House painting cost calculator
Get a typical price range for painting the inside or outside of your home. Enter your ZIP code and the size of the job; the range adjusts to local labor costs.
See how it works
What affects painting prices?
- Wall area, which grows with your home's size and ceiling height.
- Paint quality. Better paints cost more but cover better and last longer.
- Prep and condition. Peeling, patching and big color changes add time.
- Height and access. Two- and three-story homes need ladders, staging or lifts.
How these prices are figured
Ranges come from SiteQuote's pricing engine, the same one contractors use. Base prices were set in 2026 for Pennsylvania's Poconos and Lehigh Valley, checked against published cost guides such as Homewyse and a working local contractor's pricing. Your ZIP code then adjusts them using public IRS income statistics and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price levels, since labor costs follow local wages. The range runs from 10% under to 20% over the typical price to allow for what a site visit turns up.
Same house, three towns
A full interior repaint of an 1,800 sq ft house (walls, ceilings and trim, two coats of standard paint), at the typical price:
| Town | Typical price | Local painter wage |
|---|---|---|
| Shamokin, PA (17872) | $10,760 | $24.80/hr Williamsport area |
| Albrightsville, PA (18210) | $11,230 | $25.91/hr Allentown area |
| Upper East Side, NY (10021) | $14,820 | $33.62/hr New York area |
Prices follow local wages. New York-area painters earn about 30% more than Allentown-area painters, and the same house prices about 32% higher. National cost guides give one range for the whole country, from about $3,600 to over $19,000 for this house.
Sources. Prices: this calculator, November 2026, with each town's ZIP code. Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, mean hourly wage for construction and maintenance painters, May 2025, for the nearest metro area. National range: published 2025–2026 cost guides, scaled to 1,800 sq ft.
Are you a painting contractor? Read how to price painting jobs: break-even, margin, production rates and local wages.