No exterior painting is listed in Chicago yet. Below: how to handle the 4 most common exterior painting problems yourself, what a pro charges in Illinois, and pros in nearby cities. Chicago's ~1,100,000 households generate an estimated 38,000 exterior painting jobs a year.
Tools, time, the first steps, and exactly when to stop and call a pro.
Steps
+5 more steps in the full guide
Stop and call a pro if
Why Chicago homes get this: Chicago's temperature extremes and moisture cause paint to crack and peel faster than in milder climates. Lead paint is prevalent in pre-1978 homes, and the city's strict lead ordinance requires certified contractors for remediation in homes with young children.
What a pro charges in the region, next to what the fixes above cost in parts.
If you do it yourself: parts
Quote requests from Chicago go to listed pros within ~60 km.
Chicago's 1,100,000 households generate an estimated 38,000 exterior painting jobs a year. 18 painter pros are listed on HireLocal — about 0.6 % of the 3,100 the market can support.
| Households | 1,146,547 |
|---|---|
| Owner-occupied share | 46 % |
| Jobs per year (exterior painting) | 37,767 |
| Pros the market supports | 3,076 |
| listed on HireLocal | 18 |
| Coverage | 0.6 % |
| Score | 100 / 100 |
By national ratios Chicago supports about 3,100 full-time painter pros — a large market with room for niche specialists, emergency-only operators and franchises alike. That is several times the size of a typical United States city we cover. Ownership is split — 46 % owner-occupied — so a typical week mixes homeowners with landlords and property managers who buy in volume. The housing stock is old for the country, which pushes repair and replacement demand above the national average.
18 painter pros are listed in Chicago; 0 of them offer exterior painting specifically. Every listed pro covers roughly 54,000 households — plenty of room before this market reads as crowded.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023); U.S. BLS OEWS; HireLocal listings. Updated . How we calculate →
Chicago supports about 3,100 painter pros; with 18 listed on HireLocal there is still room, though a specialty or an emergency offer will set a new business apart. Pros in United States typically charge $3,000–8,000.
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● services with pros listed in Chicago
Learn about trades and careers·Exterior Painting in the United States·How we calculate demand