Commercial painting recruiters serving Scranton.
Standard commercial painting demand carries a modest regional premium, with healthcare-facility and data center coatings as smaller specialty niches.
A $900M patient tower and two data center campuses.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What the hub does name: Geisinger's Wyoming Valley Medical Center expansion as the driver of healthcare-facility coatings, and the AWS and NorthPoint Development data center campuses as the drivers of data-center coatings.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial painting contractors in Scranton against that documented context.
Two named drivers, two different scopes.
Both named directly in the metro's own data.
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An 11-story, 600,000 sq ft patient tower increasing capacity from 356 to 500 beds - the named driver behind healthcare-facility coatings work.
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Two concurrent data center developments - one of two AWS facilities in the state and a proposed 15-building campus on approximately 1,280 acres - the named drivers behind data-center coatings work.
What commercial painting roles pay in Scranton.
In the Scranton metro, BLS puts the median for painters, construction and maintenance at $49,690 a year, in line with the $49,400 national median. Among the 112 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Scranton ranks 41st on pay. Most of the market sits between $35,460 and $63,670. Of the other field roles, industrial coatings sprayer pays the most locally, at a $50,450 median. BLS does not publish Scranton 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 | Scranton median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial PainterPainters, Construction and Maintenance (47-2141) | $49,690 | $35,460–$63,670 | $49,400 | +1% | 130 |
| 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) | $50,450 | $34,610–$63,890 | $48,250 | +5% | 350 |
| Painting ForemanFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $78,660 | $57,210–$124,990 | $79,920 | −2% | – |
| EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $75,720 | $51,310–$118,180 | $78,740 | −4% | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Scranton 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 Scranton commercial painting hiring actually plays out in 2026.
Why we name Geisinger, AWS, and NorthPoint specifically
All three are named directly in the metro's own data as the drivers behind the two real specialty niches: healthcare-facility and data-center coatings.
Why the modest regional premium is honest context here
The hub is explicit: standard commercial painting demand carries a modest regional premium, with these named projects as the specialty exceptions above that baseline.
What this means for sourcing
We source against verified healthcare-facility coatings experience for the Geisinger-adjacent roles, data-center coatings experience for the AWS- and NorthPoint-adjacent roles, and standard commercial painting experience everywhere else.
Realistic timelines
Standard commercial painting roles: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer. Healthcare-facility or data-center 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 Scranton commercial painting clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months.
- Healthcare-facility coatings applicator
- Data-center facility coatings applicator
- Commercial painter
- Commercial painting project manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Scranton, see the Scranton 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 Scranton, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Scranton's commercial painting segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Scranton painting work, we also confirm whether the role is healthcare-facility, data-center, or standard commercial scope.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Scranton commercial painting candidate network, filtered for verified healthcare-facility or data-center 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 Scranton's documented general context.
Scranton runs 64% 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 Scranton's commercial painting market compares
In 2023 the Scranton metro had 10 nonresidential painting contractors (counted by business location), with about 84 people on their payrolls. Average pay at those firms was $54,702, 19.2% below the national average of $67,733 for the same kind of employer. Headcount fell 38.7% over the year, in step with a 1.9% national decline. The number of these employers fell 9.1%, as firms merged, closed or moved out. That works out to 1.7 per 100,000 residents, close to the 2.0 national rate. These firms account for 0.9% of all construction employment in the metro.
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Scranton ranks 98th for headcount, 38th for median pay and 97th for concentration for painters, construction and maintenance. That makes it one of the thinnest commercial painting labor markets we recruit in.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 3,360 | $57,410 | 0.80 | 112 |
| Pittsburgh | 1,260 | $49,490 | 0.78 | 52 |
| Lancaster | 430 | $49,430 | 1.19 | 10 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem | 310 | $50,880 | 0.57 | 19 |
| Harrisburg | 230 | $53,800 | 0.47 | 12 |
| Scranton | 130 | $49,690 | 0.36 | 10 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial painting employers in Scranton, 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, Scranton metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Scranton's commercial painting market has changed since 2018.
Scranton lost nonresidential painting contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 13 business locations to 10 (down 23%), behind the 4% national decline. With so few firms, one opening or closing moves that percentage a long way. Headcount at those firms went up 9%, to about 84 people, so fewer firms are employing more people each. Average annual pay there went from $47,078 to $54,702 (+16%), slower than the 23% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential painting contractors: business locations | 13 | 10 | −23% |
| Nonresidential painting contractors: employment | 77 | 84 | +9% |
| Nonresidential painting contractors: average annual pay | $47,078 | $54,702 | +16% |
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 Scranton.
What are Scranton's named painting demand centers?
Geisinger's $900M Wyoming Valley Medical Center expansion for healthcare-facility coatings, and the AWS and NorthPoint Development data center campuses for data-center coatings - all named directly in the metro's own data.
Is commercial painting expensive to staff in Scranton?
Standard commercial painting demand carries a modest regional premium here, with healthcare-facility and data-center coatings work as smaller specialty niches above that.
What do painters, construction and maintenance earn in Scranton?
BLS puts the Scranton median for painters, construction and maintenance at $49,690 a year, about the same as the $49,400 national median. That ranks 41st of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $35,460 and $63,670, a 1.8x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within Pennsylvania, Philadelphia pays more, at $57,410.
Is it hard to hire painters, construction and maintenance in Scranton?
Yes. Scranton has 64% fewer painters, construction and maintenance per job than the country as a whole, roughly 130 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed. The 10 nonresidential painting contractors here average about 8.4 employees per location. There are 23% 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 Scranton?
Of the roles we recruit for, Painting Foreman pays the most in Scranton, a $78,660 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Industrial Coatings Sprayer at $50,450, 36% below it. Commercial Painter is the lowest-paid field role at $49,690. Relative to national pay, Industrial Coatings Sprayer is the strongest-paying role here (5% above). Estimator trails national pay the most (4% below).
How many nonresidential painting contractors operate in Scranton?
BLS counted 10 nonresidential painting contractors in Scranton in 2023, employing about 84 people between them. Down from 13 in 2018, a 23% decline against 4% decline nationally. That averages 8.4 people per location. They pay an average of $54,702, 19% below the $67,733 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Scranton for painters, construction and maintenance?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Allentown-Bethlehem (56 miles, about 310, $50,880 median), New York (99 miles, about 11,930, $61,420 median) and Lancaster (100 miles, about 430, $49,430 median). Allentown-Bethlehem has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. New York pays 24% more, which is where Scranton employers tend to lose people.
We have not closed a commercial painting search in Scranton 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 Scranton than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- HVAC TechnicianA senior technician across commercial and industrial HVAC and refrigeration.
Hiring commercial painting talent in Scranton?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you timeline and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.