How much do painters (construction & maintenance) make?
Painters (Construction & Maintenance) earn a median $23.75 an hour ($49,400 a year) nationally, according to BLS OEWS May 2025. The BLS counts 225,190 painters (construction & maintenance) working in the US. Employment is projected to grow +4.0% from 2024 to 2034. BLS projects about 24,900 painters (construction & maintenance) openings a year from 2025 to 2035.
National median pay
$23.75/hr
National median annual
$49,400
full-time, 2,080 hrs
25th percentile
$21.46/hr
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$29.65/hr
a quarter earn more
US employment
225,190
Projected growth
+4.0%
2024 to 2034
Openings per year
24,900
2025 to 2035
Union wage premium
+55.5%
union vs nonunion
Fatal injury rate
6.6
per 100k workers, 2024
Entry difficulty
Job Zone 2
very little to some preparation needed
Where painters (construction & maintenance) pay the most
All 25 metros ranked by median hourly pay, from BLS OEWS May 2025. Toggle to cost-of-living adjusted pay to compare what the money actually buys. Each row opens the full painter page for that metro.
Painters (Construction & Maintenance) pay by metro: highest to lowest median
Median hourly pay in all 25 metros. The top 10 are highlighted.
Pay by industry
Where painters (construction & maintenance) earn the most
Top 8 of 82 published industries by national median hourly pay. These are national figures.
Industry pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Industries with suppressed BLS figures are not listed.
Related trades
Related trades to compare
Entry difficulty: Job Zone 2: very little to some preparation needed.
O*NET lists these occupations as related to painters (construction & maintenance), ranked by national median pay. Each link opens that trade's salary hub.
Related occupations and Job Zones: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor.
Hiring demand
Job openings for painters (construction & maintenance)
24,900
Projected painters (construction & maintenance) openings per year nationally, 2025 to 2035. About 23,900 of those replace workers who retire or change occupations; the rest comes from job growth.
BLS Employment Projections, 2025-2035.
Monthly demand signal
Construction hiring trend
8.36M
Construction workers employed in August 2026, up 1.5% from a year earlier.
Buildings (236)
up 1.5%
vs year earlier
Heavy and civil (237)
up 2.3%
vs year earlier
Specialty trades (238)
up 1.3%
vs year earlier
Production and nonsupervisory workers in construction averaged $39.36/hr in August 2026, up 5.0% from a year earlier. Supervisory pay is not included.
These are national construction-industry figures, not painters (construction & maintenance)-specific. Useful context for demand, not a pay quote for this trade.
BLS Current Employment Statistics, seasonally adjusted, through August 2026. The latest month is preliminary and subject to revision.
Getting in
How to become painter
5,168 active painter apprentices nationwide in FY2024, per the Department of Labor (+34.5% since FY2014). The standard path is a registered apprenticeship: paid on-the-job training plus classroom instruction. States with the most active apprentices:
- California1,434 apprentices
- Hawaii470 apprentices
- Indiana390 apprentices
- Missouri382 apprentices
- Illinois336 apprentices
DOL Registered Apprenticeship, FY2024.
Do union painters (construction & maintenance) earn more?
Yes, by a wide margin. Full-time union members in this occupation group have median weekly earnings of $1,561, versus $1,004 for nonunion workers: a 55.5% union wage premium, or about $557 more per week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics cautions these comparisons don’t account for age, firm size, industry, or geography. They are the official national figures.
Union wage premium, 2025 (est. from national medians)
+55.5%
$1,561/week union vs $1,004/week nonunion (across all workers: +19.6%)
Median weekly earnings, full-time workers, 2025
Union wage premium by trade, ranked
- 01Electricians+55.5%
- 02Plumbers, Pipefitters & Steamfitters+55.5%
- 03Carpenters+55.5%
- 04Painters (Construction & Maintenance)+55.5%
- 05Roofers+55.5%
- 06Landscaping & Groundskeeping Workers+52.0%
- 07HVAC Technicians+37.8%
- 08Automotive Service Technicians+37.8%
- 09Maintenance & Repair Workers+37.8%
- 10Welders+22.9%
Median usual weekly earnings from the 2025 BLS Current Population Survey, union membership annual release (Table 4): full-time wage and salary workers, sole or principal job. BLS publishes union-earnings figures for the broader group “Construction and extraction occupations”; these premiums are national and do not vary by metro. All self-employed workers are excluded. 2025 is an 11-month average (October not collected during the federal shutdown).
Workplace injury rates for painters (construction & maintenance)
Pay is only part of the picture. In 2024, 32 painters and paperhangers died from work injuries for a fatal injury rate of 6.6 per 100,000 full-time workers, 2× the national average. These are national rates for the occupation, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Fatal work injury rate, 2024
6.6 /100k FTE
2× the national average (national average: 3.3 per 100,000)
BLS publishes this rate for the broader group “Painters and paperhangers”, which includes closely related occupations, not just painters (construction & maintenance).
Nonfatal injuries & illnesses, 2023 to 2024 (annualized)
124.1 /10k FTE
cases involving days away from work, per 10,000 full-time workers (private industry), 1.4× the national average (national average: 86.6). BLS publishes occupation-level figures every two years; this is the latest release.
Fatal injury rate by trade, ranked
- 01Roofers48.7/100k
- 02Landscaping & Groundskeeping Workers20.9/100k
- 03Maintenance & Repair Workers10.8/100k
- 04Carpenters7.5/100k
- 05Plumbers, Pipefitters & Steamfitters6.9/100k
- 06Welders6.9/100k
- 07HVAC Technicians6.7/100k
- 08Painters (Construction & Maintenance)6.6/100k
- 09Automotive Service Technicians6.3/100k
- 10Electricians5.3/100k
Fatal injury rates from the 2024 BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, by occupation, private and public sector. 2024 is the latest published year; BLS releases 2025 data in December 2026. Rates are national; they do not vary by metro. BLS rates are hours-based and use survey employment denominators subject to sampling error.
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Frequently asked questions about painters (construction & maintenance) pay
How do I become painter?
Through a registered apprenticeship: paid on-the-job training plus classroom instruction, typically lasting several years, with wages that rise as you learn. The DOL counted 5,168 active painter apprentices nationwide in FY2024. Search open programs at Apprenticeship.gov.
Is becoming painter worth it financially?
The numbers are strong: painters (construction & maintenance) earn a median $23.75 an hour nationally (BLS OEWS May 2025), with BLS projecting about 24,900 openings a year from 2025 to 2035. Pay varies by city and experience; the metro ranking above shows where the premium is.
Where do painters (construction & maintenance) earn the most?
San Francisco, CA pays the most of the 25 metros tracked: a median $30.58 an hour. By industry, Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution pays the most nationally at $58.88 an hour. Both figures are BLS OEWS May 2025 medians.
Do union painters (construction & maintenance) earn more?
Yes. In 2025, full-time union members in construction and extraction occupations earned a median of $1,561 a week versus $1,004 for nonunion workers, a +55.5% premium. These are national BLS figures; contracts often add benefits the wage figures do not capture.
How dangerous is painter work?
The BLS recorded a fatal work injury rate of 6.6 per 100,000 full-time workers for painters and paperhangers in 2024. The nonfatal injury and illness rate was 124.1 per 100 full-time workers. Safety records vary widely by employer, so these national rates describe the occupation, not any single jobsite.