Commercial painting recruiters serving New York City.
Historic preservation work and high-rise exterior work drive volume. Industrial coatings for MTA and Port Authority infrastructure form a specialty market where NACE-certified painters command premiums.
Three tiers, three credentials.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What the hub does name: transit infrastructure and high-rise exterior work as the two demand centers behind historic preservation's steady baseline.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial painting contractors in New York City against that documented context.
Transit expansion, and a new phase of high-rise construction.
Two named drivers, spanning two distinct coatings specialties.
-
Heavy civil and station mechanical work for a major MTA transit expansion - the named driver behind industrial coatings for transit infrastructure.
-
High-rise commercial construction at scale - the named driver behind high-rise exterior coatings demand.
What commercial painting roles pay in New York.
In the New York metro, BLS puts the median for painters, construction and maintenance at $61,420 a year, 24% above the $49,400 national median. Among the 112 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, New York ranks 6th on pay. The range runs from $45,400 at the 10th percentile to $111,550 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 $58,520 median. National benchmarks by role are in the 2026 Commercial Painting Salary Guide.
| Role | New York median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial PainterPainters, Construction and Maintenance (47-2141) | $61,420 | $45,400–$111,550 | $49,400 | +24% | 11,930 |
| Painter HelperHelpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons (47-3014) | $52,000 | $34,520–$52,000 | $40,470 | +28% | – |
| Industrial Coatings SprayerCoating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (51-9124) | $58,520 | $39,320–$82,850 | $48,250 | +21% | 3,250 |
| Painting ForemanFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $103,990 | $66,180–$154,540 | $79,920 | +30% | – |
| EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $82,380 | $52,000–$150,690 | $78,740 | +5% | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, New York 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 New York City commercial painting hiring actually plays out in 2026.
Why we name 2nd Avenue Subway and Hudson Yards, not JFK or LaGuardia
JFK Terminal 6/Terminal 1 redevelopment and the LaGuardia rebuild are named in the hub's own data as the largest MEP scopes in the metro, but the painting mini specifically names transit infrastructure and high-rise exterior work, so we report the two projects that match those categories.
Why NACE-certified premium work is distinct from historic preservation and general commercial painting
The hub names three separate tiers: historic preservation work, high-rise exterior, and NACE-certified industrial coatings for transit infrastructure - each commanding a different premium and requiring different credentials.
What this means for sourcing
We source against verified NACE certification for transit-infrastructure roles, high-rise exterior experience for Hudson Yards-adjacent roles, and historic preservation credentials where that specialty applies.
Realistic timelines
Standard commercial painting roles: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer, consistent with the region's broader hiring timeline. First slate of vetted candidates within 48 hours regardless.
The commercial painting positions we fill, most often.
Across all New York City commercial painting clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months.
- NACE-certified industrial painter (transit infrastructure)
- High-rise exterior coatings applicator
- Historic preservation painter
- Commercial painting project manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in New York City, see the New York 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 New York, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in New York City's commercial painting segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For New York City painting work, we also confirm which of the three tiers the role falls into.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing New York City commercial painting candidate network, filtered for the right credential tier.
- 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 New York City's documented general context.
New York runs 13% fewer commercial painting workers per job than the country as a whole — 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 New York's commercial painting market compares
In 2023 the New York metro had 257 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 1.3 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, New York ranks 2nd for headcount, 4th for median pay and 56th for concentration for painters, construction and maintenance. Pay here is among the highest we see, so offers need to start near the top of the range.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 11,930 | $61,420 | 0.87 | 257 |
| Buffalo | 750 | $53,340 | 0.97 | 25 |
| Rochester | 590 | $47,230 | 0.82 | 24 |
| Albany | 480 | $51,650 | 0.74 | 12 |
| Syracuse | 310 | $48,600 | 0.71 | 15 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial painting employers in New York, the headline number is misleading. About 11,930 painters, construction and maintenance work here, one of the larger workforces we cover, but relative to the size of the local economy the trade is thinner than average, so every other employer is drawing on the same people. Expect to recruit people who are already employed, and to make the case for moving.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, New York metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How New York's commercial painting market has changed since 2018.
New York lost nonresidential painting contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 283 business locations to 257 (down 9%), behind the 4% national decline. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in New York, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential painting contractors: business locations | 283 | 257 | −9% |
| Nonresidential painting contractors: employment | 3,876 | – | – |
| Nonresidential painting contractors: average annual pay | $74,997 | – | – |
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 New York.
What are New York's two named painting demand centers?
The $6.9B 2nd Avenue Subway Phase 2 (transit infrastructure coatings) and Hudson Yards Phase 2 ($10B+ planned, high-rise exterior) - both named directly in the metro's own data.
What is driving commercial painting demand in New York City right now?
Historic preservation work plus high-rise exterior work. Industrial coatings for infrastructure (MTA, Port Authority) form a specialty market where NACE-certified painters command premiums.
What do painters, construction and maintenance earn in New York?
BLS puts the New York median for painters, construction and maintenance at $61,420 a year, 24% above the $49,400 national median. That ranks 6th of 112 metros with published figures, in the top quarter. The range is unusually wide: $45,400 at the bottom tenth against $111,550 at the top tenth, a 2.5x gap. Senior people here are priced far above the median. No other New York metro we cover pays more for this work.
Is it hard to hire painters, construction and maintenance in New York?
It is about average. Painters, construction and maintenance are as common in New York as they are nationally (location quotient 0.87), with about 11,930 in the metro.
Which commercial painting roles pay the most in New York?
Of the roles we recruit for, Painting Foreman pays the most in New York, a $103,990 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial Painter at $61,420, 41% below it. Painter Helper is the lowest-paid field role at $52,000. Relative to national pay, Painting Foreman is the strongest-paying role here (30% above).
How many nonresidential painting contractors operate in New York?
BLS counted 257 nonresidential painting contractors in New York in 2023. Down from 283 in 2018, a 9% decline against 4% decline nationally. 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 New York for painters, construction and maintenance?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Bridgeport (53 miles, about 480, $59,590 median), Allentown-Bethlehem (78 miles, about 310, $50,880 median) and Philadelphia (81 miles, about 3,360, $57,410 median). New York out-pays Allentown-Bethlehem and Philadelphia, an advantage when recruiting from there.
We have not closed a commercial painting search in New York yet. Here is what we have closed.
These are other trades in the same market. We would rather show you the searches we have actually run in New York than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- HVAC Service TechnicianTwo months to find a technician who could run commercial, public and industrial service calls alone - the seniority bar is what made it long.
- HVAC Service TechnicianFifteen years across VRV/VRF, rooftop units and controls integration.
- HVAC Service TechnicianA second seat for the same contractor, filled with a strong diagnostician earlier in his independent career.
Hiring commercial painting talent in New York City?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you timeline and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.