Salary & Licensing · Updated May 2026

Painter salary by state

Name: U.S. Painter Wages by State (median and 10th–90th percentile)
Creator: JobStack
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-works

What painters earn in every state — median pay and the real 10th-to-90th percentile range — plus the federal EPA lead-paint rule that catches people off guard, state contractor licensing, taxes, and gotchas.

Key facts

National median wage: $49,400 (mean $55,420); range from under $37,440 (10th) to over $78,810 (90th) — BLS, May 2025.
Highest-paying: Hawaii, Illinois, Alaska, Washington, and New York (medians ~$59,000–$68,000). Lowest: Arkansas, South Carolina, and Rhode Island (~$40,000–$42,000).
EPA RRP lead certification is federally required for paint work on pre-1978 homes — the trigger is low.
State contractor licensing varies widely — many states require it above a dollar threshold; others don't license painters at all.

National pay range

A single figure hides a wide spread. Nationally, painter pay ranges like this (BLS, May 2025):

Percentile	Annual wage
Bottom 10%	$37,440
25th percentile	$44,640
Median (50th)	$49,400
75th percentile	$61,660
Top 10%	$78,810

Mean (average) wage: $55,420. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (national).

Painter salary by state

Median annual wage with the actual 10th–90th percentile range, highest to lowest. National median: $49,400.

Rank	State	Median	10th–90th range
1	Hawaii	$68,220	$47,090 – $90,830
2	Illinois	$61,260	$40,820 – $105,350
3	Alaska	$60,980	$43,880 – $85,440
4	Washington	$59,650	$45,450 – $80,330
5	New York	$59,570	$45,660 – $111,550
6	District of Columbia	$59,520	$46,780 – $81,390
7	Maine	$59,270	$47,320 – $75,530
8	New Jersey	$59,250	$37,680 – $95,950
9	California	$59,020	$42,130 – $91,000
10	Delaware	$58,530	$35,070 – $70,350
11	Connecticut	$58,480	$40,120 – $92,390
12	Montana	$58,290	$35,160 – $69,510
13	Massachusetts	$57,510	$43,520 – $109,850
14	Missouri	$57,510	$39,150 – $79,600
15	Minnesota	$57,270	$36,460 – $87,970
16	Nevada	$56,390	$41,430 – $98,190
17	North Dakota	$54,870	$36,840 – $78,290
18	Vermont	$53,120	$48,060 – $64,000
19	Colorado	$52,970	$40,570 – $77,710
20	Pennsylvania	$52,120	$37,250 – $72,230
21	Michigan	$50,650	$37,440 – $75,670
22	Indiana	$50,260	$36,410 – $69,520
23	Wisconsin	$50,090	$37,870 – $75,040
24	Iowa	$49,710	$37,080 – $67,010
25	New Hampshire	$49,670	$40,830 – $63,530
26	Ohio	$49,450	$37,060 – $74,400
27	Maryland	$49,120	$40,560 – $78,050
28	Oregon	$48,900	$38,260 – $73,560
29	Georgia	$48,340	$36,690 – $68,060
30	Arizona	$48,250	$40,180 – $63,640
31	South Dakota	$48,160	$35,900 – $59,560
32	Kentucky	$48,110	$35,900 – $64,720
33	Florida	$47,530	$36,700 – $61,300
34	Virginia	$47,470	$36,400 – $63,310
35	Nebraska	$47,280	$33,410 – $57,990
36	Wyoming	$47,220	$31,360 – $62,580
37	Louisiana	$46,410	$32,000 – $59,330
38	New Mexico	$46,240	$37,760 – $70,560
39	Utah	$46,050	$36,220 – $65,780
40	Kansas	$45,510	$33,780 – $58,510
41	Texas	$45,460	$35,870 – $58,910
42	Oklahoma	$44,900	$30,650 – $67,410
43	Idaho	$44,880	$34,390 – $60,890
44	Mississippi	$44,800	$34,530 – $64,720
45	West Virginia	$44,230	$29,200 – $63,640
46	North Carolina	$44,110	$33,410 – $58,300
47	Alabama	$43,930	$34,190 – $57,490
48	Tennessee	$43,230	$35,110 – $61,030
49	Rhode Island	$41,590	$31,200 – $64,410
50	South Carolina	$40,840	$27,240 – $57,520
51	Arkansas	$40,090	$31,150 – $54,610

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (SOC 47-2141, painters, construction and maintenance), via the BLS public API. Actual per-state median and 10th/90th-percentile wages; not cost-of-living adjusted; self-employed painters excluded.

Licensing: the EPA lead rule, then your state

Like HVAC, painting has a federal requirement on top of state rules:

EPA RRP Rule (federal): any firm or worker disturbing paint in housing or child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be RRP-certified. The trigger is low — more than ~20 sq ft of exterior paint, or any window work. Certification lasts 5 years (then a 4-hour refresher), and 14 states run their own RRP programs in place of the EPA's.
State contractor license: varies widely — many states require a contractor license once a job exceeds a dollar threshold, while others don't license painters at all. Check both your state and city.

RRP certification covers lead safety; it doesn't, by itself, authorize you to operate as a contractor — that's the state/local license. Skipping RRP on a pre-1978 home risks steep federal penalties.

Do you charge sales tax on painting work?

Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, and West Virginia tax services by default.
New York taxes repair/maintenance/installation; Texas exempts residential real-property repair labor but taxes commercial in full.
Many states tax repairs but exempt real-property improvements (the contractor pays tax on materials instead).

General information, not tax advice. Confirm with your state revenue department.

Other gotchas

EPA RRP fines are steep (per-violation, per-day) — the most common painter compliance miss on older homes.
A contractor/business license is separate from RRP certification — you may need both.
Liability insurance (and workers' comp for employees) is usually required to bid jobs and pull permits.
RRP rules are state-administered in 14 states — check whether yours runs its own program.

Salary vs. what you can charge

These are employee wages — BLS doesn't survey the self-employed. If you run your own painting business, your take-home depends on what you charge and how many jobs you win. Work out your rate with the free hourly rate calculator.

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Painter salary & licensing FAQ

How much do painters make?

The national median wage for construction and maintenance painters is $49,400 a year (mean $55,420), per BLS May 2025 data. The lowest 10% earn under $37,440 and the top 10% earn over $78,810. State medians range from about $40,000 to over $68,000.

Which states pay painters the most?

By median wage, the highest-paying are Hawaii (~$68,220), Illinois (~$61,260), Alaska (~$60,980), Washington (~$59,650), and New York (~$59,570).

Which states pay painters the least?

The lowest median wages are in Arkansas (~$40,090), South Carolina (~$40,840), Rhode Island (~$41,590), Tennessee (~$43,230), and Alabama (~$43,930).

Do painters need a license?

Two things. First, the federal EPA Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule: any firm or worker disturbing paint in housing or child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be RRP-certified — the trigger is low (more than ~20 sq ft of exterior paint, or any window work). Second, state contractor licensing varies widely — many states require a contractor license above a dollar threshold, while others don't license painters at all.

What is EPA RRP certification?

It's a federal lead-safety certification for renovation, repair, and painting work on pre-1978 housing. Firms and the renovators they employ must be certified; the certification lasts 5 years (then a 4-hour refresher). Fourteen states run their own RRP programs in place of the EPA's. Skipping it on an older home risks steep federal penalties.

Do painters charge sales tax on their work?

It depends on the state and job. Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, and West Virginia tax services by default; many states tax repairs but exempt real-property improvements. This isn't tax advice — confirm with your state revenue department.

Methodology & sources

Wage figures — national and per-state median, 10th, and 90th percentiles — are from the BLS OEWS program, May 2025, for SOC 47-2141, via the BLS public API. Not cost-of-living adjusted; self-employed excluded. EPA RRP requirements are from the U.S. EPA; state licensing from state boards and industry guides; tax treatment from state revenue departments. Verify with the EPA and your state board. Not legal or tax advice.

More: salary by state for other trades, the house painting cost guide, and JobStack for painters. Free to cite with attribution to JobStack.