Exterior House Painting Cost in NJ (2026): Per Square Foot, by Size and Siding

Painting the outside of a house costs about $1.50 to $4.40 per square foot of paintable wall in 2026 national cost guides. For the example two-story house worked through below, with about 2,070 square feet of paintable wall, that works out to roughly $3,100 to $9,100. The 5th Wall's own published range for exterior painting in Central New Jersey is $4,000 to $12,000, depending on your home's size, stories and condition.

The national guides measure the walls you paint, not your floor space, so the first step is knowing your paintable area. After that, four things move the price most: how many stories the crew has to reach, what the siding is made of, how much scraping and repair the old paint needs, and whether the house was built before 1978. New Jersey adds two costs the national guides leave out: sales tax on painting labor, and the EPA's lead-safe rules, which apply to a large share of Mercer County's older houses.

Want a real number for your house? Request a free estimate or call (609) 954-3659. See what our painting service covers, from prep and priming to trim and deck and fence staining.

Exterior House Painting Cost at a Glance#

These are market figures, not a quote from The 5th Wall, except the last row, which is our own published range. HomeAdvisor's page was updated June 17, 2026, This Old House's March 6, 2026 and Angi's New York page November 18, 2025.

Two things in that table matter for New Jersey. HomeAdvisor's regional figures for a 1,500 square foot home put its "Mideast" region at about $4,300 and New England at $4,800, against $2,300 to $3,315 in the Plains, Southwest and Southeast. HomeAdvisor does not list which states sit in each region, so treat that as a rough guide, not a New Jersey number. Angi says New York City homeowners pay around 18% more than the rest of the country, because of the higher cost of living.

Measure Paintable Area, Not Floor Space#

Every per-square-foot price above is for paintable area: the outside walls, minus windows and doors. HomeAdvisor says to calculate the square footage of your exterior walls, then subtract about 21 square feet for a standard door and about 12 square feet for an average window (HomeAdvisor).

Worked example: a two-story colonial#

Take a two-story house with a 28 by 36 foot footprint and about 18 feet of wall from the foundation to the eaves. These are example numbers, not a measured house:

• Wall area: 128 feet around the house x 18 feet high = 2,304 square feet
• Less 2 doors (2 x 21 = 42 square feet) and 16 windows (16 x 12 = 192 square feet)
• Paintable area: about 2,070 square feet, before gable ends

HomeAdvisor suggests adding 10% to 15% on top as a buffer for problems found once work starts, such as rotted boards. Gables, dormers and a detached garage add area that this example leaves out.

Cost by Paintable Area#

Sources: HomeAdvisor, updated June 17, 2026; This Old House, updated March 6, 2026, based on Homewyse estimates and Home Depot material prices.

Angi's New York City figures run a little wider: $1,775 to $4,725 for 1,000 square feet, $2,650 to $7,075 for 1,500, $3,550 to $9,450 for 2,000, $4,425 to $11,800 for 2,500 and $5,300 to $14,150 for 3,000 (Angi, updated November 18, 2025).

Cost by Number of Stories#

Height is where exterior painting gets expensive. More of the day goes to moving ladders and scaffolding, and less to putting paint on the wall.

Angi's New York City guide lists $1,775 to $4,125 for one story, $3,550 to $7,325 for two and $5,300 to $11,800 or more for three.

Both HomeAdvisor and Angi say a two-story house can cost up to 50% more to paint than a one-story house, and both list the same surcharges for height (HomeAdvisor, Angi):

• Add 30% above 8 feet
• Add 60% above 13 feet
• Add 90% above 17 feet
• Add 120% above 19 feet

Cost by Siding Type#

Siding changes how much prep, primer and paint a wall needs. Rough or porous surfaces such as stucco and brick soak up more paint and take longer.

Sources: HomeAdvisor; This Old House.

HomeAdvisor adds that stucco takes around 50% more paint than smoother surfaces, and that wood siding often needs rot repair before priming. For an existing vinyl wall in good shape, painting can cost far less than new siding: HomeAdvisor puts vinyl siding replacement at $3 to $12 per square foot. If your siding is cracked, warped or rotting, compare painting with replacement in our siding replacement cost guide.

Trim, Soffits, Fascia, Doors and Shutters#

Most quotes price the walls and the trim separately. Trim is slower work, done by brush, while large wall areas can be sprayed or rolled. Roe Painting, an Idaho and Nevada painter, makes the same point in its own cost guide (Roe Painting).

Sources: This Old House; HomeAdvisor. Angi's New York page lists soffit and fascia together at $3 to $7 per linear foot (Angi).

The sources measure fascia and soffits in different units, so ask each painter how they measure them before you compare quotes.

Deck and fence staining is part of our painting service. If the deck itself needs rebuilding first, our deck cost guide covers what new decks cost per square foot.

What Prep Adds: Washing, Scraping, Caulking and Priming#

Prep is the part of the job you pay for but don't see at the end. HomeAdvisor puts prep at $0.50 to $2.50 per square foot, and lists these common items (HomeAdvisor):

• Power washing: $240 to $400
• Paint stripping: $0.50 to $2 per square foot
• Patching: $0.50 to $1.50 per square foot
• Caulking and masking: $0.50 to $1 per square foot
• Repairs: $25 to $50 per hour

This Old House warns that a dirty or damaged exterior can double the time and labor needed to paint it. Roe Painting prices a second coat at about 25% more than a one-coat repaint (Roe Painting).

Our painting service includes surface prep, patching and priming. We prime, patch, caulk and protect, because proper prep is what makes the paint last 7 to 10 years. Ask every painter to write down which prep steps are in the price and how extra repair is charged.

Labor: What a Painter Costs per Hour and per Day#

Labor is most of an exterior paint bill. HomeAdvisor puts painters at $25 to $100 per hour each, or $1 to $3.50 per square foot including priming and painting. This Old House says professional painting contractors typically charge $40 to $100 per hour per painter.

Over an 8-hour day, that is our arithmetic of about $200 to $800 per painter at HomeAdvisor's rates, or $320 to $800 at This Old House's. Most exterior jobs are priced by the project, not by the day, so use a day rate only to sanity-check a quote.

Paint: Cost per Gallon and How Much You Need#

This Old House lists these 2026 exterior paint prices (This Old House):

HomeAdvisor gives a wider $20 to $80 per gallon. For New Jersey exteriors we recommend 100% acrylic paint, because it handles the state's freeze-thaw cycles and humidity best.

How many gallons? Benjamin Moore's label for Regal Select Exterior lists a spread rate of 250 to 350 square feet per gallon (Benjamin Moore). Two coats on the 2,070 square foot example above is 4,140 square feet of coverage, or about 12 to 17 gallons. At This Old House's $45 to $85 for 100% acrylic, that is about $540 to $1,445 in paint, before primer, caulk and trim paint.

If you paint it yourself#

Doing it yourself takes out the labor, which is most of the bill, but not the paint or the gear. This Old House lists these supply prices, citing Home Depot: a ladder at $100 to $350, a scraper at $8 to $25, primer at $25 to $60 per gallon, a drop cloth at $10 to $40 and painter's tape at $5 to $15, plus a paint sprayer rental at about $50 to $100 a day. Add the 12 to 17 gallons of paint from the example above. The EPA's lead-safe rule generally does not apply to homeowners working on their own pre-1978 homes, but it does apply to anyone you pay, and it applies if you rent out all or part of the house (EPA).

Homes Built Before 1978: The Lead-Safe Rule Outside#

In 1978, the federal government banned the sale of lead-based paint for use in homes. The EPA says about three-quarters of U.S. homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint (EPA).

How many Mercer County houses that covers#

Of Mercer County's 152,264 housing units, 94,103 (61.8%) were built before 1980, and 26,416 (17.3%) before 1940, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, table B25034 (Census Reporter). The Census groups 1970 to 1979 together, so 1980 is the closest cutoff to 1978 that it reports. As our Trenton painting page puts it, "Trenton renovation projects often involve older buildings with unique challenges: plaster walls, outdated wiring, lead paint, and century-old plumbing."

When the rule applies to an exterior paint job#

The EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule covers paid work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes built before 1978. Outside, a job is exempt as minor repair only if it disturbs 20 square feet or less of painted surface (EPA, 40 CFR 745.83). A full exterior repaint that scrapes or sands more than 20 square feet of old paint is covered. Window replacement and demolition of painted surfaces are covered at any size.

What the crew must do outside#

Under 40 CFR 745.85, a certified firm working on the outside of a pre-1978 house must:

• Close all doors and windows within 20 feet of the work
• Cover the ground with plastic sheeting at least 10 feet out from the wall, or farther if paint debris could fall farther
• Put up vertical containment if the work is within 10 feet of the property line, so dust does not reach the neighbor's house
• Not burn or torch paint, not power-sand or grind without a shroud and HEPA vacuum attachment, and not run a heat gun at 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher
• Collect and bag the paint chips and sheeting, and have a certified renovator inspect the area, including windowsills and the ground, until no dust or debris remains

That setup and cleanup takes crew time and material, which is part of why older houses cost more to paint. Where old paint has to come off entirely, HomeAdvisor puts lead paint removal at $8 to $17 per square foot. Our interior painting cost guide covers the rest of the rule: the Renovate Right pamphlet, firm and renovator certification, and records.

The 5th Wall's licensing page lists the company as EPA Lead-Safe Certified for work on homes built before 1978. You can look up any firm with EPA's lead-safe firm search.

New Jersey Sales Tax on Exterior Painting#

The NJ Division of Taxation lists "painting interior or exterior of house" as a maintenance service, so the labor is taxable (NJ Division of Taxation, S&U-2). The rate is 6.625% (NJ Division of Taxation).

Per S&U-2, the contractor charges tax on the labor and may not charge you tax on materials listed separately. A lump-sum bill is taxed in full. With round example numbers, a $6,000 exterior job with $4,800 of labor and $1,200 of paint and supplies listed separately carries $318 of sales tax. Billed as one $6,000 lump sum, it carries $397.50. Initial painting of new construction is treated differently, as part of an exempt capital improvement.

Do You Need a Permit to Paint a House in NJ?#

No. New Jersey's Uniform Construction Code lists exterior and interior painting as ordinary maintenance, and says no permit, inspection or notice to the construction office is required for ordinary maintenance (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7).

The same section also lists as ordinary maintenance: repairing or replacing existing siding on one- and two-family homes (except polypropylene siding), repairing, replacing or installing exterior trim, and repairing, replacing or installing gutters and leaders. Structural work is not ordinary maintenance. The code names cutting away a load-bearing wall and removing a structural beam as examples. If rot turns out to reach the framing, ask your township's construction office before that repair starts.

When to Paint the Outside of a House in New Jersey#

The paint label sets the limits. Benjamin Moore lists an application temperature range of 35 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit for both Regal Select Exterior and Aura Exterior (Regal Select, Aura Exterior). Other products list different ranges, so read the label on your job.

Here is how that lines up with normal temperatures at Trenton-Mercer Airport, from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals (NOAA NCEI):

So October is not too late in Mercer County: normal October lows stay well above 35°F. By December, normal lows fall below it, and in March they are still below it. Normals are averages, so check the forecast for the days the paint goes on and dries. HomeAdvisor notes that booking outside the busy season can save money, and that painting in extreme heat or cold can raise labor costs.

How to Compare Exterior Painting Quotes#

New Jersey's Division of Consumer Affairs requires home improvement contractors, painters included, to register with the state (NJ Consumer Affairs). Its consumer brief, revised January 13, 2025, says contracts over $500 must be in writing, that you can cancel for any reason before midnight of the third business day after you get a copy, and to be wary of a contractor who asks for more than a third of the price before work begins.

Then ask every painter the same questions in writing:

1. 1Which surfaces are included: siding, trim, soffits, fascia, doors, shutters, gutters, porch, deck?
2. 2How is the paintable area measured, and are gables included?
3. 3Which prep is included: washing, scraping, caulking, spot priming, wood repair?
4. 4How many coats, and which paint line and sheen?
5. 5If the house was built before 1978: is the firm EPA-certified, and who is the certified renovator on site?
6. 6How will plants, walkways and the neighbor's side be protected?
7. 7Are labor and materials listed separately on the bill?

The 5th Wall is NJ HIC #13VH14128900 and carries $2M in general liability coverage. We are a father-and-son team based in Lawrence, and we paint houses inside and out across Mercer County as part of our painting service. For room-by-room interior prices, see our interior painting cost guide. Pricing a bigger project? Try our home renovation cost calculator.

Ready to price your exterior paint job? Request a free estimate or call (609) 954-3659.

Sources#

• HomeAdvisor, cost to paint the exterior of a house, updated June 17, 2026
• This Old House, exterior painting cost, updated March 6, 2026
• Angi, cost to paint the exterior of a house in New York, NY, updated November 18, 2025
• Roe Painting, cost to paint the exterior of your house, January 20, 2025
• EPA, Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, updated June 17, 2026
• EPA, RRP Program for Contractors, updated March 31, 2026
• 40 CFR 745.83 and 745.85 (eCFR)
• EPA, lead-safe certified firm search
• U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, table B25034, Mercer County (Census Reporter)
• NJ Division of Taxation, S&U-2, Sales Tax and Home Improvements
• NJ Division of Taxation, sales tax rate
• N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7, Ordinary maintenance (Cornell LII)
• NJ Division of Consumer Affairs, Hiring Home Improvement Contractors, revised January 13, 2025
• Benjamin Moore, Regal Select Exterior High Build, Low Lustre and Aura Exterior, Flat
• NOAA NCEI, 1991-2020 monthly normals, Trenton Mercer County Airport

Photos: house painting ("Person Painting Wooden Wall") by Lukas Kosc, ladder on a painted wall by jonathan Valerius and fence staining by Lisa Fotios, all free to use under the Pexels License; Trenton house by Smallbones, Wikimedia Commons, CC0. None show The 5th Wall's own work.