Commercial painting recruiters serving Syracuse.
Cleanroom-compatible coatings for the semiconductor buildout are a real niche; conventional commercial painting carries a modest regional premium.
The largest private investment in state history.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What the hub does name: Micron's fab complex as the driver of a real cleanroom-compatible coatings niche.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial painting contractors in Syracuse against that documented context.
A $100B semiconductor fabrication complex.
One named driver, at unprecedented scale.
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The largest private investment in New York State's history - the named driver behind cleanroom-compatible coatings.
What commercial painting roles pay in Syracuse.
In the Syracuse metro, BLS puts the median for painters, construction and maintenance at $48,600 a year, in line with the $49,400 national median. Among the 112 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Syracuse ranks 54th on pay. The range runs from $39,370 at the 10th percentile to $78,140 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 $48,020 median. BLS does not publish Syracuse 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 | Syracuse median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial PainterPainters, Construction and Maintenance (47-2141) | $48,600 | $39,370–$78,140 | $49,400 | −2% | 310 |
| 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) | $48,020 | $38,110–$61,400 | $48,250 | 0% | 160 |
| Painting ForemanFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $81,230 | $61,410–$126,730 | $79,920 | +2% | – |
| EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $77,970 | $52,370–$122,410 | $78,740 | −1% | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Syracuse 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 Syracuse commercial painting hiring actually plays out in 2026.
Why we name Micron specifically
The metro's own data ties cleanroom-compatible coatings directly to this $100B fab complex - four fabs planned across a 1,300-acre site.
Why cleanroom-compatible systems are the credential that matters here
The hub is explicit: this is a real niche requiring cleanroom-compatible coatings knowledge, distinct from conventional commercial painting.
What this means for sourcing
We source against verified cleanroom-compatible coatings experience for Micron-adjacent roles, and standard commercial experience at the regional premium rate for conventional repaint work.
Realistic timelines
Standard commercial painting roles: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer. Cleanroom-compatible 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 Syracuse commercial painting clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months.
- Cleanroom-compatible coatings applicator (semiconductor fab)
- Commercial painter
- Commercial painting project manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Syracuse, see the Syracuse 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 Syracuse, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Syracuse's commercial painting segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Syracuse painting work, we also confirm whether cleanroom-compatible experience is required.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Syracuse commercial painting candidate network, filtered for verified cleanroom-compatible 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; cleanroom-compatible specialty roles can run longer. We help with offer math against Syracuse's documented general context.
Syracuse runs 29% 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 Syracuse's commercial painting market compares
In 2023 the Syracuse metro had 15 nonresidential painting contractors (counted by business location), with about 97 people on their payrolls. Average pay at those firms was $56,301, 16.9% below the national average of $67,733 for the same kind of employer. The number of these employers fell 6.2%, as firms merged, closed or moved out. That works out to 2.3 per 100,000 residents against 2.0 nationally, a crowded field where experienced people get approached often. These firms account for 0.8% of all construction employment in the metro.
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Syracuse ranks 86th for headcount, 50th for median pay and 74th for concentration for painters, construction and maintenance.
| 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 Syracuse, the local pool is thinner than most, so plan on recruiting some roles in from outside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Syracuse metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Syracuse's commercial painting market has changed since 2018.
Syracuse lost nonresidential painting contractors between 2018 and 2023, from 18 business locations to 15 (down 17%), behind the 4% national decline.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonresidential painting contractors: business locations | 18 | 15 | −17% |
| Nonresidential painting contractors: employment | – | 97 | – |
| Nonresidential painting contractors: average annual pay | – | $56,301 | – |
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 Syracuse.
What is Syracuse's named semiconductor coatings demand center?
Micron's $100B semiconductor fabrication complex, the largest private investment in New York State's history - named directly in the metro's own data as the driver of cleanroom-compatible coatings.
Is commercial painting expensive to staff in Syracuse?
Conventional commercial painting carries a modest regional premium, outside the Micron cleanroom-compatible niche.
What do painters, construction and maintenance earn in Syracuse?
BLS puts the Syracuse median for painters, construction and maintenance at $48,600 a year, about the same as the $49,400 national median. That ranks 54th of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $39,370 and $78,140, a 2.0x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within New York, New York pays more, at $61,420.
Is it hard to hire painters, construction and maintenance in Syracuse?
Yes. Syracuse has 29% fewer painters, construction and maintenance per job than the country as a whole, roughly 310 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed. The 15 nonresidential painting contractors here average about 6.5 employees per location, mostly small shops, so candidates often know every employer in town by name. There are 17% 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 Syracuse?
Of the roles we recruit for, Painting Foreman pays the most in Syracuse, a $81,230 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial Painter at $48,600, 40% below it. Industrial Coatings Sprayer is the lowest-paid field role at $48,020.
How many nonresidential painting contractors operate in Syracuse?
BLS counted 15 nonresidential painting contractors in Syracuse in 2023, employing about 97 people between them. Down from 18 in 2018, a 17% decline against 4% decline nationally. That averages 6.5 people per location, so most are small shops. They pay an average of $56,301, 17% below the $67,733 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Syracuse for painters, construction and maintenance?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Rochester (74 miles, about 590, $47,230 median), Scranton (116 miles, about 130, $49,690 median) and Albany (124 miles, about 480, $51,650 median). Rochester has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Albany pays 6% more, which is where Syracuse employers tend to lose people.
Hiring commercial painting talent in Syracuse?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you timeline and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.