How Much Does It Cost to Paint the Interior of a House?
$2,000 – $6,000
National average: $3,000
Interactive worksheet
Interior painting cost calculator
Set the scope, size, and state — the tally updates as you go. Built from this guide's figures and BLS state wage data.
01 Quality & scope
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State figures apply BLS construction wages (2025) at a 60% labor weight — how we estimate.
Your estimate
- Labor ≈60%
- $1,800
- Materials & equipment
- $1,200
- Planning range
- $2,700 – $3,300
low $2,000 $6,000 high
U.S. construction trades average $65,360/yr (BLS 2025).
Get three written bids. One far under $2,400 usually means missing scope — ask what's not included. Far over $3,600, ask what's driving the number.
More Walls, Ceilings & Floors: Drywall Installation ·Popcorn Ceiling Removal ·Fireplace Installation
Paint is the highest-impact, lowest-cost way to transform a home — but “low cost” is relative once you’re paying for a professional job. Interior painting costs $2,000 to $6,000 for a typical home in 2026, averaging around $3,000, or about $2–$6 per square foot of floor area for walls.
What you’re really paying for
Here’s the thing about painting: the paint is cheap; the labor is everything. Seventy to eighty-five percent of your bill is the crew’s time — moving and covering furniture, patching and sanding, masking, priming, cutting clean lines at the ceiling and trim, and rolling two even coats. A “cheap” quote almost always means skipped prep, and it shows within a year.
Cost by scope
What you include changes the number a lot. The table below shows typical pricing from a single room to a full home with ceilings and trim.
Walls only, or the works?
Walls-only is the budget path ($2–$4/sq ft). Adding ceilings, trim, baseboards, and doors roughly doubles the per-square-foot rate because each is fiddly, time-consuming work. If your trim is still in good shape, painting just the walls is a legitimate way to refresh a space for less.
Where the hidden cost lives
Wall condition. Smooth, light-colored walls in good repair paint fast. Cracks, holes, water stains, glossy surfaces, or a dark-to-light color change all add prep time — and prep is labor, which is the expensive part. Get this assessed in the quote so there are no surprises.
How to save on interior painting
- Paint walls only and leave good trim alone.
- Do your own prep and patching if you’re handy, then hire out the painting.
- Choose quality paint that covers in two coats instead of three.
- Bundle multiple rooms into one job to lower the per-room rate.
| Component | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Labor (prep + painting) | 70–85% of total | – |
| Paint & primer | $30 – $70 / gallon | – |
| Supplies & masking | $100 – $400 | – |
| Repairs / patching | varies | – |
| Option | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single room | $300 – $1,000 | – |
| Walls only (per sq ft of floor) | $2 – $4 / sq ft | – |
| Walls + ceilings + trim | $4.70 – $6.75 / sq ft | – |
| Whole 2,000 sq ft home | $4,200 – $9,500 | – |
What affects the price
- Square footage The main driver — pros charge $2–$6 per square foot of floor area for walls.
- Ceilings, trim & doors Each adds labor; a full job (walls, ceilings, trim) costs noticeably more than walls alone.
- Wall condition & prep Patching, sanding, and priming damaged or dark walls adds time — the biggest hidden cost.
- Paint quality Premium paint costs more per gallon but covers in fewer coats and lasts longer.
- Ceiling height & access Tall ceilings, stairwells, and tight spaces slow the work and raise the price.
Interior painting cost by state
Where you live moves the price as much as any option you pick, because labor is a big share of the bill and construction wages differ sharply by state. Adjusted with BLS wage data (2025), a typical interior painting job runs about $2,300 – $7,000 in Hawaii (+17%) versus $1,700 – $5,100 in Arkansas (−15%).
See the typical range in all 50 states + D.C.
| State | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $1,700 – $5,200 |
| Alaska | $2,300 – $6,900 |
| Arizona | $1,900 – $5,700 |
| Arkansas | $1,700 – $5,100 |
| California | $2,200 – $6,700 |
| Colorado | $2,000 – $6,000 |
| Connecticut | $2,100 – $6,400 |
| Delaware | $2,000 – $5,900 |
| District of Columbia | $2,200 – $6,500 |
| Florida | $1,800 – $5,500 |
| Georgia | $1,800 – $5,500 |
| Hawaii | $2,300 – $7,000 |
| Idaho | $1,900 – $5,600 |
| Illinois | $2,300 – $6,900 |
| Indiana | $2,000 – $6,100 |
| Iowa | $1,900 – $5,800 |
| Kansas | $1,900 – $5,700 |
| Kentucky | $1,900 – $5,600 |
| Louisiana | $1,800 – $5,400 |
| Maine | $2,000 – $5,900 |
| Maryland | $2,000 – $6,000 |
| Massachusetts | $2,300 – $6,900 |
| Michigan | $2,000 – $6,000 |
| Minnesota | $2,200 – $6,500 |
| Mississippi | $1,700 – $5,200 |
| Missouri | $2,000 – $6,100 |
| Montana | $2,000 – $5,900 |
| Nebraska | $1,900 – $5,600 |
| Nevada | $2,100 – $6,200 |
| New Hampshire | $2,000 – $5,900 |
| New Jersey | $2,300 – $6,800 |
| New Mexico | $1,800 – $5,500 |
| New York | $2,200 – $6,600 |
| North Carolina | $1,800 – $5,400 |
| North Dakota | $2,000 – $6,100 |
| Ohio | $2,000 – $6,000 |
| Oklahoma | $1,800 – $5,500 |
| Oregon | $2,200 – $6,600 |
| Pennsylvania | $2,000 – $6,100 |
| Rhode Island | $2,100 – $6,200 |
| South Carolina | $1,800 – $5,500 |
| South Dakota | $1,800 – $5,400 |
| Tennessee | $1,800 – $5,500 |
| Texas | $1,800 – $5,500 |
| Utah | $1,900 – $5,600 |
| Vermont | $1,900 – $5,800 |
| Virginia | $1,900 – $5,700 |
| Washington | $2,300 – $7,000 |
| West Virginia | $1,900 – $5,700 |
| Wisconsin | $2,100 – $6,200 |
| Wyoming | $2,000 – $5,900 |
Estimates apply each state's BLS construction-wage multiplier to this guide's national range, a planning number, not a quote. Browse the full state cost guides or our methodology.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to paint a house interior?
- A typical whole-home interior runs $2,000–$6,000, and a larger 2,000-square-foot home with ceilings and trim can reach $4,200–$9,500. Expect $2–$6 per square foot of floor area for walls.
- What does interior painting cost per square foot?
- Walls alone run about $2–$4 per square foot of floor area; including ceilings, trim, baseboards, and doors raises it to roughly $4.70–$6.75.
- How much to paint a single room?
- Most rooms run $300–$1,000 depending on size, ceiling height, and whether trim and the ceiling are included.
- Why is labor most of the cost?
- Paint is cheap; the value is in prep and skill — moving furniture, patching, sanding, masking, cutting clean lines, and applying even coats. Labor is typically 70–85% of the bill.
- How many coats of paint are needed?
- Two coats is standard for durability and even color. Dark-to-light changes or new drywall may need primer plus two coats, which adds labor.
- How much can I save by painting myself?
- DIY can cut a job by more than half since labor dominates — but budget for time, supplies, and the learning curve on clean lines and ceilings.
- How long does it take to paint a house interior?
- A single room is a day; a whole home typically takes a crew 3–5 days including prep and drying between coats.
How we estimate: ranges reflect typical U.S. pricing for materials and professional installation, compiled and cross-checked against the current (2026) industry sources listed below (see our data & methodology). Your actual cost depends on your location, project size, material grade, and local labor rates — always get multiple written quotes before you commit.
Sources
Cost ranges on this page were checked against current (2026) data from these industry sources: