How much do painters make in Missouri in 2026?

The median painter salary in Missouri is $57,510 per year, which works out to roughly $27.65 per hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the midpoint — half of Missouri's painters earn more, half earn less. If you're just starting out or working a lower-volume area, expect to land closer to the 25th percentile at $46,350 a year ($22.28/hr). Experienced painters with steady commercial or industrial work commonly reach the 75th percentile at $68,510 annually ($32.94/hr).

Those three numbers — $46,350, $57,510, and $68,510 — are the clearest framework for understanding where you stand in Missouri's painter workforce. The gap between the bottom quartile and the top quartile is $22,160 per year. That's a real difference, and it reflects how much experience, specialty skills, and the type of work you land can move your income.

What separates painters at the 25th percentile from those at the 75th percentile is mostly a combination of years on the job, the complexity of projects they take on, and their willingness to move into commercial and industrial settings. Residential repaint work tends to pay toward the lower end. Industrial coatings — protective liners, epoxy floors, tank and bridge painting — pay toward the upper end. Commercial interior and exterior work sits in the middle range, often close to the median.

Missouri has distinct regional pay dynamics worth knowing. The Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas typically offer more consistent commercial and industrial work, which tends to push pay higher. Painters working in smaller markets like Springfield, Joplin, or Cape Girardeau may see lower rates, though cost of living also differs. Rural work can mean more residential contracts with tighter margins.

Overtime is a real factor for Missouri painters, especially in summer when exterior work volume peaks. A painter earning $27.65/hr at straight time earns $41.48/hr for every hour over 40. Even 5 hours of overtime per week across a 30-week busy season adds roughly $5,800 to annual take-home. Painters who position themselves for high-demand seasons and don't shy away from overtime hours can push well past the 75th percentile figure in a strong year.

Licensing in Missouri does not require a state-issued painter's license for most residential or commercial work, though individual municipalities may have their own requirements. That low barrier to entry means competition is real, especially on the residential side. Painters who invest in specialty certifications — such as lead abatement, industrial coatings inspection credentials, or spray application training — can command higher rates and access project types that are off-limits to uncertified workers. Lead abatement certification is particularly valuable on older housing stock in cities like St. Louis, where pre-1978 construction is common.

Apprenticeships typically run two to four years and combine on-the-job hours with classroom instruction covering surface prep, coating systems, safety, and blueprint reading. Completing a formal apprenticeship generally results in a journeyworker wage bump and opens doors to larger contractors who require documented training. Some workers may be covered by a collective bargaining agreement — check with your local for current rates.

To push your pay toward or beyond the 75th percentile, focus on specialty skills that residential work doesn't need: industrial coating systems, OSHA confined-space certification, swing-stage and scaffold work, and multi-coat application for structural steel. These specialties are in consistent demand from contractors serving manufacturing plants, warehouses, and infrastructure projects. They also tend to mean year-round work rather than weather-dependent residential scheduling.

All figures on this page come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. BLS figures are based on employer-reported payroll data and reflect base wages — they do not include overtime premiums, per diem, travel pay, or the value of employer-provided benefits like health insurance or retirement contributions. Your actual take-home can be higher once those factors are added in.