§ 03 Trade wages
Painters in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Painters in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro earned a median of $29.53 an hour in May 2025 (BLS OEWS), 24% higher than the national median of $23.75. The middle half earned $24.46 to $39.94. About 11,930 people work in this occupation here. That ranks 16 of 225 metros with a reliable estimate for this trade. These are employee wages, not what a contractor bills you per hour.
BLS OEWS May 2025 · SOC 47-2141
Painters, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
25th pct$24.46per hour
Median$29.53per hour
75th pct$39.94per hour
10th pct$21.83
90th pct$53.63
Mean$33.62
Workers11,930
Your multiplier: ×2.0Median wage × multiplier: $59/hr
OEWS reports what employers pay these workers per hour. A contractor’s bill also covers the business: insurance, licensing, vehicles, tools, office staff, warranty callbacks, unbilled travel time and profit. The wage is a floor for understanding a quote, never a price. You set the multiplier; we publish no typical markup because we have no citable source for one.What else is in a bill for this trade
- Prep time (scraping, patching, priming) often exceeds painting time
- EPA lead-safe certification and containment for pre-1978 homes
- Paint and supplies, sometimes billed separately
BLS OEWS May 2025 · New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ · mean RSE 4%Employee wages from the BLS employer survey. Not what a contractor bills.