Statewide pay Government data
Painters in Massachusetts earn a statewide median of $57,510 a year, 21% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #14 of 50 states and DC. About 4,430 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Massachusetts
See all states on the painters nationwide.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes painter pay for 6 Massachusetts metros. The highest-paying is Boston at $57,820, followed by Amherst Town and Worcester.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| BostonMASSACHUSETTS · MA | $57,820 | $53,406 | 3,220 |
| Amherst TownMASSACHUSETTS · MA | $55,040 | $54,907 | 60 |
| WorcesterMASSACHUSETTS · MA | $54,240 | $52,905 | 300 |
| Barnstable TownMASSACHUSETTS · MA | $50,670 | $51,520 | 250 |
| PittsfieldMASSACHUSETTS · MA | $50,350 | $52,941 | 90 |
| SpringfieldMASSACHUSETTS · MA | $49,640 | $51,675 | 180 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for Massachusetts's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. May remove old paint to prepare surface prior to painting. May mix colors or oils to obtain desired color or consistency.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,900 openings a year. Typical training: moderate-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, painters have 124 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.4× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is overexertion and repetitive strain.
What the work is like Government data
How often painters deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
From 2015 to 2024, painting contractors in Massachusetts filed 14 severe injury reports (a hospital stay, amputation or loss of an eye). The most common cause was falls, slips and trips (71% of reports). These cover everyone at those employers, not only painters.
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Licensing in Massachusetts Official source
The main state licensing office in Massachusetts is the Massachusetts Office of Public Safety and Inspections. It can point you to the right license for painters.
Official Massachusetts licensing site ↗
Requirements for painters vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 14.5% of wage and salary workers in Massachusetts were union members, above the U.S. rate of about 10% (#10 of 51 states and D.C.), and 15.4% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only painters.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in Massachusetts
All trades in Massachusetts.