How Much Do Painting Companies Make in 2026?

Whether you’re planning to start a painting business, buy an existing one, or join a franchise, you must first consider:

Will the venture be profitable? How much do I stand to gain within a specific time period? 

The good news is that the painting industry has always been profitable over the years, because it plays a major role in both residential and commercial property maintenance.

However, earnings vary based on size, region, and business setup. 

In this article, we'll break down how much profit a painting company can make, what influences profits, and how business owners can maximize their earnings using software and marketing tools.

How Much Do Painting Companies Really Make? 

On average, painting businesses earn between $36,680 and $76,550 annually. That’s an average of $48,660, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A net profit margin of 25 percent is typical for painting businesses after calculating overhead, wages, and marketing costs.

However, you should note that revenue doesn't equal profit. There are still costs like labor, materials, insurance, equipment, vehicles, and marketing to consider.

Profit in the painting business also depends on many other factors, which we’ll discuss in the next section. 

What Factors Influence Painting Company Earnings? 

The earnings of a painting company are influenced by a number of factors, such as regional differences, experience, seasonality, and economic conditions. Each of these factors plays a crucial role in determining how much revenue a company can generate and how profitable its operations will be.

Regional differences

In high-income or urban neighborhoods, you can often charge more because living costs, material expenses, and customer expectations are higher. Plus, clients in these areas tend to prioritize premium finishes, specialized coatings, or decorative designs—all of which justify higher pricing.

Conversely, if you operate in rural areas, you will typically charge less since the average cost of living and purchasing power is low. 

However, if the area is remote, your rate might be comparable to an urban area since there are fewer competitors, which drives up demand and prices.

Lastly, regional differences significantly influence the amount painters can charge and the consistency of their workload. Painters in areas like New York City will definitely earn more than in a city like Brownsville, Texas.

Experience and skill

As in most trades, the longer a painter works in the profession, the greater their reputation, efficiency, and client base tend to be, which directly impacts profitability.

As you gain more years of hands-on experience, you start to enjoy a steady flow of work from repeat customers, referrals, and long-term partnerships with contractors or property managers. This established credibility allows you to focus less on acquiring new leads and more on delivering profitable projects. 

In addition, customers typically trust experienced painters more and are willing to pay premium fees without hesitation.

On the other hand, newer painters often face the challenge of building trust and proving reliability before they can command higher rates. They may need to take on smaller or lower-priced jobs initially to gain experience and customer testimonials. 

As your portfolio grows and clients recognize the quality of your work, you can gradually raise your prices.

Seasonal fluctuations

Painting is weather-dependent. 

Peak periods occur during warmer seasons, when there is a huge demand for outdoor painting. 

Income may decrease during rainy or cold seasons because demand for outdoor painting reduces, causing businesses to diversify into interior painting and maintenance to sustain income.

Economy

When the economy is strong, homeowners and businesses are more likely to invest in renovations, remodels, and property upgrades, creating steady work and higher profits for painters. 

However, during periods of high inflation or economic slowdown, spending on nonessential projects often drops. Fewer clients request painting services, competition increases, and revenue declines.

Specialty

Painters who take on specialized or technically demanding projects—such as decorative finishes, historical restorations, or surface remediation— charge significantly higher rates than those offering only basic residential painting. 

That’s because of the complex nature of the services they offer. Plus, clients are often willing to pay a premium for such complex projects.

What Are the Costs of Running a Painting Business? 

Aside from setup costs, running a painting business involves fixed costs (like insurance, equipment, and vehicle maintenance) and variable costs (such as paint, supplies, and labor).

Labor costs

You can’t run a painting business alone, even if you have all the skillset. You will run out of business sooner because you won't be able to meet clients' demands.

Therefore, you need to employ a number of people to run your business effectively. This is a combination of skilled painters, support staff (e.g., estimators and project managers), and administrative personnel (e.g., customer service representatives).

You’ll have to cover their wages, insurance, other benefits, and subcontractor fees. 

As expected, more experienced and skilled painters will demand higher wages. However, you can be confident in the quality of work they’ll deliver. 

On the other hand, hiring less experienced painters will cut costs on projects but increase the risk of customer dissatisfaction and rework. 

Materials and equipment

Materials and equipment are the backbone of running a painting business and account for a significant portion of expenses. They fall into two categories:

• Upfront costs: The amount you spend on initial investments in tools and equipment

• Recurrent costs: Materials you’ll use daily that have to be replenished frequently. This includes paint, rollers, brushes, primers, tapes, and cleaning solvents.

Insurance and licensing

Most clients who try to contract your painting services want to ensure you’re the right fit for the job and may ask for your certificate of insurance to see if your painting company is adequately insured and licensed. 

Mandatory insurance coverage includes:

• General liability insurance: Covers property damage or injuries that might occur during a job.

• Workers’ compensation: Provides protection to employees in the event of work-related accidents or injuries.

• Vehicle and equipment insurance: Covers company vehicles and essential tools against theft or damage.

Local licensing and certification fees differ between regions. Confirm the exact cost with your local business registration authority. 

Marketing and administration

The painting industry is highly competitive. To stay relevant, you need to invest in promoting your business to prospective customers and manage it properly to ensure growth. 

Marketing expenses encompass website development, social media management, and the execution of marketing campaigns. 

Administration expenses, on the other hand, include bookkeeping, accounting software, office supplies, scheduling tools, and payroll services. 

One thing to note: the amount you’ll spend on marketing and administration will significantly increase should you use several digital tools to make it happen. 

That’s why we recommend using a tool like ServiceTitan, which streamlines core business tasks such as marketing, accounting, inventory management, and job scheduling.

Profit Margins in the Painting Industry 

Next, let’s understand how to maximize profit and improve profit margins. 

Typical profit margins

Profit margin is the total profit a business makes after deducting all costs incurred in running the business.  

There are two types of profit margins, and they are calculated differently: 

1. Gross Profit Margin

This shows how much money is left after subtracting the direct costs of completing a job (like paint, brushes, and labor) from total revenue.

Formula: ((Revenue - Costs) / Revenue) x 100

Example: A painting company earns $2,000,000 from a project and spends $1,200,000 on materials and labor. 

The gross profit margin is 40 percent:

(($2,000,000 - $1,200,000) / $2,000,000) x 100 = 40%

That 40 percent of the revenue, amounting to $800,000, is available to cover other business expenses like rent, insurance, and marketing.

2. Net Profit Margin

This reveals the true profitability after all operating expenses, including insurance, fuel, equipment maintenance, taxes, and administration, are deducted.

Formula: ((Revenue - Total Expenses) / Revenue) x 100

Example: A painting company earns $2,000,000, and the total expenses (including overhead) are $1,800,000. The net profit will be $200,000 and the net profit margin 10 percent:

(($2,000,000 - $1,800,000) / $2,000,000) x 100 = 10%

On average, most painting businesses record net profit margins ranging from about 10 to 30 percent after deducting expenses. However, this differs across residential and commercial jobs, because larger contracts typically bring in steadier profits.

Key challenges to profitability

As you set out on the path to maximize profit, you need to be mindful of some significant challenges you will encounter along the way. These challenges can silently erode business profits if not managed properly:

• Underbidding projects: Although a low bid may secure the job, it often yields little to no profit after accounting for all costs. Over time, this habit can strain cash flow and limit growth.

• High employee turnover rates: When employees keep leaving, you’ll be forced to pay more to hire and train more workers.

• Seasonal slowdowns: Painting slows down during rainy, cold, and snowy seasons. Even companies with strong demand can see margins shrink during these periods. 

How to Increase Your Painting Company’s Profits

Here’s how to deal with the recurring challenges and boost profitability: 

Streamline job scheduling and dispatching

When employees’ jobs are too far apart, and they face lengthy delays due to material shortages, the client's job is delayed, and even the best projects become less profitable.

Accurate dispatch involves setting up a system that can flag stock shortages, assign crews to jobs, and ensure they have the right equipment available. 

Digital software like ServiceTitan provides an all-in-one platform that allows you to assign tasks, monitor progress, and make real-time adjustments from a single dashboard.

The software suggests the best technician for each job, based on their current workload, expertise, and proximity to the job location. That way, you can finish more jobs with fewer staff, and turn the long drive hours into work time you can bill clients for.

Create accurate estimates and quotes

Accurate estimating ensures that every expense is accounted for, while you still retain a healthy profit margin.

To create accurate estimates, break down the cost of each project in detail, including both direct and indirect costs. Next, assign real dollar amounts to each item and apply a healthy markup to cover your profits.

However, achieving this level of accuracy is very difficult with manual data entry. That’s where ServiceTitan’s Estimating Tool comes in. 

It automatically tracks the costs associated with each project, and then delivers an estimate with a detailed breakdown of all fees at the end of the project. Even better, it fetches material costs from top supplier catalogues, ensuring your total amount is accurate, up-to-date, and fair, with a profit margin included.

That way, you can always generate profits for each painting project.

Improve marketing and customer acquisition

Marketing brings the spark that sustains every business by keeping you in front of your clients. Even the most skilled painter will struggle to get clients without a proper marketing plan.

There are many effective marketing tactics. But the foundational principle is to build a strong online profile. 

Include pictures of previous clients' work, positive feedback, and even videos.

Next, create a Google Business Profile that includes customer reviews and updated contact details for easy access. Then, create a website, optimize it for local SEO, and publish helpful content to attract traffic.

Beyond digital marketing channels, consider leveraging traditional channels such as word of mouth and referrals from satisfied clients. 

To maximize them, you can create a referral system that awards points for each referral, and encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews.

Most importantly, use tools like ServiceTitan’s Home Services Marketing Software to track your campaigns. You can use it to identify the best-performing platforms and areas generating the most profit. That way, you can avoid paying for marketing campaigns that are no longer pulling their weight.

Manage cash flow and payments effectively

Taking on more projects won’t improve your profit margins if you’re constantly losing money. That’s why every business transaction should begin with a clear payment plan. 

If a customer can't pay in full upfront, always request a deposit. If they lack the financial wherewithal, consider collaborating with a third-party financing platform to cover part of the project payment.

Also, consider offering various payment channels to accommodate customers’ preferred modes of payment.

For example, ServiceTitan lets you accept cash, check, and credit card payments. And even if the customer can’t afford to pay everything at once, you can offer financing options directly within the platform, which are usually authorized within minutes.

After the payment is completed, ServiceTitan’s built-in accounting and payment platform helps you monitor your company’s finances. This helps maintain a healthy cash flow, which you can invest in other business initiatives.

Track key business metrics

Business metrics are the numbers that show how well a business is doing—whether it’s making enough profit, managing costs effectively, or achieving growth goals. 

In a painting business, metrics will include:

• Profit per job

• Customer acquisition cost

• Crew productivity

• Gross and net profit

• Satisfaction ratings

Monitoring these essential metrics enables you to make informed decisions about which areas to improve before they become difficult.

Business owners using ServiceTitan software have access to real-time dashboards that show these metrics. You can choose to streamline each of those dashboards to show weekly, monthly, or yearly metrics to assist decision-making.

Invest in the Right Tools to Boost Your Painting Business

We’ve proven that a painting company can be highly profitable, with smart planning, efficient operations, and the right technology. You now have the tools to start a profitable painting company.

Remember to streamline your operations with the right tool to eliminate waste and maintain your enterprise's profitability. To achieve this, you can rely on ServiceTitan to automate key administrative tasks and help you maintain healthy profit margins.

ServiceTitan is a comprehensive, cloud-based software solution that trade companies use to automate business processes, saving time and improving profitability. Join thousands of service providers nationwide who use the software to grow their revenue.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How profitable is a painting company?

A painting company is a very profitable enterprise with profit margins as high as 25 percent. However, the profitability of the company is also dependent on financial management and the business skills of the owner.

How much can a painting business owner make?

Total revenue will depend on several factors, including the number of projects you are able to complete.

As a business owner, you can earn an average of $97,500 to $202,500. 

What are the biggest expenses in a painting business?

The most significant expense in a painting business is labor and materials, e.g., paint. These two are recurring expenses for every new project. 

Do commercial painting companies make more money?

Yes, most commercial painters earn more than residential painters because of the complexities, scale, and time invested in commercial projects.