
37	Lewis University Romeoville, IL · Private nonprofit	43 43–43	$39,228/yr	4.2x
38	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon Bayamon, PR · Private nonprofit	43 47–44	$31,376/yr	24.0x
39	California Aeronautical University Bakersfield, CA · Private for-profit	42 39–42	$52,656/yr	2.7x
40	LeTourneau University Longview, TX · Private nonprofit	41 42–41	$38,205/yr	4.2x
41	California Baptist University Riverside, CA · Private nonprofit	39 37–40	$48,989/yr	2.1x
42	University of Dubuque Dubuque, IA · Private nonprofit	39 40–40	$37,362/yr	3.6x
43	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK · Public	39 39–39	$38,652/yr	9.1x
44	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI · Public	38 38–38	$40,846/yr	5.6x
45	University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, MO · Public	38 39–39	$38,283/yr	8.8x
46	University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, MD · Public	36 40–37	$27,154/yr	14.7x
47	Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO · Private nonprofit	35 34–36	$44,459/yr	1.1x
48	Rocky Mountain College Billings, MT · Private nonprofit	35 34–35	$41,588/yr	2.1x
49	Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology Flushing, NY · Private nonprofit	34 37–34	$32,591/yr	4.7x
50	Auburn University Auburn, AL · Public	33 36–34	$35,856/yr	6.2x
51	Delta State University Cleveland, MS · Public	32 35–33	$32,537/yr	8.5x
52	Utah State University Logan, UT · Public	32 35–33	$33,142/yr	8.0x
53	CUNY York College Jamaica, NY · Public	30 34–31	$30,349/yr	9.3x
54	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH · Public	30 33–31	$33,172/yr	4.9x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Air Transportation?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, Utah Valley University ranks #1 for Air Transportation with a score of 67/100 and graduate earnings of $56,402/yr.

How much do Air Transportation graduates earn?

Across 54 schools, Air Transportation graduates earn an average of $44,286/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $88,085/yr.

Is Air Transportation a good major for AI resistance?

Air Transportation has an average AI task exposure of 37%, rated "Moderate". This field has moderate AI exposure — some career paths are more resilient than others.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.