How much does a painting, coating, and decorating workers make?

The median painting, coating, and decorating workers salary in the United States is $41,600 per year ($20.00/hour). Salaries range from $31,470 (10th percentile) to $60,820 (90th percentile). There are 7,940 painting, coating, and decorating workers jobs in the U.S. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS.

Which state pays painting, coating, and decorating workerss the most?

The highest paying state for painting, coating, and decorating workerss is Washington at $61,210 median salary.

Is painting, coating, and decorating workers a good career?

Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers employment is projected to grow 1.4% from 2024 to 2034 (slower than average). There are approximately 800 job openings per year. Typical education required: No formal educational credential.

What interview questions are asked for painting, coating, and decorating workers roles?

Common painting, coating, and decorating workers interview questions include: "Walk me through prepping and painting a 400-foot commercial hallway.", "You're renovating a 1960s apartment building and you find lead paint under the current top coat. What do you do?", "Describe a difficult job you completed.". Interview format at top employers ranges from behavioral panels (STAR method) to technical case rounds — for example IUPAT (International Union of Painters and Allied Trades) District Council locals typically uses 1-2 phases; hall dispatch drives placement.

What certifications should painting, coating, and decorating workerss get?

Top-ROI certifications for painting, coating, and decorating workerss: OSHA 10 Construction ($60-100 online or in-person); OSHA 30 Construction ($150-250 online or in-person); EPA RRP (Renovation, Repair, Painting) Certified Renovator ($225-300 for 8-hour course + certification).

How do you negotiate a painting, coating, and decorating workers salary?

Anchor on documented market data (BLS median $41,600, p75 $50,360), specific outcomes you've delivered, and the specific band for your years of experience. Eight years established painter, 4 as an IUPAT DC [#] Painter journeyman, SSPC C-3 lead abatement, SSPC C-14 bridge painting, NACE CIP Level 2, and 2 years running as a working lead-hand on refinery tank interior recoat...

Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers Salary

Q: What is the career ladder for painting, coating, and decorating workerss?

The typical painting, coating, and decorating workers career ladder: Painter / Entry (0-2 yrs, $32-42k ($15-22/hr) + benefits at larger shops) → Established / Journey Painter (2-8 yrs, $40-52k ($20-26/hr) + benefits + OT) → Sr / Specialty (Industrial + Spray + Faux + Coatings) (5-15 yrs, $50-72k residential-commercial specialty; $65-95k industrial coatings on bridges / refineries with travel per diem) → Foreman / Owner-Operator (12+ yrs, $58-115k+ foreman; owner-operators $95-350k+ depending on backlog and specialty).

The median painting, coating, and decorating workers salary in the United States is $41,600 per year ($20.00/hour). Salaries range from $31,470 at the entry level to $60,820+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 7,940 painting, coating, and decorating workers jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 1.4% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 · Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary

$41,600

per year

Hourly Rate

$20.00

per hour

Employment

7,940

jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile

$31,470

25th percentile

$37,030

Median

$41,600

75th percentile

$50,360

90th percentile

$60,820

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+1.4%

Slower than average

Annual Openings

800

jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

No formal educational credential

Training Needed

Moderate-term on-the-job training

Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for painting, coating, and decorating workerss.

Painters, coating applicators, and decorators finish surfaces on residential homes, commercial buildings, industrial facilities (bridges, tanks, refineries), and specialty work (marine, aerospace, protective coatings). The union pathway runs through IUPAT (International Union of Painters and Allied Trades) District Councils; PDCA (Painting Contractors Association) governs many non-union commercial contractors; SSPC (Society for Protective Coatings) certifies industrial coating applicators. Entry $32-42k; established $40-52k; senior with spray or lead abatement specialty $50-65k; industrial coating applicators on bridges and refineries $65-95k with travel per diem; foreman $58-95k+. Industrial and marine coating pay significantly more than residential.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Surface preparation

The most important step: pressure washing, scraping, sanding, wire brushing, and abrasive blasting on industrial substrates. SSPC-SP standards range from SP-1 (solvent clean) through SP-10 (near-white metal blast) for industrial coatings. Failure of the finished coating is almost always a prep failure.

Application methods (brush, roll, HVLP spray, airless spray, plural component)

Brush and roll for residential trim, back-rolling on new drywall. HVLP for fine cabinet and furniture finishing (30-40 psi). Airless for production spraying on commercial walls (2,000-3,300 psi). Plural component (impingement mixing at the gun) for two-part epoxies and polyureas on industrial and marine work.

Product knowledge (latex, alkyd, epoxy, urethane, polyurea, zinc-rich primers)

Latex (acrylic) for interior and general exterior residential. Alkyd (oil-based) for trim and metal. Two-part epoxies (Sherwin-Williams Macropoxy 646, PPG PSX 700) on industrial and immersion service. Aliphatic urethane topcoats for UV resistance. Zinc-rich primers on steel for cathodic protection. Wrong product = premature failure = callback.

OSHA compliance + lead-safe (RRP) + confined space

OSHA 10 baseline; OSHA 30 for foremen. EPA RRP (Renovation, Repair, and Painting) certification required for any pre-1978 residence. Confined space entry for tank interiors and bridge box girders — permit-required with atmosphere monitoring and rescue plan.

Color matching + tinting + estimation

Fluency with Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, PPG, and Behr color systems; understanding LRV (light reflectance value) impact on coverage; spectrophotometer for custom matching. Estimation: coverage per gallon at spec DFT (dry film thickness), waste factor, and labor hours per square foot.

Sealants, caulks, and substrate repair

Silicone, urethane, and butyl caulks for expansion joints and window/door trim. Skim coating drywall repairs, patching plaster, and filling nail holes and cracks before topcoat. A great paint job is 70% prep and repair, 30% application.

Scaffolding, ladders, and lift operation

Setting extension ladders, frame scaffold up to 3 stories, and operating boom lifts and scissor lifts for commercial and industrial work. OSHA fall protection above 6 feet on unguarded platforms. Spider baskets and swing stages on high-rise repaint work.

How to Become a Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers

1
Meet baseline (18+, HS/GED for apprenticeship, physical, driver's license)
Physical capacity to lift 50-80 lbs, work overhead, and stand on ladders and scaffolds. Clean pre-employment drug screen for union work; random testing continues on industrial jobsites.
2
Complete OSHA 10 + EPA RRP + first aid/CPR
OSHA 10 required on almost every commercial jobsite. EPA RRP required for any painter working on pre-1978 residential (federal law). First aid/CPR is a common apprenticeship prerequisite.
3
Apply to IUPAT painter apprenticeship or a non-union contractor as a helper
IUPAT District Council painter apprenticeships run 3 years / 4,500-6,000 OJT hours + 240-480 classroom hours. Non-union PDCA and residential contractors hire helpers directly at $15-20/hr; industrial coating contractors (Blastech, Miller Coating, Rain For Rent) hire from SSPC-trained painters.
4
Complete OJT + classroom + SSPC certifications for industrial track
IUPAT apprentice wage steps every 6-12 months at 50% → 100% of journeyman scale. SSPC C-3 (lead abatement), C-14 (bridge painting), and CAS (Coating Application Specialist) certifications open industrial and marine premium work at $8-20/hr above straight residential.
5
Advance to Sr / Foreman / Specialty (industrial + spray)
$50-65k for spray or lead abatement specialty; $65-95k+ for industrial coating applicators on bridges and refineries with per diem. Foremen $58-95k salaried or hourly plus truck. Owner-operators of specialty industrial coating firms $150-450k+ depending on backlog.

Career Progression

Painter / Entry

0-2 yrs$32-42k ($15-22/hr) + benefits at larger shops

•Prep (scrape, sand, patch, mask, tape) under supervision
•Brush and roll straightforward residential and commercial walls
•Learn spray equipment and product knowledge
•Complete OSHA 10, EPA RRP, and first aid/CPR

Next: Established painter at 12-24 months once signed off on independent production.

Established / Journey Painter

2-8 yrs$40-52k ($20-26/hr) + benefits + OT

•Full application on residential and commercial jobs — brush, roll, HVLP, and airless spray
•Multiple product families (latex, alkyd, basic epoxies)
•Read specs and match color; own daily production
•Mentor entry painters on prep discipline

Next: Sr / Specialty at 5-10 years.

Sr / Specialty (Industrial + Spray + Faux + Coatings)

5-15 yrs$50-72k residential-commercial specialty; $65-95k industrial coatings on bridges / refineries with travel per diem

•Complex specialty jobs — industrial coatings, high-end residential faux, cabinet finishing, restoration paint
•Two-part epoxy and polyurea spray on industrial substrates
•SSPC-certified coating application on bridges, tanks, and marine work
•Mentor and train established painters on specialty methods

Next: Foreman / Estimator at 10-15 years.

Foreman / Owner-Operator

12+ yrs$58-115k+ foreman; owner-operators $95-350k+ depending on backlog and specialty

•Lead a 3-8 painter crew on residential, commercial, or industrial projects
•Bid, estimate, and manage project P&L
•Customer relations, GC coordination, and change-order management
•Own hiring, safety program, and crew development

Next: Multi-crew contractor, industrial coating superintendent, or expansion into commercial or industrial specialty.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 13 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through prepping and painting a 400-foot commercial hallway.technical

Walk the space first — note existing coating condition (adhesion, peeling, damage), substrate (drywall, block, plaster), and any repairs needed. Mask floor with rosin paper and 6-mil poly, tape trim and receptacles. Wash walls to remove hand-oil at 3 feet and below. Fill nail holes and skim-coat drywall patches; sand smooth. Spot-prime any bare drywall or repaired areas with a fast-dry PVA primer. Cut in ceiling line and trim with brush at 3-inch width; back-roll each 8-10 foot section with an 18-inch roller and 3/8" nap for texture, 1/4" for smooth. Two coats of interior latex at 3-3.5 mil wet each, 24 hours between coats. Detail brush around receptacles and door frames after roller is dry. Walk-through with GC and touch up before demobe. Journeymen who skip prep or spray 2 coats without back-rolling get callbacks on holidays and roller marks.

Q2. You're renovating a 1960s apartment building and you find lead paint under the current top coat. What do you do?situational

Stop work and lockout the area. Federal EPA RRP applies to any pre-1978 residence — I need to be RRP certified (I am) and follow the RRP work practices: contain the area with 6-mil poly, wet-sand or wet-scrape only, no dry sanding or open flame, and clean up with HEPA vacuum plus wet wipe. Bag debris in labeled contractor bags. If the scope is more than 6 sq ft interior or 20 sq ft exterior, I need certified renovator supervision the whole shift. If it's abatement (removal for the purpose of eliminating lead) not RRP (renovation), that requires SSPC C-3 lead abatement crews with different training, PPE (P100 respirators, Tyvek suits), and disposal manifests. Notify the contractor and the property manager in writing; RRP violations are $37k per day per violation.

Q3. Describe a difficult job you completed.behavioral

STAR. Situation: 2,800 sq ft custom home in a historic district needed exterior stucco patched, primed, and painted in a specific color palette matching neighbors' 1920s Spanish revival aesthetic; scaffolding required around a mature oak with a large canopy. Task: complete exterior in 3 weeks with color-match approval from the historic district review board. Action: erected scaffold with 8-foot tree standoffs to protect the oak, patched stucco with polymer-modified cement (24-hour cure), spot-primed with elastomeric primer on repairs, and applied two coats of elastomeric masonry paint via HVLP with back-rolling on the first coat for texture consistency. Result: passed historic review first submission, no callbacks in 18 months, owner referred 3 additional projects.

Q4. Why painting?culture

The craft. A good paint job is visible for 5-10 years; a bad one is visible in a week. I like the mix of physical work, product knowledge (there are hundreds of coatings for different substrates and service conditions), and the honest customer feedback — either the wall looks right or it doesn't. Union pathway with IUPAT pension is solid, and the specialty ladder into industrial coatings on bridges and refineries pays journeyman scale plus per diem, which is real money.

Q5. Where do you see your career in 5 years?closer

Journeyman card via IUPAT in year 2-3, then push into industrial coating specialty through SSPC C-14 bridge painting certification and Coating Application Specialist (CAS) credentials. Bridge and tank coating pays $18-25/hr above residential painting with per diem. Long-term I'd consider foreman track on industrial projects but I'd rather stay tools-on with the specialty premium.

Resume Template — Painter / Entry (0-2 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Painter / Entry (0-2 yrs)

▸Completed 60+ residential and commercial paint jobs across interior repaints, exterior stucco, and cabinet refinishing.
▸OSHA 10, EPA RRP Certified Renovator, first aid/CPR; scheduled for IUPAT DC [#] painter apprenticeship intake next quarter.
▸Zero customer callbacks in FY24; 4.9/5 average customer satisfaction across 42 residential jobs.
▸Proficient with brush, roll, and HVLP spray on latex and alkyd systems; learning airless spray on commercial buildouts.

What Gets You Rejected

✗Weak surface prep — the #1 predictor of coating failure and callback across all specialties.
✗Fear of heights or ladders — most exterior and commercial work is above 6 feet daily.
✗Poor color and product knowledge — using latex over an unprimed alkyd or the wrong sheen ruins a job.
✗Doesn't respect drying and recoat windows — recoating latex before 24 hours pulls the underlying coat off in strings.
✗Skips tenting, plastic, or masking to save time — customer complaints from overspray on floors, cabinets, or landscaping.
✗Sloppy cleanup and no daily walk-through with the customer or GC — even a good paint job looks bad if there's masking tape residue at demob.
✗Weak safety mindset on lead paint (RRP violations) or industrial coatings (respirator fit-test, confined space entry procedures).

Salary Negotiation Levers

✓IUPAT DC scale sets the base; SSPC industrial coating certifications drive the premium.
✓SSPC C-3 (lead abatement) adds $4-8/hr; C-14 (bridge painting) adds $6-12/hr plus per diem on out-of-town bridge projects.
✓Coating Application Specialist (SSPC CAS) and NACE CIP Level 1-3 open marine and offshore work at $85-125k+ with heavy travel per diem.
✓Metro premium: NYC IUPAT DC 9 ($45-55/hr journeyman), SF IUPAT DC 16 ($42-52/hr), Boston DC 35 ($38-46/hr) run 30-50% above secondary markets.
✓Industrial contractors (bridge, refinery, marine) pay $150-300/day per diem on out-of-town projects — $25-45k additional annually on top of wages.
✓Sign-on bonuses of $1-4k at senior level; $5-15k for cleared industrial coating applicators (bridges under state DOT contracts, refinery specialists).
✓Foreman differential typically $4-8/hr over journeyman scale plus truck and phone.

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✓ All 13 interview questions with expert answers
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Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) →

Salary Map — Click a state for details

$32K

$61K■ No data

Top Paying States

Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.

State	Median	vs. National	Employment
Washington	$61,210	+47.1%	90
Nevada	$60,190	+44.7%	0
Colorado	$54,070	+30.0%	170
Massachusetts	$54,070	+30.0%	210
New Jersey	$52,160	+25.4%	90
Connecticut	$50,720	+21.9%	50
Ohio	$49,080	+18.0%	230
Missouri	$48,560	+16.7%	140
New York	$48,510	+16.6%	460
Wisconsin	$48,330	+16.2%	230

Showing 1–10 of 37

Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers Salary by Metro Area

Metro Area	Median	vs. National
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$72,610	+74.5%
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$60,190	+44.7%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$59,170	+42.2%
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$57,360	+37.9%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$57,000	+37.0%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$53,290	+28.1%
Kansas City, MO-KS	$50,160	+20.6%
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$49,750	+19.6%
Elkhart-Goshen, IN	$49,610	+19.3%
St. Louis, MO-IL	$49,440	+18.8%

Showing 1–10 of 39

Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.

How does this compare to pro athletes?

A painting, coating, and decorating workers earning $41,600/year would need 1433 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1538 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.

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📈 See how painting, coating, and decorating workers salaries have changed over the past decade.

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