Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers Salary
The median pay for a painting, coating, and decorating workers in St. Louis, MO-IL is $49,440/year ($23.77/hour), per BLS data. The range runs from $31K at the entry level to $63K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $51,993 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,218/month, about 36.1% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $49K get you in St. Louis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About painting, coating, and decorating workers
Sponsored links, AffordMap may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more
What this looks like in St. Louis
St. Louis sits well above the national pay line for painting, coating, and decorating workers, local pay runs about 19% higher than the U.S. median of $42K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,218/month, which is 36.4% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. The pay premium is real, but so are the offsets.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for painting, coating, and decorating workers in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | $50K | $54K |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | $34K | $33K |
| Louisville/Jefferson County | $37K | $40K |
| Tulsa | $37K | $41K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level painting, coating, and decorating workers (10th percentile) start around $31K. Mid-career wages sit at $49K. Top earners bring in $63K or more, a $32K spread from bottom to top.
Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $61K | +47% | 90 |
| Nevada | $60K | +45% | N/A |
| Colorado | $54K | +30% | 170 |
| Massachusetts | $54K | +30% | 210 |
| New Jersey | $52K | +25% | 90 |
| Connecticut | $51K | +22% | 50 |
| Ohio | $49K | +18% | 230 |
| Missouri | $49K | +17% | 140 |
| New York | $49K | +17% | 460 |
| Wisconsin | $48K | +16% | 230 |
| Maryland | $47K | +14% | 50 |
| Virginia | $47K | +13% | 290 |
| Iowa | $47K | +12% | 100 |
| Georgia | $46K | +11% | 60 |
| Idaho | $45K | +8% | N/A |
| South Carolina | $44K | +5% | 140 |
| Minnesota | $44K | +5% | 150 |
| North Carolina | $43K | +3% | 170 |
| Kentucky | $42K | +1% | 200 |
| Illinois | $42K | +1% | 180 |
| Pennsylvania | $42K | +0% | 180 |
| California | $42K | +0% | N/A |
| Indiana | $41K | -1% | 490 |
| Arkansas | $40K | -3% | 50 |
| Kansas | $39K | -5% | 90 |
| Michigan | $39K | -7% | 140 |
| Utah | $38K | -8% | 70 |
| Louisiana | $38K | -8% | 50 |
| Florida | $37K | -10% | 720 |
| Wyoming | $37K | -11% | 60 |
| Arizona | $37K | -11% | 50 |
| Oklahoma | $37K | -12% | 100 |
| Tennessee | $36K | -15% | 200 |
| Montana | $35K | -16% | 40 |
| Mississippi | $33K | -20% | 70 |
| Texas | $32K | -22% | 550 |
| South Dakota | $32K | -24% | 40 |
Showing 1–10 of 37 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track painting, coating, and decorating workers salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when St. Louis numbers change.
Related careers in Production & Manufacturing
Frequently asked questions
Can a painting, coating, and decorating worker afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $49K, rent takes 36.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,000/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for painting, coating, and decorating workers in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new painting, coating, and decorating workers typically earn — is $31K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,872/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 65% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is painting, coating, and decorating worker a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Local pay is 19% above the national median — $49K here vs. $42K nationally.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for painting, coating, and decorating workers?
St. Louis pays $49K median vs. the U.S. average of $42K — that’s +19%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $52K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do painting, coating, and decorating workers make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $49,440 a year, that works out to about $24 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $31,200, and experienced painting, coating, and decorating workers can clear $63,460. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $49K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,350/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 36.4% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a painting, coating, and decorating workers salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median painting, coating, and decorating workers salary is worth about $51,993 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do painting, coating, and decorating workers get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.