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The Essential Painter Salary Guide for 2023

December 21, 2022 3 min. read

You’ve come to the right place

If you’re looking to hire a painter to join your team, you probably have some questions about what to pay them. To help you, we’ve put together the essential painter salary guide with up-to-date, crowdsourced data courtesy of Payscale. Below, you will find salary information for painters based on national averages, years of experience, job title, and geographic location. The data is for painters working in the construction and maintenance industry unless otherwise specified.

How much do painters make in the United States?

There are a few factors that will affect the salary you pay your painters. Things to ask yourself include:

  • How much does a painter earn on average in the U.S.?
  • What is the average painter’s salary per hour vs. a painter’s average annual salary?
  • How much do painters make in the state where they live?
  • How much do construction and maintenance painters make compared to industrial painters?
  • Painters earn $38,476 per year on average
  • A painter’s hourly rate is $17.00 on average
  • Painters start at $30,123 per year on average
  • Industrial painters earn $40,598 per year on average

Average Painter Salary in the U.S.

|  Detailed Breakdown

To help you understand how to determine what you pay your employees, we have provided a detailed breakdown of the average painter salary by state and by years of experience.


Use this information to ensure you are paying fair wages in your state to help attract and retain top performers.

Painters Enterprise Edmonton, AB

State-by-state average painter salaries

Where your painter works will affect their average income. To illustrate, painters working in California earn $46,279 on average, whereas painters earn $35,740 in Texas and $35,415 in Florida.

Average Salary by State (USD)

find your state

  • $46,000-$49,999
  • $42,000-$45,999
  • $38,000-$41,999
  • $34,000-$37,999
  • $30,000-$33,999
State Average Salary (USD)
Alabama $33,897
Alaska $46,322
Arizona $38,915
Arkansas $32,035
California $46,279
Colorado $41,100
Connecticut $43,559
Delaware $37,300
District Of Columbia $44,463
Florida $35,415
Georgia $34,557
Hawaii $45,232
Idaho $36,070
Illinois $42,078
Indiana $38,061
Iowa $38,779
Kansas $38,085
Kentucky $35,713
Louisiana $38,085
Maine $38,044
Maryland $38,742
Massachusetts $43,591
Michigan $37,990
Minnesota $42,873
Mississippi $33,877
Missouri $38,042
Montana $36,506
Nebraska $38,015
Nevada $40,262
New Hampshire $39,700
New Jersey $43,459
New Mexico $37,992
New York $44,011
North Carolina $35,835
North Dakota $40,873
Ohio $38,510
Oklahoma $34,603
Oregon $42,716
Pennsylvania $38,966
Rhode Island $41,571
South Carolina $33,594
South Dakota $37,373
Tennessee $34,349
Texas $35,740
Utah $37,498
Vermont $39,047
Virginia $36,277
Washington $45,121
West Virginia $32,493
Wisconsin $40,096
Wyoming $38,747

Painter salaries by years of experience

Painters’ salaries increase as they earn experience. Here are national averages based on their levels of experience.

find your state

National Average <1 year 1-2 yrs 3-5 yrs 6-10 yrs 11+ yrs
Alabama $26,552 $30,866 $34,052 $36,921 $41,095
Alaska $36,136 $42,048 $46,453 $50,467 $56,505
Arizona $30,648 $35,581 $39,182 $42,369 $46,793
Arkansas $25,151 $29,221 $32,213 $34,887 $38,702
California $36,122 $42,027 $46,422 $50,420 $56,405
Colorado $32,368 $37,578 $41,382 $44,749 $49,424
Connecticut $34,234 $39,763 $43,820 $47,433 $52,545
Delaware $29,298 $34,035 $37,514 $40,619 $45,033
District Of Columbia $34,729 $40,399 $44,613 $48,438 $54,136
Florida $27,812 $32,311 $35,615 $38,566 $42,769
Georgia $27,129 $31,519 $34,748 $37,634 $41,756
Hawaii $35,258 $41,035 $45,346 $49,284 $55,237
Idaho $28,354 $32,932 $36,289 $39,278 $43,499
Illinois $33,128 $38,463 $42,361 $45,814 $50,622
Indiana $29,634 $34,497 $38,134 $41,468 $46,573
Iowa $30,648 $35,550 $39,102 $42,210 $46,386
Kansas $29,991 $34,818 $38,345 $41,466 $45,805
Kentucky $28,104 $32,633 $35,946 $38,885 $42,996
Louisiana $29,786 $34,638 $38,235 $41,487 $46,281
Maine $29,997 $34,815 $38,324 $41,417 $45,668
Maryland $30,385 $35,311 $38,940 $42,194 $46,880
Massachusetts $34,277 $39,809 $43,861 $47,465 $52,541
Michigan $29,911 $34,727 $38,246 $41,363 $45,701
Minnesota $33,862 $39,284 $43,219 $46,668 $51,332
Mississippi $26,617 $30,919 $34,076 $36,891 $40,882
Missouri $29,993 $34,811 $38,321 $41,415 $45,671
Montana $28,689 $33,324 $36,724 $39,753 $44,042
Nebraska $30,007 $34,817 $38,312 $41,382 $45,559
Nevada $31,518 $36,644 $40,436 $43,856 $48,858
New Hampshire $31,357 $36,377 $40,021 $43,214 $47,531
New Jersey $34,082 $39,608 $43,680 $47,332 $52,594
New Mexico $29,788 $34,620 $38,182 $41,378 $45,991
New York $34,250 $39,877 $44,091 $47,958 $53,878
North Carolina $28,222 $32,764 $36,081 $39,016 $43,091
North Dakota $32,031 $37,230 $41,068 $44,517 $49,519
Ohio $30,348 $35,227 $38,785 $41,926 $46,263
Oklahoma $27,154 $31,552 $34,788 $37,684 $41,835
Oregon $33,650 $39,063 $43,014 $46,507 $51,346
Pennsylvania $30,643 $35,587 $39,210 $42,430 $46,960
Rhode Island $32,766 $38,032 $41,870 $45,258 $49,929
South Carolina $26,399 $30,664 $33,794 $36,582 $40,530
South Dakota $29,471 $34,203 $37,649 $40,686 $44,856
Tennessee $27,026 $31,383 $34,571 $37,401 $41,365
Texas $27,975 $32,526 $35,893 $38,930 $43,378
United States $30,123 $35,021 $38,644 $41,910 $46,682
Utah $29,519 $34,274 $37,749 $40,827 $45,118
Vermont $30,820 $35,761 $39,351 $42,505 $46,799
Virginia $28,443 $33,057 $36,458 $39,510 $43,914
Washington $35,463 $41,191 $45,392 $49,134 $54,425
West Virginia $25,441 $29,577 $32,636 $35,393 $39,419
Wisconsin $31,694 $36,762 $40,433 $43,642 $47,949
Wyoming $30,353 $35,283 $38,925 $42,202 $46,969

Painter salaries by job title

Painter salaries vary depending on their specialty. Here are the national averages for construction and maintenance painters and industrial painters.

Average Salary by Job Title (USD)
Construction and Maintenance Painter
$38,476
Industrial Painter
$40,598

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“The pool of skilled laborers is limited”

Everyone on my team is paid above-average wages for our area, and I offer bonuses and profit-sharing from commercial projects.

Tym O’Laughlin
Owner, Tymo Paints

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