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Commercial painting recruiters serving Modesto.

Healthcare-grade coatings for Sutter Health's facility are a real niche; conventional commercial painting carries a solid regional premium.

THE STATE OF COMMERCIAL PAINTING HIRING IN MODESTO

A $380M cancer center, one clear niche.

Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What the hub does name: Sutter Health's Advanced Cancer Center and Care Complex as the driver of healthcare-grade coatings demand.

We recruit across the full org chart for commercial painting contractors in Modesto against that documented context.

WHAT'S DRIVING MODESTO COMMERCIAL PAINTING DEMAND

One named driver, one clear niche.

Named directly in the metro's own data.

  • Sutter Health Advanced Cancer Center and Care Complex $380M

    A four-story, 165,000 sq ft facility on the Memorial Medical Center campus - cancer treatment, a 4-OR ambulatory surgery center, and 50+ outpatient exam rooms - the named driver behind healthcare-grade coatings work.

What commercial painting roles pay in Modesto.

In the Modesto metro, BLS puts the median for painters, construction and maintenance at $48,960 a year, in line with the $49,400 national median. Among the 112 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Modesto ranks 48th on pay. The range runs from $39,670 at the 10th percentile to $77,050 at the 90th, so experience is priced well above the middle of the market. Of the other field roles, industrial coatings sprayer pays the most locally, at a $51,020 median. BLS does not publish Modesto 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.

Modesto medians by role
RoleModesto medianTypical rangeNational medianvs. nationalEmployed locally
Commercial PainterPainters, Construction and Maintenance (47-2141)$48,960$39,670–$77,050$49,400−1%480
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)$51,020$37,930–$75,090$48,250+6%150
Painting ForemanFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011)$91,140$60,000–$137,610$79,920+14%–
EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051)$81,330$51,380–$139,990$78,740+3%–

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Modesto 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 IT TAKES TO WIN THE HIRE - MODESTO COMMERCIAL PAINTING

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 Modesto commercial painting hiring actually plays out in 2026.

Why we name Sutter Health specifically

Sutter Health's $380M Advanced Cancer Center and Care Complex is named directly in the metro's own data as the driver behind the healthcare-grade coatings niche.

Why the solid regional premium is honest context here

The hub is explicit: conventional commercial painting carries a solid regional premium, with healthcare-grade coatings for Sutter Health as the named specialty exception above that baseline.

What this means for sourcing

We source against verified healthcare-grade coatings experience for the Sutter Health-adjacent roles, and standard commercial painting experience everywhere else.

Realistic timelines

Standard commercial painting roles: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer. Healthcare-grade specialty roles run longer given the smaller qualified pool. First slate of vetted candidates within 48 hours regardless.

COMMERCIAL PAINTING ROLES WE RECRUIT FOR IN MODESTO

The commercial painting positions we fill, most often.

Across all Modesto commercial painting clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months.

  • Healthcare-facility coatings applicator
  • Commercial painter
  • Residential-to-commercial crossover painter
  • Commercial painting project manager

For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Modesto, see the Modesto 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 MODESTO

How we recruit commercial painting in Modesto, plainly.

Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Modesto's commercial painting segment specifically:

  1. Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Modesto painting work, we also confirm whether the role is healthcare-facility or standard commercial scope.
  2. Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Modesto commercial painting candidate network, filtered for verified healthcare-facility coatings experience where relevant.
  3. Vetted short list (week one to several weeks). Three to five candidates. We verify real coatings history rather than a line on a resume.
  4. Offer and close. Standard roles close in 4-6 weeks. We help with offer math against Modesto's documented general context.
Modesto · commercial painting · market scale
480employed in the Modesto metro
1.71concentration vs. the national rate
$48,960BLS metro median, all painters, construction and maintenance

Modesto runs 71% more commercial painting workers per job than the country as a whole — well above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching 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.

Local market detail

How Modesto's commercial painting market compares

2nonresidential painting contractors in the metro

In 2023 the Modesto metro had 2 nonresidential painting contractors (counted by business location). BLS publishes that count but withholds headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers. That works out to 0.4 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.

Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Modesto ranks 71st for headcount, 45th for median pay and 11th for concentration for painters, construction and maintenance.

California metros we cover: Painters, Construction and Maintenance
MetroEmployedMedian payConcentrationCommercial employers
Los Angeles12,100$59,0801.33185
San Francisco5,310$63,6001.5458
San Diego4,040$55,9701.8149
Riverside3,750$48,9101.5155
Sacramento2,410$59,5101.5438
San Jose2,410$61,9701.4732
Fresno680$52,7000.9810
Stockton590$50,2901.425
Bakersfield520$58,5401.055
Modesto480$48,9601.712

BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.

What this means for hiring:For commercial painting employers in Modesto, the local pool is deeper than most, so a well-run search can usually fill field roles from inside the metro.

Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Modesto metro. Employers are counted by business location.

How Modesto's commercial painting market has changed since 2018.

Modesto had 2 nonresidential painting contractors in 2023, exactly as many as in 2018. With so few firms, one opening or closing moves that percentage a long way. How many people those 2 locations employ is not published: with a category this small, BLS would effectively be reporting individual employers' payrolls.

Modesto, 2018 vs 2023
Measure20182023Change
Nonresidential painting contractors: business locations22+0%

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.

MODESTO COMMERCIAL PAINTING HIRING - FAQ

Frequently asked — commercial painting hiring in Modesto.

What is Modesto's named painting demand center?

Sutter Health's $380M Advanced Cancer Center and Care Complex on the Memorial Medical Center campus - named directly in the metro's own data as the driver of healthcare-grade coatings work.

Is commercial painting expensive to staff in Modesto?

Conventional commercial painting carries a solid regional premium here, with healthcare-grade coatings for Sutter Health running above that.

What do painters, construction and maintenance earn in Modesto?

BLS puts the Modesto median for painters, construction and maintenance at $48,960 a year, about the same as the $49,400 national median. That ranks 48th of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $39,670 and $77,050, a 1.9x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within California, San Francisco pays more, at $63,600.

Is it hard to hire painters, construction and maintenance in Modesto?

Not by national standards. Painters, construction and maintenance make up 71% more of the Modesto workforce than they do nationally, about 480 people.

Which commercial painting roles pay the most in Modesto?

Of the roles we recruit for, Painting Foreman pays the most in Modesto, a $91,140 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Industrial Coatings Sprayer at $51,020, 44% below it. Commercial Painter is the lowest-paid field role at $48,960. Relative to national pay, Painting Foreman is the strongest-paying role here (14% above).

How many nonresidential painting contractors operate in Modesto?

BLS counted 2 nonresidential painting contractors in Modesto in 2023. That is roughly where the count stood in 2018 (2). BLS withholds their combined headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers.

Which nearby metros compete with Modesto for painters, construction and maintenance?

The closest metros we cover with published figures are Stockton (27 miles, about 590, $50,290 median), San Jose (53 miles, about 2,410, $61,970 median) and Sacramento (71 miles, about 2,410, $59,510 median). San Jose has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. San Jose pays 27% more, which is where Modesto employers tend to lose people.

Hiring commercial painting talent in Modesto?

Tell us the role. We'll tell you timeline and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.

Trade Talk A monthly hiring brief for commercial trades employers

What changed in your trade this month, and what to do about it.

One email a month, and only one. We write a separate issue for every trade we recruit in, so you get yours - not a round-up with your trade buried in paragraph nine. Every issue is written for the person actually doing the hiring.

  • Where wages moved in your trade, by market, and what that does to your next offer
  • How long roles like yours are taking to fill, and where it is getting worse
  • Interview and screening tactics that are landing candidates this month
  • What contractors competing for the same people are doing differently

Built on federal wage data, our own closed searches, and what we hear on the desk every week. Written for employers, not candidates. No pitch, no filler, one click to leave.

Pick your trade. That is the one issue you get, once a month.

One email a month. Your trade and your address, nothing else - we do not sell either, and you can unsubscribe from the bottom of any issue. Read this month's issue for your trade first →

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