Painting the inside of a house costs $3,500 to $10,000 on average in 2026, by national published figures. We do not publish a Detroit price list, because the walls set the price. Old plaster with cracks, tall ceilings, heavy trim and many layers of old paint take more time than smooth, newer drywall.
Price ranges on this page are national figures published by HomeGuide for 2026. They are not our quotes. Local labor, paint prices and the condition of your own surfaces move the number up or down. Last checked October 2026.
How much does it cost to paint the interior of a house?
Nationally it costs $3,500 to $10,000 to paint a whole interior, with a national average of $7,500. HomeGuide lists a low of $2,000 and a high of $15,000. That works out to $1 to $3 per square foot of wall and ceiling surface, or $3 to $7 per square foot of floor space.
Many Detroit houses were built before 1950. They have plaster walls, wide baseboards, picture rails, wood windows and solid doors. All of that is paintable surface, and most of it needs more prep than a newer house. That is why two homes with the same floor area can get very different quotes.
How much does it cost to paint a room?
It costs $300 to $1,000 to paint one room on average, by the national figures, with a national average of $750. HomeGuide lists a low of $150 and a high of $2,500.
| Room | National range |
|---|---|
| Bathroom | $150 to $400 |
| Primary bathroom | $250 to $650 |
| Kitchen (walls) | $150 to $250 |
| Bedroom | $350 to $850 |
| Primary bedroom | $650 to $1,400 |
| Living room | $600 to $2,000 |
| Dining room or hallway | $300 to $1,000 |
| Open-plan basement | $800 to $2,500 |
Most painters also have a minimum job price. The published figure is $250 to $500 or more, so one small room alone often costs more per square foot than the same room as part of a bigger job.
How much does it cost to paint a 1,500 or 2,000 square foot house inside?
For a 1,500 square foot house the national range is $4,500 to $6,000, and for a 2,000 square foot house it is $6,000 to $8,000. These come from HomeGuide's interior painting page and go by floor area.
| Home size | National range |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | $3,000 to $4,000 |
| 1,200 sq ft | $3,600 to $4,800 |
| 1,500 sq ft | $4,500 to $6,000 |
| 1,800 sq ft | $5,400 to $7,200 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $6,000 to $8,000 |
| 2,500 sq ft | $7,500 to $10,000 |
| 3,000 sq ft | $9,000 to $12,000 |
HomeGuide's separate page on painting a room gives lower whole-house figures, such as $1,600 to $5,600 for 2,000 square feet. The two pages do not agree, which shows how wide the real spread is. Scope explains most of it: walls only, or walls with ceilings, trim and doors.
How much does it cost to paint a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house?
The national figure for a 3-bedroom house is $1,200 to $8,500. The range is wide because it runs from walls only in a small house to walls, ceilings and trim in a large one.
You can also add it up room by room from the published figures. Two bedrooms at $350 to $850 each come to $700 to $1,700. Add a primary bedroom at $650 to $1,400, a bathroom at $150 to $400, a primary bathroom at $250 to $650, a living room at $600 to $2,000, kitchen walls at $150 to $250 and a hallway at $300 to $1,000. The total is $2,800 to $7,400. That is arithmetic on national figures, not a quote.
How much do painters charge per square foot?
Painters charge $1 to $3 per square foot of surface painted, by the national figures. Measured by floor space, the figure is $3 to $7 per square foot.
| What is painted | National figure per square foot |
|---|---|
| Walls only | $1.00 to $2.00 |
| Add ceilings | plus $1.00 to $2.00 |
| Add texture | plus $0.80 to $2.00 |
| New construction | $2 to $5 |
Be clear which square foot a quote means. Wall area is much larger than floor area. A 12 by 12 room has 144 square feet of floor but close to 400 square feet of wall.
Do painters charge by the room or by the square foot?
Both. Small jobs are usually priced by the room, and whole houses by the square foot or by the painter's estimate of hours. Labor is the main cost either way. HomeGuide puts labor at 70% to 85% of an interior job and painter rates at $20 to $50 per hour on its interior page.
We price by the job after seeing it. A written quote should list each room and say what is included in it: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, closets and repairs.
Does it cost more to paint ceilings as well as walls?
Yes. Ceilings cost extra. The national figure is $1 to $2 per square foot for a ceiling, and $1.00 to $3.50 for a textured or popcorn ceiling.
By room, HomeGuide's ceiling page lists $100 to $300 for a bedroom ceiling and $300 to $800 for a living room ceiling. Walls and ceiling together run $450 to $1,200 for an average bedroom. Old plaster ceilings in Detroit often have cracks or old water marks that need repair and a stain-blocking primer first.
How much extra is it for trim, doors and baseboards?
Trim and baseboards cost $1 to $4 per linear foot, or $500 to $2,000 for a house, by the national figures. Per room the figure is $25 to $200.
- Baseboards, bedroom: $40 to $160.
- Crown molding: $1 to $5 per linear foot.
- Interior window frame: $25 to $100 per window.
- Interior door: $75 to $150 each, or $80 to $250 with its trim.
- French door: $200 to $400 for a single door.
Older Detroit homes have more trim than new ones. Tall baseboards, wide casings, picture rails and paneled doors all add brush time. If the old trim has thick, chipped paint, smoothing it is extra work, and on a house built before 1978 it has to be done with lead-safe methods.
How much extra is it for high or vaulted ceilings and stairwells?
High ceilings add 10% to 50% or more to the cost, by HomeGuide's figures, once they are above 10 feet. No dollar figure is published for vaulted ceilings, so that part is priced after a walkthrough.
For stairwells, HomeGuide gives a price per linear foot by wall height: $16 for 8 to 13 feet, $20 for 13 to 17 feet, $24 for 17 to 19 feet and $30 above 19 feet. Two-story foyers and open stairs need tall ladders or staging, which is where the extra time goes.
Does it cost more to go from a dark colour to white?
Usually yes, but no national dollar figure is published for it. Covering dark walls with a light color often takes a coat of primer and two finish coats instead of two coats alone. HomeGuide only says a big color change may need more coats, which raises both material and labor.
The same is true going from light to a deep red, blue or yellow. Tell the painter the old and new colors when you ask for a quote, so the extra coat is in the price from the start.
How much more does it cost if the walls need a lot of prep?
Prep is the biggest swing in a painting price. The national figures are $1 to $3 per square foot for sanding and patching, and $300 to $1,500 or more for separate drywall repairs.
A lot of prep in a Detroit house usually means plaster cracks, loose plaster, old wallpaper, water stains, or paint that is peeling from an earlier bad job. We look at this during the estimate and write the repairs into the quote, so you can see how much of the price is repair and how much is paint.
Does the price include moving furniture and covering floors?
With us, yes for normal furniture. We move and cover furniture and protect floors as part of the job. We ask you to put away small and fragile things, and to tell us about very heavy items such as pianos.
Not every painter includes this. HomeGuide lists moving furniture as a possible add-on at $35 to $60 per hour on one page and $50 to $80 per hour on another. Ask each painter whether it is in the quote.
Why are my painting quotes so far apart?
Painting quotes end up far apart because they are rarely for the same job. One painter prices two coats, ceilings, trim and full prep. Another prices one coat on the walls only.
- How many coats, and whether primer is included.
- Walls only, or ceilings, trim, doors and closets too.
- How much patching and sanding is allowed for.
- The grade of paint.
- Who moves the furniture and covers the floors.
- Whether the painter is insured and follows lead-safe rules on older homes.
Put the quotes side by side and compare the scope line by line before you compare the totals.
How do I know if a painting quote is fair?
A painting quote is fair when it is written, complete and close to other complete quotes for the same scope. It should name the rooms, the surfaces, the number of coats, the paint and the prep.
You can set it against the national ranges on this page as a rough check. A quote above the range is not wrong if the house has cracked plaster, high ceilings or heavy trim. A quote far below every other one usually leaves something out.
A free estimate with a written quote is the only way to get a real price for your job. Call or text (313) 251-3869.