Painter hourly rates by state
Across the U.S., painters typically charge about $58 an hour, and most charge $53 to $73. Rates run highest in Hawaii ($80) and lowest in Arkansas ($47).
Painter rates in every state
| State | Typical | Most charge |
|---|---|---|
| 1Hawaii | $80/hr | $70 to $100 |
| 2Illinois | $72/hr | $57 to $110 |
| 3Alaska | $72/hr | $64 to $88 |
| 4Washington | $70/hr | $58 to $77 |
| 5New York | $70/hr | $58 to $93 |
| 6District of Columbia | $70/hr | $56 to $82 |
| 7Maine | $70/hr | $59 to $74 |
| 8New Jersey | $70/hr | $54 to $85 |
| 9California | $70/hr | $56 to $86 |
| 10Delaware | $69/hr | $60 to $73 |
| 11Connecticut | $69/hr | $56 to $90 |
| 12Montana | $69/hr | $56 to $73 |
| 13Massachusetts | $68/hr | $55 to $83 |
| 14Missouri | $68/hr | $55 to $81 |
| 15Minnesota | $67/hr | $51 to $82 |
| 16Nevada | $66/hr | $55 to $75 |
| 17North Dakota | $65/hr | $56 to $71 |
| 18Vermont | $63/hr | $57 to $71 |
| 19Colorado | $62/hr | $56 to $70 |
| 20Pennsylvania | $61/hr | $56 to $72 |
| 21Michigan | $60/hr | $53 to $74 |
| 22Indiana | $59/hr | $51 to $74 |
| 23Wisconsin | $59/hr | $55 to $71 |
| 24Iowa | $59/hr | $51 to $72 |
| 25New Hampshire | $59/hr | $55 to $68 |
| 26Ohio | $58/hr | $52 to $73 |
| 27Maryland | $58/hr | $55 to $70 |
| 28Oregon | $58/hr | $54 to $73 |
| 29Georgia | $57/hr | $50 to $68 |
| 30Arizona | $57/hr | $53 to $69 |
| 31South Dakota | $57/hr | $49 to $61 |
| 32Kentucky | $57/hr | $47 to $70 |
| 33Florida | $56/hr | $47 to $59 |
| 34Virginia | $56/hr | $46 to $66 |
| 35Nebraska | $56/hr | $45 to $60 |
| 36Wyoming | $56/hr | $45 to $65 |
| 37Louisiana | $55/hr | $46 to $59 |
| 38New Mexico | $54/hr | $48 to $59 |
| 39Utah | $54/hr | $45 to $63 |
| 40Kansas | $54/hr | $44 to $58 |
| 41Texas | $54/hr | $46 to $58 |
| 42Oklahoma | $53/hr | $43 to $61 |
| 43Idaho | $53/hr | $43 to $56 |
| 44Mississippi | $53/hr | $43 to $63 |
| 45West Virginia | $52/hr | $39 to $64 |
| 46North Carolina | $52/hr | $44 to $58 |
| 47Alabama | $52/hr | $44 to $59 |
| 48Tennessee | $51/hr | $44 to $56 |
| 49Rhode Island | $49/hr | $44 to $66 |
| 50South Carolina | $48/hr | $42 to $57 |
| 51Arkansas | $47/hr | $44 to $56 |
| 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.
The typical U.S. painter earns $23.75 an hour, and about 225,190 work nationwide (BLS, May 2025). The rate is higher than the wage because it also has to cover payroll taxes, insurance, unbilled hours, overhead and profit.
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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