Painter salary

The median pay for a painter nationally is $24.50 an hour — about $50,960 a year full time. That is based on 20 job postings on LocalWork from the last 12 months that stated pay, so it reflects what employers are advertising rather than verified earnings. Half of the roles pay more than this and half pay less, so treat it as the middle of the market rather than a target.

Most painters nationally earn between $20.75 an hour and $31.00 an hour — that is the 10th to the 90th percentile. The spread usually reflects experience, shift, certifications and employer size more than anything else.

Pay at the bottom of the range — roughly what someone starting out can expect — is around $20.75 an hour. A quarter of painters earn below $22.63 an hour, so the first year or two typically sits in that band. This is a role employers routinely fill with people who have no prior experience.

The top 10% of painters nationally earn about $31.00 an hour or more, roughly 1.3× the median. Getting there usually means experience plus something specific — certifications, supervisory duties, specialised skills or premium shifts.

Construction and maintenance painters prepare and finish surfaces on buildings — residential, commercial and industrial. Low barrier to entry, real craft at the top end. Day to day, that means prepare surfaces — scraping, sanding, filling, masking, apply paint by brush, roller and spray, mix and match colours and finishes and erect ladders and scaffolding safely.

The usual route is: (1) start as a painter's helper, (2) learn preparation properly — it defines the finish, (3) add spray and specialty coatings, (4) move to lead painter, or start contracting. Employers typically look for no formal education required, on-the-job training or apprenticeship and working at height and in confined spaces.

Usually not. Most employers hire painters without a specific licence, though lead-safe certification for pre-1978 buildings will widen your options and often your pay.

There are currently 22 open painters listed on LocalWork. Demand comes from repainting and maintenance as much as new build, which makes it steadier than trades tied purely to construction starts.