No exterior painting is listed in Boston yet. Below: how to handle the 4 most common exterior painting problems yourself, what a pro charges in Massachusetts, and pros in nearby cities. Boston's ~280,000 households generate an estimated 7,600 exterior painting jobs a year.
Tools, time, the first steps, and exactly when to stop and call a pro.
Steps
+4 more steps in the full guide
Stop and call a pro if
Why Boston homes get this: Harsh freeze-thaw cycles and moisture make exterior paint crack and peel quickly, confining repainting to the warm months. Lead-paint regulations in the abundant pre-1978 stock require certified contractors for any disturbance of painted surfaces 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 Boston go to listed pros within ~60 km.
Boston's 280,000 households generate an estimated 7,600 exterior painting jobs a year. 27 painter pros are listed on HireLocal — about 4 % of the 680 the market can support.
| Households | 279,216 |
|---|---|
| Owner-occupied share | 35 % |
| Jobs per year (exterior painting) | 7,556 |
| Pros the market supports | 682 |
| listed on HireLocal | 27 |
| Coverage | 4 % |
| Score | 98 / 100 |
By national ratios Boston supports about 680 full-time painter pros — a large market with room for niche specialists, emergency-only operators and franchises alike. That is larger than most United States cities we cover. Only 35 % of homes are owner-occupied: landlords, building managers and housing associations place much of the work, often as recurring contracts. The housing stock is old for the country, which pushes repair and replacement demand above the national average.
27 painter pros are listed in Boston; 0 of them offer exterior painting specifically. Every listed pro covers roughly 8,000 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 →
Boston supports about 680 painter pros; with 27 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 Boston
Learn about trades and careers·Exterior Painting in the United States·How we calculate demand