How much does a painter charge per hour in New Jersey?
Typical painter rate, New Jersey
$70/hr
Most painters in New Jersey charge $54 to $85 an hour. A full 8-hour day runs about $560.
Updated October 2026 · Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
How we got $70
| Median painter wage in New Jersey | $28.49 |
|---|---|
| × 1.4 payroll taxes, workers' comp, insurance | $39.89 |
| ÷ 0.8 for hours nobody gets billed (driving, supply runs, estimates) | $49.86 |
| × 1.4 overhead (truck, tools, office) and profit | $69.80 |
| Typical rate | $70/hr |
What painters earn in New Jersey
| Pay level | Wage | Charges about |
|---|---|---|
| Entry level (10th percentile) | $18.11 | $44/hr |
| 25th percentile | $21.87 | $54/hr |
| Median (middle) | $28.49 | $70/hr |
| 75th percentile | $34.80 | $85/hr |
| Top earners (90th percentile) | $46.13 | $113/hr |
4,110 painters work in New Jersey. The middle earner makes $59,250 a year. Wages are from the BLS Painters, Construction and Maintenance category.
How New Jersey compares
New Jersey painters earn 20% above the U.S., ranking #8 of 51 states for painter pay (#1 pays the most). The typical U.S. rate is $58 an hour.
| State | Typical | Most charge |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $70/hr | $58 to $93 |
| New Jersey | $70/hr | $54 to $85 |
| Pennsylvania | $61/hr | $56 to $72 |
| United States | $58/hr | $53 to $73 |
What drives painter prices
Painters usually quote by the room or by the square foot, but the hourly rate sits under those numbers. Prep (scraping, patching, caulking, masking) is where most of the hours go.
Common questions
How much does a painter charge per hour in New Jersey?
Most painters in New Jersey charge between $54 and $85 an hour, and about $70 is typical. A full 8-hour day runs about $560. These are estimates built from what painters earn in New Jersey (a median of $28.49 an hour, BLS May 2025), not quotes.
Why do painters charge so much more than they earn?
The wage is only part of the cost. On top of $28.49 an hour, the employer pays payroll taxes, workers' comp and insurance (about $39.89 in total), loses paid hours to driving, supply runs and estimates that nobody is billed for (about $49.86 per billed hour), and has to cover the truck, tools, office and a profit. That's how $28.49 becomes about $70.
What's the lowest rate a painter in New Jersey can charge without losing money?
About $50 an hour for a painter paid the New Jersey median. That covers pay, payroll taxes, insurance and unbilled time, but nothing for the truck, tools, office or profit, so a rate below it loses money on every hour.
Other trades in New Jersey
Rates are BidFlow estimates, not quotes. Each starts with the May 2025 wage from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, then multiplies by 1.4 for payroll taxes and insurance, divides by 0.8 for hours that can't be billed, and multiplies by 1.4 for overhead and profit. Updated October 2026. How we calculate
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