House Painting Cost in Cambridge, MA (2026)
Updated October 2026 · Cambridge, MA · index 1.18
How much does it cost to paint a house in Cambridge? For 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors, homeowners in Cambridge, MA pay about $8,550 on average, and most quotes land between $5,500 and $11,600 — $2.20 to $4.64 per sq ft painted. The price covers protection and masking, prep and spot priming, two finish coats, trim and doors on a full interior, and the final walk-through.
The house painting price in Cambridge runs 18% above the U.S. average: construction labor in the Cambridge area runs 27% above the national mean, materials 3% above. The same job averages $7,250 nationally and about $8,350 at the Massachusetts statewide index.
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House painting price in Cambridge by painting scope
What 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface costs in Cambridge with each painting scope, installed:
| Option | Average · range |
|---|---|
| Interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doorstwo coats throughout, the full repaint$3.42 per sq ft painted | $8,550$5,500 – $11,600 |
| Interior: walls & ceilingstwo coats, trim and doors left as they are$2.64 per sq ft painted | $6,600$4,250 – $8,950 |
| Exterior: siding & bodywashed, prepped and two coats; trim priced apart$2.36 per sq ft painted | $5,900$3,600 – $8,200 |
The least expensive option in Cambridge is exterior: siding & body, at about $5,900; interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors averages $8,550, 1.4 times as much.
Cost to paint a house in Cambridge by size
With interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors, priced for Cambridge, MA:
| Size | Average · range |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft of paintable surface$3.62 per sq ft painted | $3,600$2,300 – $4,900 |
| 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface$3.42 per sq ft painted | $8,550$5,500 – $11,600 |
| 4,000 sq ft of paintable surface$3.37 per sq ft painted | $13,500$8,700 – $18,300 |
Some costs stay the same whatever the size — walk-through and touch-ups — so a bigger job costs less per unit: $3.37 per sq ft painted for 4,000 sq ft of paintable surface against $3.62 for 1,000 sq ft of paintable surface.
What a house painting in Cambridge includes
Line by line, the $8,550 average for 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface breaks down like this: 83% labor, 17% materials and equipment.
| Line | Low – high |
|---|---|
| Floor and furniture protection | $120 – $290 |
| Patch, sand and caulk | $420 – $1,150 |
| Spot primer | $130 – $270 |
| Walls, two coats | $2,550 – $5,100 |
| Ceilings, two coats | $830 – $1,650 |
| Trim and baseboard | $640 – $1,400 |
| Doors, both sides | $640 – $1,250 |
| Walk-through and touch-ups | $180 – $470 |
Each line is the price book's U.S. rate for that step times Cambridge's index of 1.18; permit fees are not scaled.
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What affects house painting prices in Cambridge
Labor and materials in Cambridge
Construction wages in the Cambridge area run 27% above the U.S. mean (BLS, May 2025), and materials in its ZIP codes price 3% above the national average. Together they give Cambridge a construction cost index of 1.18.
Where Cambridge sits in Massachusetts
Cambridge is the 3rd most expensive of the 7 Massachusetts cities in our index, against a statewide index of 1.15. Boston is the dearest at 1.22; Springfield is the least expensive at 1.09.
Against the rest of the country
Of the 306 U.S. cities in JobFlex's index, Cambridge ranks 38th from the most expensive. The job that averages $8,550 here averages $7,250 at the national rate.
Sales tax in Massachusetts
Massachusetts's base state sales tax is 6.25%, and cities and counties can add their own. How it applies to a home-improvement contract varies, so ask whether a quote includes it. Prices on this page are before tax.
What a Cambridge contractor will ask before quoting
- Surfaces, condition and colors
- Ceiling height and trim scope
- Occupied — phasing and protection
House painting cost in other Massachusetts cities
2,500 sq ft of paintable surface with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors averages $8,550 in Cambridge; $8,850 in Boston, $8,550 in Newton, $8,750 in Brookline.
| City | Average · range |
|---|---|
| Boston, MA3% more | $8,850$5,700 – $12,000 |
| Newton, MAsame as Cambridge | $8,550$5,500 – $11,600 |
| Brookline, MA3% more | $8,750$5,650 – $11,900 |
| Lowell, MA1% less | $8,500$5,450 – $11,500 |
| Worcester, MA6% less | $8,050$5,200 – $10,900 |
| Springfield, MA8% less | $7,900$5,100 – $10,700 |
house painting price in Cambridge: questions
How much does it cost to paint a house in Cambridge, MA?
About $8,550 for 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors, and most Cambridge quotes fall between $5,500 and $11,600. That is 18% above the U.S. average, where the same job averages $7,250.
What is the painting price per square foot in Cambridge?
$2.20 to $4.64 per sq ft painted, about $3.42 on average with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors. Smaller jobs cost more per unit, because the fixed costs are spread over less.
How much is 4,000 sq ft of paintable surface in Cambridge?
$8,700 to $18,300, about $13,500 on average, with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors — $3.37 per sq ft painted.
Do you need a permit for house painting in Cambridge?
Usually not: finish or repair work that changes no wiring, plumbing or structure is exempt under the International Residential Code, though Cambridge or an HOA can still ask for one.
Does the price include sales tax in Massachusetts?
No. The prices here are before tax; Massachusetts's base state rate is 6.25%, plus any local rate.
What is the cheapest painting scope for house painting in Cambridge?
Exterior: siding & body, at about $5,900 for 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface. Interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors runs about $8,550.
Other home projects in Cambridge
House painting cost in Massachusetts
How these prices are built
Every price on this page comes from JobFlex's contractor price book: what a homeowner pays a licensed contractor for each step of the job, as a U.S. national average per unit, with the contractor's overhead and profit included and sales tax left out. The house painting is priced step by step, then multiplied by Cambridge's construction cost index of 1.18.
Where the price book's steps for an option add up to more than 20% over the installed price a published source gives for the whole job, every step but a permit fee is scaled down to the middle of that range: exterior: siding & body × 0.52 (HomeGuide 2026: $1.00–$3.00 per sq ft painted).
The index weighs local construction wages (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025) at 60% and the area's material prices (Craftsman ZIP-area factors) at 40%. Published indices for Cambridge, each on its own base: Craftsman 1.29. Treat any city figure as about ±5%; a contractor's quote for your house is the number to plan with.
Contractors in Cambridge build quotes like these with JobFlex's Smart Proposal estimator.
- HomeGuide 2026: painters charge $1-$3/sqft; a room $350-$850; trim $1-$4/linear ft
- HomeGuide 2026: whole-home interior $3,500-$10,000 (1,500 sqft home $4,500-$6,000); labor 70-85% of the job