House Painting Cost in St. Paul, MN (2026)
Updated October 2026 · St. Paul, MN · index 1.17
How much does it cost to paint a house in St. Paul? For 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors, homeowners in St. Paul, MN pay about $8,500 on average, and most quotes land between $5,450 and $11,500 — $2.18 to $4.60 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 St. Paul runs 17% above the U.S. average: construction labor in the St. Paul area runs 28% above the national mean, materials 1% above. The same job averages $7,250 nationally and about $7,900 at the Minnesota statewide index.
House Painting cost calculator for St. Paul
300 to 6,000 sq ft
Are you a painting contractor? Price jobs like this in 60 seconds
House painting price in St. Paul by painting scope
What 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface costs in St. Paul with each painting scope, installed:
| Option | Average · range |
|---|---|
| Interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doorstwo coats throughout, the full repaint$3.39 per sq ft painted | $8,500$5,450 – $11,500 |
| Interior: walls & ceilingstwo coats, trim and doors left as they are$2.61 per sq ft painted | $6,550$4,200 – $8,850 |
| Exterior: siding & bodywashed, prepped and two coats; trim priced apart$2.34 per sq ft painted | $5,850$3,600 – $8,100 |
The least expensive option in St. Paul is exterior: siding & body, at about $5,850; interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors averages $8,500, 1.4 times as much.
Cost to paint a house in St. Paul by size
With interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors, priced for St. Paul, MN:
| Size | Average · range |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft of paintable surface$3.59 per sq ft painted | $3,600$2,300 – $4,900 |
| 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface$3.39 per sq ft painted | $8,500$5,450 – $11,500 |
| 4,000 sq ft of paintable surface$3.34 per sq ft painted | $13,400$8,650 – $18,100 |
Some costs stay the same whatever the size — walk-through and touch-ups — so a bigger job costs less per unit: $3.34 per sq ft painted for 4,000 sq ft of paintable surface against $3.59 for 1,000 sq ft of paintable surface.
What a house painting in St. Paul includes
Line by line, the $8,500 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 – $260 |
| Walls, two coats | $2,550 – $5,050 |
| Ceilings, two coats | $820 – $1,650 |
| Trim and baseboard | $630 – $1,350 |
| Doors, both sides | $630 – $1,250 |
| Walk-through and touch-ups | $180 – $470 |
Each line is the price book's U.S. rate for that step times St. Paul's index of 1.17; permit fees are not scaled.
Get free quotes from St. Paul contractors
Describe your project once and JobFlex sends it to a local painting contractor who prices it for your home — free, no account needed.
What affects house painting prices in St. Paul
Labor and materials in St. Paul
Construction wages in the St. Paul metro run 20% above the U.S. mean (BLS, May 2025), and specialty-contractor pay in the city's county moves that up by 7%, to 28% above the national mean. Materials in the area's ZIP codes price 1% above the national average. Together they give St. Paul a construction cost index of 1.17.
Where St. Paul sits in Minnesota
St. Paul is the most expensive of the 5 Minnesota cities in our index, against a statewide index of 1.09. Duluth is the least expensive at 1.05.
Against the rest of the country
Of the 306 U.S. cities in JobFlex's index, St. Paul ranks 43rd from the most expensive. The job that averages $8,500 here averages $7,250 at the national rate.
Sales tax in Minnesota
Minnesota's base state sales tax is 6.875%, 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 St. Paul contractor will ask before quoting
- Surfaces, condition and colors
- Ceiling height and trim scope
- Occupied — phasing and protection
House painting cost in other Minnesota cities
2,500 sq ft of paintable surface with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors averages $8,500 in St. Paul; $8,350 in Minneapolis, $8,100 in Eagan, $7,900 in Rochester.
| City | Average · range |
|---|---|
| Minneapolis, MN2% less | $8,350$5,350 – $11,300 |
| Eagan, MN4% less | $8,100$5,250 – $11,000 |
| Rochester, MN7% less | $7,900$5,100 – $10,700 |
| Duluth, MN10% less | $7,600$4,900 – $10,300 |
house painting price in St. Paul: questions
How much does it cost to paint a house in St. Paul, MN?
About $8,500 for 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors, and most St. Paul quotes fall between $5,450 and $11,500. That is 17% above the U.S. average, where the same job averages $7,250.
What is the painting price per square foot in St. Paul?
$2.18 to $4.60 per sq ft painted, about $3.39 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 St. Paul?
$8,650 to $18,100, about $13,400 on average, with interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors — $3.34 per sq ft painted.
Do you need a permit for house painting in St. Paul?
Usually not: finish or repair work that changes no wiring, plumbing or structure is exempt under the International Residential Code, though St. Paul or an HOA can still ask for one.
Does the price include sales tax in Minnesota?
No. The prices here are before tax; Minnesota's base state rate is 6.875%, plus any local rate.
What is the cheapest painting scope for house painting in St. Paul?
Exterior: siding & body, at about $5,850 for 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface. Interior: walls, ceilings, trim & doors runs about $8,500.
Other home projects in St. Paul
House painting cost in Minnesota
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 St. Paul's construction cost index of 1.17.
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 St. Paul, each on its own base: Craftsman 1.13. Treat any city figure as about ±5%; a contractor's quote for your house is the number to plan with.
Contractors in St. Paul 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