- The middle half earn between $22.75 and $29.16 an hour.
- North Dakota ranks 17th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- North Dakota pays more than 1 of its 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 420 painters on payrolls in North Dakota.
- At the state median wage, a painting business needs to bill about $116.92 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Painter pay in North Dakota, 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 | $17.71 | $36,840 | $18.00 |
| 25th percentile | $22.75 | $47,320 | $21.46 |
| Median | $26.38 | $54,870 | $23.75 |
| 75th percentile | $29.16 | $60,650 | $29.65 |
| 90th percentile | $37.64 | $78,290 | $37.89 |
| Average (mean) | $26.90 | $55,960 | $26.64 |
From the bottom tenth ($17.71) to the top tenth ($37.64), the top of the scale pays about 2.1 times the bottom in North Dakota, close to the 2.1 times spread for painters nationwide.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $0.29 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $0.25 less than the national top tenth.
The average, $26.90, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How North Dakota compares with other states
Over a full year, the North Dakota median of $54,870 is $5,470 more than the national $49,400.
In the state ranking, North Dakota sits 17th, between Nevada ($27.11) and Vermont ($25.54). The range runs from $19.28 in Arkansas to $32.80 in Hawaii.
Against its neighboring states, North Dakota is in the middle: Minnesota and Montana pay more, and South Dakota pays less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in North Dakota. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against North Dakota |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | $26.38 | $54,870 | |
| Minnesota | $27.54 | $57,270 | +$1.16 an hour |
| Montana | $28.03 | $58,290 | +$1.65 an hour |
| South Dakota | $23.15 | $48,160 | −$3.23 an hour |
How many painters work in North Dakota
North Dakota has one of the smaller workforces in the trade: 420 painters on payrolls, 0.2% of the 225,190 nationwide.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 1.0 per 1,000 jobs, 0.68 times the national share.
What a painting business in North Dakota should charge
Higher wages in North Dakota go straight into the price. Take a painting business in North Dakota paying the state median of $26.38 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 | $26.38 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $59,068 |
| Break-even rate | ($59,068 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $99.38 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $99.38 ÷ 0.85 | $116.92 |
That is $116.92 per billable hour, 4.4 times the wage, and $4.62 more than the $112.30 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $29.16 in North Dakota, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $121.80.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.75, the rate only drops to $110.54.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a painter in North Dakota
- 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.