How much does it cost to paint a 1200 sq ft house in Iowa City, IA?
| Typical total$2.89 per ft² of floor area | $3,462 |
|---|---|
| Range you should see in bidsthree bids on the same scope normally land inside this | $2,164 – $6,492 |
| Labor portion78% of the job — this is the part that moves by city | $2,701 |
| Material portion22% — bought at national prices | $762 |
| Painters, Construction and Maintenance pay near Iowa Cityabout $23/hr · Iowa City, IA metro | $48,430/yr |
| U.S. mean for the same tradeSOC 47-2141 | $55,420/yr |
| Versus the national pricetrade pay here runs −12.6% against the U.S. mean | −$378 |
| Narrow exterior window143 freezing days a year. Standard exterior paint needs 50°F and rising, so Iowa City exterior work is a summer job whatever the quote says | — |
Notes
- Where the number comes from. The national price for a full interior repaint is $3.20 per ft² of floor area — interior painting pricing published for 2026, $2–$6 per ft² of floor area. Labor is about 78% of that. Painters, Construction and Maintenance near Iowa City, IA average $48,430 a year against a U.S. mean of $55,420 — a factor of 0.874 — so the labor half is scaled by that and the material half is not. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Iowa City, IA metro area, SOC 47-2141.
- Why the city matters, not just the state. Trade pay moves inside a state as much as it does between states. Crews do not commute across a state to bid a job, and materials ship at national prices either way — so a metro wage is the honest input here and a state average quietly rounds four different cities into one number.
- Narrow exterior window. 143 freezing days a year. Standard exterior paint needs 50°F and rising, so Iowa City exterior work is a summer job whatever the quote says.
- What is in the price: walls and ceilings, two coats, minor patching, masking, and labor.
- What is not: trim and doors priced separately by most crews, wallpaper removal, and drywall repair beyond nail holes. These are the lines that turn a $3,462 quote into a $4,328 invoice, so ask about each one before signing.
- Use this as a bid check, not a quote. It prices an average job in average condition. Difficult access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a per-unit average.
a full interior repaint in Iowa City, IA
$3,462 is the typical number, and three bids on the same scope normally land between $2,164 and $6,492.
That is $378 less than the same job priced at the national average.
Why the city changes the number
About 78% of this job is labor — $2,701 of the $3,462 above. Labor is the only part that moves locally; a bundle of material costs what it costs wherever it is nailed down.
Painters, Construction and Maintenance near Iowa City average $48,430 a year, against a U.S. mean of $55,420. That is a factor of 0.874, so the labor half is scaled by it and the material half is not.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Iowa City, IA metro area, SOC 47-2141.
What the quote should include
Narrow exterior window
The lines that turn a quote into an invoice
Ask about each of them before you sign. On a job this size they are the difference between $3,462 and something a quarter higher.
Use it as a bid check, not a quote
This prices an average job in average condition. Access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a national average.
If a bid lands outside $2,164 – $6,492, that is not automatically wrong — but it is the question worth asking out loud.
Nearby sizes
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Read more
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