How much do painters make in Georgia in 2026?

Painters in Georgia earn a median of $48,340 a year, which works out to about $23.24 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the midpoint — half of painters in the state earn more, half earn less. If you're just starting out or working mostly residential repaint jobs, you're more likely sitting near the 25th percentile at $42,130 a year, or roughly $20.25 an hour. Experienced painters with commercial contracts, specialty finishes, or supervisory responsibility tend to land at the 75th percentile: $57,670 a year, around $27.73 an hour.

Those three numbers — $42,130, $48,340, and $57,670 — are the backbone of painter pay in Georgia. They come from BLS OEWS May 2025 data and cover painters, construction and maintenance, which is the broad category that includes residential, commercial, and industrial painting work.

The gap between the bottom quarter and the top quarter is $15,540 a year, or about $7.48 an hour. That spread exists for real reasons. Painters who work on new commercial construction, industrial facilities, or large multi-family projects typically earn more than those doing single-family repaint work. Specialty coatings — epoxy floors, fireproofing, lead abatement — push pay higher because the skills are harder to replace. Painters who can estimate jobs, manage a small crew, or operate spray equipment on large surfaces are worth more to a contractor than someone who only rolls walls.

Geography inside Georgia matters too. The Atlanta metro is the largest construction market in the state by a wide margin. Higher project volume, more commercial work, and tougher competition for skilled hands all push wages above the state median in that market. Savannah has seen steady industrial and port-related construction growth, which creates demand for industrial coatings work. Smaller markets in rural Georgia tend to run closer to or below the state median.

Hours and work type affect take-home pay in ways the annual figure doesn't fully capture. Painters who stay busy year-round on commercial or industrial maintenance contracts get closer to a true 2,080-hour year. Residential painters in slower winter months may log significantly fewer hours, which cuts into that annualized number.

No union scale data is available for painters in Georgia. Most painters in the state work non-union, either for painting contractors or as independent operators. That means your negotiating leverage comes from your skill set, your reliability, and the type of work you're willing to do — not a collectively bargained wage floor.

If you're evaluating a job offer, use the $23.24 median as your anchor. An offer below $20.25 an hour for someone with a couple of years of experience deserves a hard look. Painters hitting the $27.73-per-hour range are typically bringing something specific to the table: a clean safety record, experience with commercial specs and submittals, or the ability to manage a job site without hand-holding.

All figures on this page are sourced from BLS OEWS May 2025 and reflect statewide Georgia averages for painters, construction and maintenance.