Commercial painting recruiters serving Dayton.
Standard commercial painting demand tracks near national parity, with federal-facility and healthcare coatings as smaller specialty niches.
Near national parity, with two named specialty exceptions.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What the hub does name: the Convergence Research Center at Wright-Patterson AFB as the driver of federal-facility coatings, and Kettering Health's Greene County investment as the driver of healthcare-grade coatings.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial painting contractors in Dayton against that documented context.
Two named drivers, two different scopes.
Both named directly in the metro's own data.
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A 43.5-acre research campus for aerospace and defense research collaboration - the named driver behind federal-facility coatings work.
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A new Xenia medical center plus renovations at Greene Memorial Hospital - the named driver behind healthcare-grade coatings work.
What commercial painting roles pay in Dayton.
In the Dayton metro, BLS puts the median for painters, construction and maintenance at $47,310 a year, 4% below the $49,400 national median. Among the 112 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Dayton ranks 69th on pay. Most of the market sits between $36,710 and $70,090. Of the other field roles, industrial coatings sprayer pays the most locally, at a $48,230 median. BLS does not publish Dayton pay for painter helper, which it withholds where a metro's sample is too small to be reliable. National benchmarks by role are in the 2026 Commercial Painting Salary Guide.
| Role | Dayton median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial PainterPainters, Construction and Maintenance (47-2141) | $47,310 | $36,710–$70,090 | $49,400 | −4% | 300 |
| Painter HelperHelpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons (47-3014) | – | – | $40,470 | – | – |
| Industrial Coatings SprayerCoating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (51-9124) | $48,230 | $37,500–$59,080 | $48,250 | 0% | 510 |
| Painting ForemanFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $80,220 | $59,690–$106,660 | $79,920 | 0% | – |
| EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $79,020 | $50,520–$124,060 | $78,740 | 0% | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Dayton metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile. Headcount is shown for field occupations only; management, estimating and supervisory codes are counted across every industry in the metro.
What candidates expect. What credentials matter. What kills offers.
We don't tell prospective clients who their competitors are hiring - that's a discipline our clients value, and we'll honor it on a call. What we will share publicly: how Dayton commercial painting hiring actually plays out in 2026.
Why we name the Convergence Research Center and Kettering Health specifically
Both are named directly in the metro's own data as the drivers behind the two smaller specialty niches: federal-facility and healthcare coatings.
Why national parity is honest context here
The hub is explicit: standard commercial painting demand tracks near national parity, with these two projects as the named specialty exceptions above that baseline.
What this means for sourcing
We source against verified federal-facility experience for the Wright-Patterson-adjacent roles, healthcare-facility experience for the Kettering-adjacent roles, and standard commercial painting experience everywhere else.
Realistic timelines
Standard commercial painting roles: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer. Federal-facility or healthcare specialty roles run longer given the smaller qualified pool. First slate of vetted candidates within 48 hours regardless.
The commercial painting positions we fill, most often.
Across all Dayton commercial painting clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months.
- Federal-facility coatings applicator
- Healthcare-facility painter
- Commercial painter
- Commercial painting project manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Dayton, see the Dayton metro overview. To learn more about commercial painting generally (across all 100+ markets we serve), see our Commercial Painting industry page.
How we recruit commercial painting in Dayton, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Dayton's commercial painting segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Dayton painting work, we also confirm whether the role is federal-facility, healthcare, or standard commercial scope.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Dayton commercial painting candidate network, filtered for verified federal-facility or healthcare-facility coatings experience where relevant.
- Vetted short list (week one to several weeks). Three to five candidates. We verify real coatings history rather than a line on a resume.
- Offer and close. Standard roles close in 4-6 weeks. We help with offer math against Dayton's documented general context.
Dayton runs 44% fewer commercial painting workers per job than the country as a whole — well below the national concentration. Fewer per job means the people you want are already working, and usually for someone who would rather keep them.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , Painters, Construction and Maintenance. Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Dayton's commercial painting market compares
In 2023 the Dayton metro had 9 nonresidential painting contractors (counted by business location), with about 104 people on their payrolls. Average pay at those firms was $61,863, 8.7% below the national average of $67,733 for the same kind of employer. Headcount fell 3.7% over the year, in step with a 1.9% national decline. The number of these employers fell 10%, as firms merged, closed or moved out. That works out to 1.1 per 100,000 residents against 2.0 nationally. Fewer local employers means experienced people are easier to identify, but many work for firms based outside the metro. These firms account for 0.7% of all construction employment in the metro.
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Dayton ranks 88th for headcount, 63rd for median pay and 87th for concentration for painters, construction and maintenance.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 1,110 | $49,590 | 0.74 | 50 |
| Columbus | 980 | $51,810 | 0.61 | 36 |
| Cincinnati | 890 | $50,170 | 0.56 | 33 |
| Akron | 460 | $57,560 | 0.99 | 17 |
| Dayton | 300 | $47,310 | 0.56 | 9 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial painting employers in Dayton, the local pool is thin and local employers have been cutting headcount. Senior hires often come from outside the metro or from adjacent trades, so start searches earlier than you would elsewhere.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Dayton metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Dayton's commercial painting market has changed since 2018.
Dayton lost nonresidential painting contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 15 business locations to 9 (down 40%), behind the 4% national decline. With so few firms, one opening or closing moves that percentage a long way. Headcount at those firms went down 3%, to about 104 people. Average annual pay there went from $47,271 to $61,863 (+31%), faster than the 23% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential painting contractors: business locations | 15 | 9 | −40% |
| Nonresidential painting contractors: employment | 107 | 104 | −3% |
| Nonresidential painting contractors: average annual pay | $47,271 | $61,863 | +31% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Frequently asked — commercial painting hiring in Dayton.
What are Dayton's named painting demand centers?
Wright-Patterson AFB's $250M Convergence Research Center for federal-facility coatings, and Kettering Health's $40M Greene County investment for healthcare-grade coatings - both named directly in the metro's own data.
Is commercial painting expensive to staff in Dayton?
Standard commercial painting demand tracks near national parity here, with federal-facility and healthcare coatings work as smaller specialty niches above that.
What do painters, construction and maintenance earn in Dayton?
BLS puts the Dayton median for painters, construction and maintenance at $47,310 a year, 4% below the $49,400 national median. That ranks 69th of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $36,710 and $70,090, a 1.9x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within Ohio, Akron pays more, at $57,560.
Is it hard to hire painters, construction and maintenance in Dayton?
Yes. Dayton has 44% fewer painters, construction and maintenance per job than the country as a whole, roughly 300 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed. The 9 nonresidential painting contractors here average about 12 employees per location. There are 40% fewer of those firms than in 2018, so experienced people have fewer local employers to move between.
Which commercial painting roles pay the most in Dayton?
Of the roles we recruit for, Painting Foreman pays the most in Dayton, a $80,220 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Industrial Coatings Sprayer at $48,230, 40% below it. Commercial Painter is the lowest-paid field role at $47,310. Commercial Painter trails national pay the most (4% below).
How many nonresidential painting contractors operate in Dayton?
BLS counted 9 nonresidential painting contractors in Dayton in 2023, employing about 104 people between them. Down from 15 in 2018, a 40% decline against 4% decline nationally. That averages 12 people per location. They pay an average of $61,863, 9% below the $67,733 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Dayton for painters, construction and maintenance?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Cincinnati (47 miles, about 890, $50,170 median), Columbus (65 miles, about 980, $51,810 median) and Indianapolis (104 miles, about 1,250, $50,900 median). Cincinnati has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Cincinnati pays 6% more, which is where Dayton employers tend to lose people.
Hiring commercial painting talent in Dayton?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you timeline and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.