North Dakota Has Nearly 4 Times the US Average of Aircraft per Mechanic

In North Dakota there are 4.6 registered aircraft for every FAA certificated aircraft mechanic. Across the whole US, the figure is 1.2. So North Dakota has nearly four times the national rate. South Dakota, Iowa and Alaska also sit well above average.

Aircraft owners often say it is hard to find a mechanic nearby. We wanted to test that with official numbers. So we compared two FAA data sets, state by state. One counts aircraft. The other counts mechanics.

The states with the most aircraft per mechanic

This table shows the states where the most aircraft share each mechanic. A higher number means each mechanic has more aircraft to look after.

State	Registered aircraft	Mechanics	Aircraft per mechanic	Share of aircraft registered to an LLC
Delaware	8,969	788	11.4	57%
Montana	5,843	1,200	4.9	51%
North Dakota	2,458	538	4.6	18%
Wyoming	2,079	503	4.1	44%
South Dakota	2,210	594	3.7	25%
Iowa	4,355	1,202	3.6	36%
Alaska	8,839	3,006	2.9	17%
Nebraska	2,879	1,138	2.5	33%
Whole US	293,521	248,014	1.2	28%

Why Delaware and Montana need care

Delaware and Montana top the table. But their numbers may not show where aircraft are kept.

The FAA registry records the owner's address. An owner can be a company, such as an LLC. An LLC can be formed in one state and own an aircraft kept in another. In Delaware, 57 percent of registered aircraft belong to an LLC. In Montana, it is 51 percent. Across the US, it is 28 percent.

So for these two states, the registry address may say more about paperwork than about where the aircraft fly. We leave them in the table so you can see them. But we do not treat them as the main finding.

North Dakota is the clearest case

Only 18 percent of North Dakota's aircraft are registered to an LLC. That is below the national share. So its high ratio is less likely to come from paperwork.

The state has 2,458 registered aircraft and 538 mechanics. That is 4.6 aircraft for each mechanic. The national figure is 1.2. Wyoming, South Dakota and Iowa follow with 4.1, 3.7 and 3.6.

Alaska has the most aircraft of any high-ratio state

Alaska has 8,839 registered aircraft. Only five states have more. Its ratio of 2.9 aircraft per mechanic is more than double the national rate.

Alaska is also large and has few roads. Many owners depend on their aircraft to get around. That makes aircraft maintenance there matter more than the ratio alone suggests.

The states with the fewest aircraft per mechanic

At the other end, some states have more mechanics than aircraft.

State	Registered aircraft	Mechanics	Aircraft per mechanic
Hawaii	687	1,562	0.4
Oklahoma	4,945	9,727	0.5
Georgia	8,120	13,571	0.6
Alabama	4,269	6,368	0.7
Florida	21,109	25,511	0.8

Many mechanics do not work on private aircraft. They may work for airlines, the military or large repair stations. The FAA file does not say where a mechanic works. So a low ratio does not prove that a private owner finds help easily. It only shows that many certificated mechanics live in the state.

What this means for aircraft owners

If you fly in a high-ratio state, plan ahead. Book annual inspections early. Ask your mechanic how far out they are booked. And keep a second shop in mind in case your first choice is full.

You can search our aircraft maintenance directory by state. For two examples, see aircraft maintenance in North Dakota and aircraft maintenance in Alaska. If you need a part rather than a shop, try our parts finder. And for avionics work, see our avionics companies.

Sources: FAA Releasable Aircraft Database (21 October 2026) and FAA Releasable Airmen Database (1 October 2026).

Photo: D. Miller, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons