How much does it cost to paint a house in Memphis?
Dario’s PaintingSep 30, 20269 min readLast updated: Sep 30, 2026
In national cost guides, painting the inside of a house runs about $2 to $6 per square foot, roughly $3,000 to $9,000 for a 1,500 sq ft home. The outside runs about $1.50 to $5.30 per square foot, and This Old House puts a 2,000 sq ft home at $4,400 to $8,800. Those are national averages, not a Memphis quote: prep, height, brick vs siding, humidity and neighborhood color rules all move the number, and only a written estimate gives your price. This guide covers the ranges for rooms, exteriors, cabinets, decks and trim, and what changes them here. For the price of your own house, Dario’s Painting gives free written estimates for interior painting, exterior painting and cabinet painting in Memphis.
What Painting Costs at a Glance
By the numbers
- $2–$6 per sq ft to paint the inside of a house
- $3,000–$9,000 for the inside of a 1,500 sq ft home
- $1.50–$5.30 per sq ft to paint the outside
- 75–95% of an interior price is labor
| Job | National range | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Interior, per sq ft of floor area | $2–$6 | NerdWallet, HomeAdvisor. This Old House is lower ($1–$4); Fixr is higher ($5.75–$10.70). |
| Interior, 1,500 sq ft house | $3,000–$9,000 | NerdWallet |
| One bedroom | $240–$1,540 | HomeAdvisor, This Old House, Fixr |
| Exterior, per sq ft | $1.50–$5.30 | NerdWallet, HomeAdvisor, This Old House, Fixr |
| Exterior, 2,000 sq ft house | $4,400–$8,800 | This Old House |
| Kitchen cabinets | $425–$6,500 | HomeAdvisor, This Old House, Fixr. Averages run from $942 to $4,000. |
| Deck staining | $550–$1,250 | HomeAdvisor, Fixr |
| Fence staining or painting | $750–$4,250 | HomeAdvisor, Fixr |
| Interior trim, whole house | $500–$2,500 | HomeAdvisor, This Old House |
| Interior door | $40–$200 each | This Old House, Fixr |
| Front door | $112–$330 each | This Old House, Fixr |
Interior Painting Cost per Square Foot
Most guides price interior work by the square foot of floor area, and labor is the bulk of it: HomeAdvisor puts labor at 75% to 95% of the total. It lists about $2.75 per square foot for walls only and $4.70 for walls, trim and ceilings.
Where an interior painting price goes
HomeAdvisor puts labor at 75% to 95% of the total.
- Labor: at least 75% of the price
- Labor on the busiest jobs: up to 95%
- Paint and supplies: the rest, 5% to 25%
Painting the inside of a house, by home size
Per square foot, This Old House says $1–$4, NerdWallet $2–$6 and Fixr $5.75–$10.70.
1,000 sq ft home
.- This Old House: $1,000–$4,000
- NerdWallet: $2,000–$6,000
- Fixr: $5,749–$10,700
1,500 sq ft home
.- This Old House: $1,500–$6,000
- NerdWallet: $3,000–$9,000
- Fixr: $8,623–$16,050
2,000 sq ft home
.- This Old House: $2,000–$8,000
- NerdWallet: $4,000–$12,000
- Fixr: $11,498–$21,400
The spread comes from scope. Fixr says its range covers standard sanding, caulking and patching plus paint, and a job with ceilings, trim and repairs costs more than walls alone. When you compare quotes, compare what each one includes.
How Much It Costs to Paint One Room
A bedroom runs $240 to $1,540 across three national guides, and a kitchen $200 to $1,712. Here is what HomeAdvisor, This Old House and Fixr each say for one room.
What it costs to paint one room
Fixr does not list a living room.
Bedroom
.- HomeAdvisor: $240–$720
- This Old House: $300–$800
- Fixr: $827–$1,540
Kitchen
.- HomeAdvisor: $300–$960
- This Old House: $200–$750
- Fixr: $919–$1,712
Bathroom
.- HomeAdvisor: $140–$420
- This Old House: $50–$650. Half bath to master bath
- Fixr: $172–$321
Living room
.- HomeAdvisor: $700–$2,000
- This Old House: $600–$2,000
HomeAdvisor’s examples are a 120 sq ft bedroom, a 160 sq ft kitchen, a 70 sq ft bathroom and a 330 sq ft living room. Buying the paint yourself? The paint calculator shows how many gallons a room needs.
Exterior Painting Cost by House Size
Exterior guides price by the square foot, then adjust for stories and siding. This Old House puts the average at $2.20 to $4.40 per square foot.
Painting the outside of a house, by size
1,000 sq ft house
:- $2,200–$4,400
1,500 sq ft house
:- $3,300–$6,600
2,000 sq ft house
:- $4,400–$8,800
3,000 sq ft house
:- $6,600–$13,200
Other guides differ. HomeAdvisor runs lower, at $1,500–$4,000 for 1,000 sq ft and $2,250–$6,000 for 1,500 sq ft, and Fixr runs higher, at $6,242–$11,617 for a 2,200 sq ft house. Height matters too: for a 2,000 sq ft home, This Old House lists $4,400–$8,800 for one story, $6,900–$12,700 for two and $8,300–$15,200 for three.
Taller costs more: a 2,000 sq ft house by stories
One story
:- $4,400–$8,800
Two stories
:- $6,900–$12,700
Three stories
:- $8,300–$15,200
Exterior Painting Cost by Siding
Cost guides also price exteriors by siding, per square foot.
Exterior cost per square foot, by siding
HomeAdvisor does not list aluminum.
Wood
.- This Old House: $1.70–$3.60
- HomeAdvisor: $1–$3
Brick
.- This Old House: $2.60–$5.00
- HomeAdvisor: $1.50–$4.50
Stucco
.- This Old House: $2.50–$4.80
- HomeAdvisor: $1.50–$4
Vinyl
.- This Old House: $2.80–$5.20
- HomeAdvisor: $1.25–$3
Aluminum
.- This Old House: $2.10–$4.20
Both guides put brick above wood, but their ranges differ, so treat siding as a nudge, not a rule. Many Memphis homes are brick: see exterior painting and brick painting.
Cabinets, Decks, Fences, Trim and Doors
Kitchen cabinets
Fixr: $70–$125 per door and $30–$110 per drawer front, $4,000 on average. HomeAdvisor’s average is $942 and This Old House lists $900–$3,500 for a whole kitchen, so get more than one written quote. Labor is about 85% of the total in Fixr’s guide, and the count of doors and drawer fronts drives most of the work. See cabinet painting.
Decks
HomeAdvisor: $1–$4 per sq ft, $850 on average. Fixr: $2–$5 per sq ft with light sanding and sealing. Rails and steps take far longer than the flat boards.
Fences
HomeAdvisor: $3–$14 per linear foot, $1,700 on average. Fixr: $2.25–$10 per linear foot for one side. Length, height, condition and whether you want one side or both decide it. See fences, decks and sheds.
Trim and ceilings
Trim runs $1–$4 per linear foot in HomeAdvisor and $1–$3 in This Old House. Ceilings run $1–$2.50 per sq ft in This Old House.
Doors
Interior doors: $40–$100 each in This Old House, $70–$200 in Fixr with the casing, both sides. Front doors: $165–$330 each in This Old House, $112–$205 in Fixr for one side.
What Moves the Price in Memphis
National averages are a starting point. These are the things that change the number for a house in Memphis and Shelby County.
Prep and repairs
Prep is most of the work. Older Memphis homes often have plaster walls, hairline cracks and decades of paint on the trim, some of it oil-based, and oil-based trim needs the right primer before water-based paint will stick. More repair means more prep time.
Height and stories
A two-story house is a different job from a one-story house, mostly because of ladder work. Inside, tall ceilings and stairwells take more ladder work and more time.
Brick, siding or stucco
Each is prepped and painted differently. Brick is washed, then painted with a product matched to masonry, and painted brick is hard to go back from, so talk it through before you decide.
Humidity and mildew
Memphis is humid for much of the year. Shaded walls, north sides and anything under trees grow mildew, and it has to be washed off before painting or it comes back through. Paint also dries slower in damp air, so kitchens and bathrooms need drying time between coats.
Neighborhood color rules
In Germantown, if your neighborhood association reviews exterior colors, bring the approved colors to the walkthrough. Newer Collierville subdivisions often have color rules too. More colors and more trim detail mean more careful cutting in, and more time.
Color changes
Covering a dark or strong color, or going from dark to light, can need primer under the two finish coats.
Which surfaces
Walls alone, or walls with ceilings, trim and doors. Dario’s estimate lists each surface separately, so you choose what is included.
Surprises during prep
On exteriors, rot or water damage that could not be seen at the visit is quoted separately, and nothing is done about it without your approval.
How to Get Your Exact Price
Dario’s price comes from the free written estimate, not from a national average. He walks the job with you, measures it and checks the surfaces, then writes up the surfaces, prep, coats, paint and days, priced line by line, with a start day and an end day. It carries no obligation and it is yours to keep.
How Dario prices a job
- 1 Call back
- 2 Walkthrough
- 3 Written estimate
- 4 Start day
When you compare quotes, line up the same things
- Surfaces: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, cabinets.
- Prep: patching, sanding, caulking and priming.
- Coats, and the paint named for each surface.
- Who moves furniture, covers floors and cleans up.
- Start and end days, and whether the painter is licensed and insured.
Want to use paint you already have? Say so at the walkthrough and it is priced that way. More in our list of questions to ask a painter.
Got questions?
How much does it cost to paint a room?
Across three national guides, one bedroom runs about $240 to $1,540, a kitchen $200 to $1,712 and a living room $600 to $2,000. Size, ceiling height, wall repairs and whether ceilings and trim are included move it. Dario’s price for your room comes from the free written estimate.
How much does it cost to paint the interior of a 1,500 sq ft house?
National guides put it at $3,000 to $9,000 (NerdWallet), $1,500 to $6,000 (This Old House) or $8,623 to $16,050 (Fixr). The gap is scope: Fixr’s range includes standard sanding, caulking and patching, and ceilings, trim, repairs, tall ceilings and color changes all push a price up.
How much does it cost to paint the exterior of a house?
National guides put it at about $1.50 to $5.30 per square foot. For a 2,000 sq ft house, This Old House shows $4,400 to $8,800 for one story and $6,900 to $12,700 for two. Siding, condition and height change it. Dario washes every exterior first to take off dirt, mildew and pollen, and that prep is part of the estimate.
How much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets?
The guides disagree widely: HomeAdvisor’s average is $942, This Old House lists $900 to $3,500 for a whole kitchen, and Fixr’s average is $4,000, with most kitchens $2,500 to $6,500. The number of doors and drawer fronts, prep and repairs decide it. Dario’s estimate lists doors, drawers, boxes, prep, coats and days line by line.
How much does deck or fence staining cost?
Nationally, HomeAdvisor puts deck staining at $550 to $1,250 and Fixr at $550 to $850. Fence staining or painting runs $750 to $4,250 in HomeAdvisor and $1,000 to $4,000 in Fixr, depending on length, height, condition and how many sides. Dario can check the wood at the visit.
Do painters charge by the hour or by the square foot?
Guides quote both. This Old House puts painter labor at $30 to $60 an hour inside and $40 to $100 outside, and most guides also give per-square-foot prices. Dario’s written estimate is priced line by line by surface, with prep, coats, paint and days listed, so you can compare it with other quotes.
Sources
- NerdWallet: Cost to Paint a House in 2026 — interior $2–$6 and exterior $1.50–$4 per sq ft, interior cost by home size; updated Feb 2026
- This Old House: How Much Does Interior Painting Cost? — cost by home size, room, ceilings, doors, trim, cabinets; updated Apr 2026
- This Old House: How Much Does It Cost To Paint a House Exterior? — cost by size, stories, siding and doors; painter hourly rates; updated Mar 2026
- HomeAdvisor: Cost to Paint the Interior of a House — per sq ft, cost by room, labor share; updated Jun 2026
- HomeAdvisor: Cost to Paint a House Exterior — cost by paintable area and siding; updated Jun 2026
- HomeAdvisor: Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets — cabinet range and average; updated Jun 2026
- HomeAdvisor: Cost to Stain a Deck — deck staining range and per sq ft; updated Jun 2026
- HomeAdvisor: Cost to Stain or Paint a Fence — fence range and per linear foot; updated Jun 2026
- HomeAdvisor: Cost to Paint Baseboards and Trim — trim per linear foot and whole-house trim range; updated Jun 2026
- Fixr: Cost to Paint a House Interior — per sq ft, cost by size and room, what the range includes; updated Jan 2025
- Fixr: Exterior Painting Cost — per sq ft and a 2,200 sq ft example; updated Jan 2025
- Fixr: Cost to Paint Kitchen Cabinets — average, per door and drawer front, labor share; updated Jan 2026
- Fixr: Cost to Stain a Deck — deck range and per sq ft; updated Jan 2025
- Fixr: Cost to Paint a Fence — fence range and per linear foot; updated Jan 2025
- Fixr: Cost to Paint Interior Doors — per door, with casing; updated Jan 2025
- Fixr: Cost to Paint Exterior Doors — per door, one side; updated Jan 2025
Checked September 2026. Prices and product details change; your written estimate has the numbers for your house.
