- The middle half earn between $22.70 and $28.68 an hour.
- Colorado ranks 19th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Colorado pays more than all 7 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 3,480 painters on payrolls in Colorado.
- At the state median wage, a painting business needs to bill about $115.32 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Painter pay in Colorado, bottom to top
These are BLS figures for painters in construction and maintenance: house painters, commercial painters and maintenance crews. Artists and auto painters are counted elsewhere.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $19.51 | $40,570 | $18.00 |
| 25th percentile | $22.70 | $47,210 | $21.46 |
| Median | $25.47 | $52,970 | $23.75 |
| 75th percentile | $28.68 | $59,650 | $29.65 |
| 90th percentile | $37.36 | $77,710 | $37.89 |
| Average (mean) | $27.10 | $56,370 | $26.64 |
Pay is bunched up in Colorado. The top tenth earn $37.36 an hour or more, about 1.9 times the $19.51 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.1 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
The floor is higher than nationally ($19.51 against $18.00) but the ceiling is lower ($37.36 against $37.89), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $27.10, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Colorado compares with other states
Over a full year, the Colorado median of $52,970 is $3,570 more than the national $49,400.
In the state ranking, Colorado sits 19th, between Vermont ($25.54) and Pennsylvania ($25.06). The range runs from $19.28 in Arkansas to $32.80 in Hawaii.
Colorado pays painters more than any of its neighboring states, Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming. Someone working near the border can earn more by taking work on this side of it.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in Colorado. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Colorado |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | $25.47 | $52,970 | |
| Arizona | $23.20 | $48,250 | −$2.27 an hour |
| Kansas | $21.88 | $45,510 | −$3.59 an hour |
| Nebraska | $22.73 | $47,280 | −$2.74 an hour |
| New Mexico | $22.23 | $46,240 | −$3.24 an hour |
| Oklahoma | $21.59 | $44,900 | −$3.88 an hour |
| Utah | $22.14 | $46,050 | −$3.33 an hour |
| Wyoming | $22.70 | $47,220 | −$2.77 an hour |
How many painters work in Colorado
About 3,480 painters work on payrolls in Colorado, 1.5% of the 225,190 nationwide, the 23rd largest count among the states.
That is 1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in Colorado, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a painting business in Colorado should charge
Higher wages in Colorado go straight into the price. Take a painting business in Colorado paying the state median of $25.47 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $25.47 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $57,030 |
| Break-even rate | ($57,030 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $98.02 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $98.02 ÷ 0.85 | $115.32 |
That is $115.32 per billable hour, 4.5 times the wage, and $3.02 more than the $112.30 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $28.68 in Colorado, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $120.96.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.70, the rate only drops to $110.45.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a painter in Colorado
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how painting companies run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 47-2141, painters, construction and maintenance, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: painter salary by state.