Method
How these numbers are calculated
Every figure on this site starts from one public dataset: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics wage series for painters. We multiply the local mean wage to get a billed labour rate, apply a coverage rate to get hours, add materials, and publish the result as a band. Every constant is listed below.
The source
Wages come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release for May 2025, occupation code 47-2141, Painters, Construction and Maintenance. It covers 361 metropolitan areas and 201,860 employed painters.
We use the metro mean hourly wage, and where a page shows a spread, the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile from the same release. Nothing is interpolated and nothing is invented. If BLS does not publish a figure for an area, we do not show one.
The calculation
For interior and exterior work:
Billed labour rate = metro mean wage multiplied by the burden factor.
Paintable surface = floor area multiplied by the surface multiplier.
Labour = billed rate multiplied by surface divided by the coverage rate.
Materials = surface multiplied by the materials rate.
Range = the total, plus and minus the band.
Cabinets work differently, because the trade prices them per door: labour is the billed rate multiplied by hours per door multiplied by the number of doors, and materials are a per door figure.
Every constant
| Input | Value | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll burden, overhead and profit multiplier | wage × 2.2 | Applied to every job type |
| Interior coverage rate | 175 sq ft/hr | Two coats, including cutting in |
| Interior surface multiplier | × 2.75 | Wall and ceiling area per sq ft of floor, 8 ft ceilings |
| Interior materials | $0.18/sq ft | Paint, primer, tape, filler, sundries |
| Exterior coverage rate | 120 sq ft/hr | Slower: prep, ladders, cut-in around trim |
| Exterior surface multiplier | × 1.5 | Wall area per sq ft of floor |
| Exterior materials | $0.25/sq ft | Exterior grade costs more per gallon |
| Cabinet labour | 1.6 hr/door | Strip, sand, prime, two coats, reassemble |
| Cabinet materials | $22.00/door | Cabinet-grade paint and primer |
| Quoted band | ± 20% | A single figure would be a false precision |
Change any of these and the figure changes. They are published so you can disagree with them.
Why the burden multiplier is 2.2
This is the number most open to argument, so here is the reasoning. The wage BLS reports is what lands in a painter’s pay. The rate you are billed also has to carry employer payroll taxes, workers compensation, which is expensive at height, general liability insurance, vehicles, equipment and consumables, unbillable travel and setup, quoting and administration, and profit.
Across the building trades, multipliers of two to two and a half times base wage are conventional. We use 2.2 and apply it uniformly. If you think it should be 2.0 or 2.5 for your market, the arithmetic above lets you redo it, which is exactly why it is published.
What is deliberately excluded
The figures cover preparation normal to a repaint plus two coats. They exclude wallpaper removal, plaster and drywall repair, rot and siding replacement, lead-safe work under the EPA RRP rule for pre-1978 housing, scaffolding, specialist coatings and finishes, and permits. Any of these can be a large fraction of a job, and none of them can be estimated from wage data.
Why a range and not a single number
A single figure would imply a precision the model does not have. The band shown is the modelled total plus and minus a fixed percentage, and it exists to be a sanity check on a quote, not a substitute for one.
How to check our work
Open the BLS page linked above, find your metro, and read the mean hourly wage for occupation 47-2141. Multiply by 2.2. That is the billed labour rate this site uses for your area. Every other figure follows from the constants in the table.
When this updates
BLS publishes OEWS annually, usually in spring. When the next release lands, one data file is replaced and every page on this site updates with it. Figures on the site are currently from the May 2025 release.
The pages built on this method: painting cost, painter hourly rate, interior, exterior, cabinets, and the calculator.
Common questions
Where does your painting cost data come from?
The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release for May 2025, occupation code 47-2141, Painters, Construction and Maintenance, covering 361 metro areas and 201,860 painters. Everything else is derived from that using the published constants.
Are these figures quotes?
No. They are modelled ranges. Nobody has seen your walls. They exist to tell you whether a quote you have received is normal for your area.
Why do you multiply the wage by 2.2?
To convert what a painter earns into what a contractor must bill: payroll taxes, workers compensation, liability insurance, vehicles, equipment, unbillable time, administration and profit. Two to two and a half times base wage is conventional across the trades.
How often is the data updated?
BLS publishes annually, usually in spring. When a new release lands, one file is replaced and every page updates.
What this page does not tell you
- Everything here is modelled from wage data, not collected from real invoices.
- The 2.2 burden multiplier is a trade convention, not a BLS figure.
- BLS covers employed painters and under-represents sole traders and cash work.
- Coverage rates and surface multipliers are industry averages that your house may not match.
- The commercial page deliberately publishes no per square foot figure, because the model does not support one.