- Popcorn ceiling removal usually costs $910 to $2,750, about $1,850 typical.
- Scraping the texture off the ceilings of a room or a floor of a home, and refinishing them smooth.
- Price your own job with the calculator above; it breaks the job into lines.
What popcorn ceiling removal costs
Popcorn ceiling removal usually runs $910 to $2,750. A typical job lands near $1,850. Scraping the texture off the ceilings of a room or a floor of a home, and refinishing them smooth. By the square foot, Fixr put it at $1 to $4, with $2.50 in the middle.
| Price | |
|---|---|
| Low end | $910 |
| Typical | $1,850 |
| High end | $2,750 |
| Per square foot | $1 to $4 |
Sources: Fixr and Bob Vila, combined as shown below. Local wages shift the typical price from about $1,552 in Arkansas to $2,348 in Hawaii.
What drives the price
- Asbestos. Popcorn ceilings from before the 1980s can contain asbestos. Test before scraping. If it is positive, abatement replaces simple scraping and costs far more.
- Painted or not. Unpainted texture soaks up water and scrapes off easily. Painted texture has to be ground or skimmed.
- Smooth finish. Scraping leaves a rough ceiling. Skim coating and priming for a smooth, painted finish is extra.
- Height and furniture. Tall ceilings and full rooms that need covering take longer.
Popcorn ceiling removal cost by area
| Area | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 500 sq ft | $300 to $750 | Bob Vila |
| One-story house | $900 to $2,840 | Bob Vila |
| Two-story house | $1,500 to $4,000 | Bob Vila |
Popcorn ceiling removal cost by state
These state figures are Koira estimates. The labor share of the national price, about 70%, moves with each state's median wage for construction and extraction workers; materials stay at the national price. Use them to sanity-check a popcorn ceiling removal quote.
| State | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $785 | $1,595 | $2,371 |
| Alaska | $1,082 | $2,200 | $3,270 |
| Arizona | $894 | $1,817 | $2,701 |
| Arkansas | $764 | $1,552 | $2,308 |
| California | $1,040 | $2,114 | $3,142 |
| Colorado | $928 | $1,886 | $2,803 |
| Connecticut | $1,039 | $2,113 | $3,141 |
| Delaware | $908 | $1,846 | $2,744 |
| District of Columbia | $1,023 | $2,080 | $3,092 |
| Florida | $801 | $1,628 | $2,421 |
| Georgia | $806 | $1,638 | $2,435 |
| Hawaii | $1,155 | $2,348 | $3,490 |
| Idaho | $874 | $1,776 | $2,640 |
| Illinois | $1,135 | $2,307 | $3,430 |
| Indiana | $935 | $1,900 | $2,825 |
| Iowa | $909 | $1,848 | $2,747 |
| Kansas | $861 | $1,750 | $2,602 |
| Kentucky | $841 | $1,711 | $2,543 |
| Louisiana | $807 | $1,641 | $2,439 |
| Maine | $918 | $1,867 | $2,775 |
| Maryland | $914 | $1,857 | $2,761 |
| Massachusetts | $1,102 | $2,240 | $3,330 |
| Michigan | $928 | $1,886 | $2,803 |
| Minnesota | $1,050 | $2,134 | $3,172 |
| Mississippi | $774 | $1,573 | $2,338 |
| Missouri | $933 | $1,897 | $2,821 |
| Montana | $925 | $1,881 | $2,796 |
| Nebraska | $848 | $1,725 | $2,564 |
| Nevada | $933 | $1,897 | $2,821 |
| New Hampshire | $916 | $1,862 | $2,767 |
| New Jersey | $1,059 | $2,153 | $3,200 |
| New Mexico | $807 | $1,640 | $2,438 |
| New York | $1,026 | $2,086 | $3,101 |
| North Carolina | $801 | $1,629 | $2,422 |
| North Dakota | $927 | $1,885 | $2,802 |
| Ohio | $938 | $1,907 | $2,834 |
| Oklahoma | $793 | $1,613 | $2,397 |
| Oregon | $980 | $1,993 | $2,962 |
| Pennsylvania | $920 | $1,871 | $2,782 |
| Rhode Island | $947 | $1,926 | $2,863 |
| South Carolina | $803 | $1,633 | $2,427 |
| South Dakota | $809 | $1,645 | $2,445 |
| Tennessee | $813 | $1,654 | $2,458 |
| Texas | $799 | $1,624 | $2,414 |
| Utah | $884 | $1,798 | $2,673 |
| Vermont | $912 | $1,854 | $2,756 |
| Virginia | $877 | $1,783 | $2,650 |
| Washington | $1,081 | $2,197 | $3,266 |
| West Virginia | $889 | $1,808 | $2,687 |
| Wisconsin | $954 | $1,939 | $2,882 |
| Wyoming | $912 | $1,855 | $2,757 |
Cities inside a state can run well above or below the state figure.
How we got these numbers
We take the middle of the guides' lows for the low end, the middle of their highs for the high end, and the middle of their averages for the typical popcorn ceiling removal price. Where a guide gives no average we use its midpoint. All read on October 9, 2026.
Labor share used: 70%. None of the guides splits labor out for this job, so this share is Koira's working assumption for walls and ceilings work. State factor: the state's median hourly wage for construction and extraction workers over the national $28.63 (BLS, May 2025), kept between 0.7 and 1.4.
For contractors: price this job in Koira
Wall and ceiling work is mostly labor, so price it from your own hourly cost and show the square or linear feet on the estimate.
Run the numbers for a real popcorn ceiling removal in the free popcorn ceiling removal cost calculator, then save the result as an estimate. Koira's free Office plan turns a popcorn ceiling removal quote into a clean estimate the customer approves on their phone, then into an invoice they can pay. Price this job in Koira, free.
Sources: Fixr, popcorn ceiling removal cost; Bob Vila, popcorn ceiling removal cost; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files). Prices checked October 9, 2026. More for your trade: how the trade runs on Koira.