---
title: "Painter, Construction and Maintenance"
description: "Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. May remove old paint to prepare…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/painter-construction-and-maintenance"
last-updated: "2026-08-23T15:56:39.581Z"
---

# Painter, Construction and Maintenance

**Category:** Construction and Extraction · **SOC code:** 47-2141 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 47-2141.00

Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. May remove old paint to prepare surface prior to painting. May mix colors or oils to obtain desired color or consistency.

Also advertised as: Building Trades Painter; Commercial Painter; Facilities Painter; Highway Painter; House Painter; Industrial Painter; Maintenance Painter; Painter.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $49,400 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $23.75/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $37,440 to $78,810, with the middle half between $44,640 and $61,660
- **Total US employment:** 225,190
- **Typical entry education:** No formal credential
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +3.8% over 2024–2034 (BLS EP, 2024–2034)
- **Annual job openings:** 28,100 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 70/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 225,190 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $37,440 |
| 25th | $44,640 |
| 50th (median) | $49,400 |
| 75th | $61,660 |
| 90th | $78,810 |
| Mean (average) | $55,420 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| HI | $68,220 | $62,046 | 1,900 |
| IL | $61,260 | $61,286 | 6,820 |
| AK | $60,980 | $59,575 | 440 |
| WA | $59,650 | $55,741 | 9,510 |
| NY | $59,570 | $55,198 | 13,040 |
| DC | $59,520 | $54,158 | 500 |
| ME | $59,270 | $61,072 | 2,120 |
| NJ | $59,250 | $54,455 | 4,110 |
| CA | $59,020 | $53,306 | 38,430 |
| DE | $58,530 | $58,643 | 480 |
| CT | $58,480 | $56,442 | 2,230 |
| MT | $58,290 | $61,588 | 920 |
| MA | $57,510 | $54,379 | 4,430 |
| MO | $57,510 | $63,325 | 3,980 |
| MN | $57,270 | $58,071 | 3,810 |

39 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 54 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/painter-construction-and-maintenance/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/painter-construction-and-maintenance.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 342,200 in the 2024–2034 base year to 355,200 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 13,000 jobs, or +3.8%. About as fast as average: 3.8% against 3.1% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 28,100 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2024–2034.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** No formal educational credential (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma | 48.7% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 33.1% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 16.3% |
| Post-Doctoral Training | 1.9% |

## What the work involves

- Cover surfaces with dropcloths or masking tape and paper to protect surfaces during painting.
- Smooth surfaces, using sandpaper, scrapers, brushes, steel wool, or sanding machines.
- Erect scaffolding or swing gates, or set up ladders, to work above ground level.
- Apply primers or sealers to prepare new surfaces, such as bare wood or metal, for finish coats.
- Fill cracks, holes, or joints with caulk, putty, plaster, or other fillers, using caulking guns or putty knives.
- Remove fixtures such as pictures, door knobs, lamps, or electric switch covers prior to painting.
- Read work orders or receive instructions from supervisors or homeowners to determine work requirements.
- Remove old finishes by stripping, sanding, wire brushing, burning, or using water or abrasive blasting.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Persuasion — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Instructing — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Building and Construction — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Chemistry — importance 2.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Transportation — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Trunk Strength — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 3.50 |
| A — Artistic | 2.51 |
| I — Investigative | 1.47 |
| S — Social | 1.26 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 80.3 |
| ISTP | 74.4 |
| ISFJ | 69.3 |
| ESTJ | 64.1 |
| INTJ | 62.9 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Painting, Coating, and Decorating Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/painting-coating-and-decorating-worker) — median $41,600
- [Helpers--Painter, Paperhanger, Plasterer, and Stucco Mason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-painter-paperhanger-plasterer-and-stucco-mason) — median $40,470
- [Plasterer and Stucco Mason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/plasterer-and-stucco-mason) — median $57,660
- [Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/coating-painting-and-spraying-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $48,250
- [Furniture Finisher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/furniture-finisher) — median $44,540
- [Roofer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/roofer) — median $55,440
- [Paperhanger](https://nuecareer.com/careers/paperhanger) — median $52,140
- [Insulation Worker, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall](https://nuecareer.com/careers/insulation-worker-floor-ceiling-and-wall) — median $49,120
- [Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/drywall-and-ceiling-tile-installer) — median $58,930
- [Molder, Shaper, and Caster, Except Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/molder-shaper-and-caster) — median $46,170

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 30.3 Database, May 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2024–2034. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/painter-construction-and-maintenance