House Painting Cost in Des Moines, IA (2026)
Updated October 2026 · Des Moines, IA · index 1.01
How much does it cost to paint a house in Des Moines? For 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors, homeowners in Des Moines, IA pay about $7,300 on average, and most quotes land between $4,700 and $9,950 — $1.89 to $3.97 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 Des Moines runs 1% above the U.S. average: construction labor in the Des Moines area runs 2% above the national mean, materials 2% below. The same job averages $7,250 nationally and about $6,950 at the Iowa statewide index.
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House painting price in Des Moines by painting scope
What 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface costs in Des Moines with each painting scope, installed:
| Option | Average · range |
|---|---|
| Interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doorstwo coats throughout, the full repaint$2.93 per sq ft painted | $7,300$4,700 – $9,950 |
| Interior: walls & ceilingstwo coats, trim and doors left as they are$2.26 per sq ft painted | $5,650$3,600 – $7,650 |
| Exterior: siding & bodywashed, prepped and two coats; trim priced apart$2.02 per sq ft painted | $5,050$3,100 – $7,000 |
The least expensive option in Des Moines is exterior: siding & body, at about $5,050; interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors averages $7,300, 1.4 times as much.
Cost to paint a house in Des Moines by size
With interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors, priced for Des Moines, IA:
| Size | Average · range |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft of paintable surface$3.10 per sq ft painted | $3,100$2,000 – $4,200 |
| 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface$2.93 per sq ft painted | $7,300$4,700 – $9,950 |
| 4,000 sq ft of paintable surface$2.89 per sq ft painted | $11,500$7,450 – $15,600 |
Some costs stay the same whatever the size — walk-through and touch-ups — so a bigger job costs less per unit: $2.89 per sq ft painted for 4,000 sq ft of paintable surface against $3.10 for 1,000 sq ft of paintable surface.
What a house painting in Des Moines includes
Line by line, the $7,300 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 | $110 – $250 |
| Patch, sand and caulk | $360 – $1,000 |
| Spot primer | $110 – $230 |
| Walls, two coats | $2,200 – $4,350 |
| Ceilings, two coats | $710 – $1,400 |
| Trim and baseboard | $550 – $1,200 |
| Doors, both sides | $550 – $1,100 |
| Walk-through and touch-ups | $150 – $400 |
Each line is the price book's U.S. rate for that step times Des Moines's index of 1.01; permit fees are not scaled.
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What affects house painting prices in Des Moines
Labor and materials in Des Moines
Construction wages in the Des Moines metro run right at the U.S. mean (BLS, May 2025), and specialty-contractor pay in the city's county moves that up by 2%, to 2% above the national mean. Materials in the area's ZIP codes price 2% below the national average. Together they give Des Moines a construction cost index of 1.01.
Where Des Moines sits in Iowa
Des Moines is the 2nd most expensive of the 3 Iowa cities in our index, against a statewide index of 0.96. Davenport is the dearest at 1.04; Cedar Rapids is the least expensive at 0.98.
Against the rest of the country
Of the 306 U.S. cities in JobFlex's index, Des Moines ranks 153rd from the most expensive. The job that averages $7,300 here averages $7,250 at the national rate.
Sales tax in Iowa
Iowa's base state sales tax is 6%, 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 Des Moines contractor will ask before quoting
- Surfaces, condition and colors
- Ceiling height and trim scope
- Occupied — phasing and protection
House painting cost in other Iowa cities
2,500 sq ft of paintable surface with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors averages $7,300 in Des Moines; $7,100 in Cedar Rapids, $7,550 in Davenport.
| City | Average · range |
|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids, IA3% less | $7,100$4,550 – $9,650 |
| Davenport, IA3% more | $7,550$4,850 – $10,200 |
house painting price in Des Moines: questions
How much does it cost to paint a house in Des Moines, IA?
About $7,300 for 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors, and most Des Moines quotes fall between $4,700 and $9,950. That is 1% above the U.S. average, where the same job averages $7,250.
What is the painting price per square foot in Des Moines?
$1.89 to $3.97 per sq ft painted, about $2.93 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 Des Moines?
$7,450 to $15,600, about $11,500 on average, with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors — $2.89 per sq ft painted.
Do you need a permit for house painting in Des Moines?
Usually not: finish or repair work that changes no wiring, plumbing or structure is exempt under the International Residential Code, though Des Moines or an HOA can still ask for one.
Does the price include sales tax in Iowa?
No. The prices here are before tax; Iowa's base state rate is 6%, plus any local rate.
What is the cheapest painting scope for house painting in Des Moines?
Exterior: siding & body, at about $5,050 for 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface. Interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors runs about $7,300.
Other home projects in Des Moines
House painting cost in Iowa
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 Des Moines's construction cost index of 1.01.
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 Des Moines, each on its own base: RSMeans residential 0.96, HUD 0.98, Craftsman 1.02. Treat any city figure as about ±5%; a contractor's quote for your house is the number to plan with.
Contractors in Des Moines 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