Statewide pay Government data
Painters in Montana earn a statewide median of $58,290 a year, 22% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #12 of 50 states and DC. About 920 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Montana
See all states on the painter overview.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes painter pay for 5 Montana metros: Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| BozemanMONTANA · MT | $60,850 | $59,360 | 260 |
| HelenaMONTANA · MT | $60,110 | $62,827 | 50 |
| Great FallsMONTANA · MT | $58,260 | $60,158 | 70 |
| BillingsMONTANA · MT | $58,140 | $62,165 | 120 |
| MissoulaMONTANA · MT | $57,060 | $59,163 | 90 |
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 Montana'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.
Licensing in Montana Official source
The main state licensing office in Montana is the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (Business Standards). It can point you to the right license for painters.
Official Montana licensing site ↗
Requirements for painters vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 11.2% of wage and salary workers in Montana were union members, above the U.S. rate of about 10% (#19 of 51 states and D.C.), and 12.3% 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 Montana
All trades in Montana.