Know what your interior painting should cost
A 1,500 sq ft interior painting costs $4,300 to $6,500 in 2026, about $4 per sq ft installed. Across every option it runs from $2,500 (quick refresh) to $14,900 (full interior).
Four questions gets you an itemised range, adjusted for construction wages where you live. The whole number, up front, before we ask for anything.
What interior painting work costs in 2026
| Project | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Quick refresh One coat over a sound surface, minimal patching | $3,250 – $4,850 |
| Walls only Two coats with normal prep, ceilings and trim untouched | $4,300 – $6,500 |
| Walls and ceilings | $5,300 – $7,900 |
| Walls, ceilings and trim Trim is slow work, it adds more than the surface area suggests | $6,300 – $9,400 |
| Full interior Everything including doors, closets and cabinetry surrounds | $7,100 – $10,700 |
Where the money goes
Labour
$2,810 · 52% of the job
Paint and primer
$1,080 · 20% of the job
Prep, patching and sanding
$860 · 16% of the job
Masking and supplies
$380 · 7% of the job
Cleanup and disposal
$270 · 5% of the job
Interior Painting cost by state
Labour is the part of this job that moves with geography. These are the same 1,500 sq ft project, priced against construction wages in each state.
- California $4,500 – $6,800 +4.6% vs national
- Texas $4,350 – $6,550 +1.3% vs national
- Florida $4,100 – $6,100 -6.0% vs national
- New York $4,500 – $6,800 +4.4% vs national
- Pennsylvania $4,350 – $6,550 +0.6% vs national
- Rhode Island $4,300 – $6,500 +0.3% vs national
- South Carolina $4,150 – $6,250 -3.6% vs national
- South Dakota $4,000 – $6,000 -7.3% vs national
- Tennessee $4,300 – $6,400 -0.9% vs national
- Utah $4,050 – $6,050 -6.0% vs national
- Virginia $4,300 – $6,400 -1.3% vs national
- Vermont $4,100 – $6,100 -5.9% vs national
Questions homeowners ask
How much should it cost to paint the interior of a 2,000 sq ft house?
Walls only at mid-range quality runs roughly $5,750 to $8,650. Adding ceilings takes it to about $8,800, and a full interior with trim and doors lands near $11,900.
How much do they charge to paint a 12x12 room?
A 12x12 room is 144 square feet of floor area, which prices out below what most painters will take on. Expect roughly $500 to $700, effectively the job minimum rather than a square-foot rate. Painting several rooms at once is far better value.
How much should I charge to paint a 20x20 room?
At 400 square feet, walls at mid-range quality is roughly $1,150 to $1,750. If you are quoting the work rather than buying it, labour is typically about 52% of that figure.
What makes an interior painting quote go up?
Prep, almost always. Wallpaper removal and popcorn ceiling removal are charged per square foot on top of the paint work, and ceilings over ten feet add around 18% for staging.
Reviewed and maintained by Anchorcost. Last checked September 3, 2026. Figures are verified against this page's own calculator on every build. How these figures are worked out.