House Painters in Miami: 2026 Prices, Lead-Safe Rules and Vetted Pros

What painters charge in Miami

Our prices start from national cost guides and apply the Miami construction cost factor of 0.93 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Labor is the biggest part of any paint job, so local wages move the price more than paint does.

Estimates for 2026, including labor and standard parts. Miami prices use the metro's construction cost factor of 0.93 (US average = 1.00) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Area Cost Factors. Your quote depends on access, materials and the condition of the home.

Quotes move toward the top of the range when:

• The stucco has hairline cracks, chalking or mildew that has to be washed and treated before paint goes on
• The house was built before 1978 and the crew has to set up lead-safe containment
• There is heavy scraping, caulking or wood repair on trim, fascia and doors
• Ceilings are tall, or there is crown molding and detailed trim to cut in
• You want several colors, or a dark color is going over a light one
• The exterior needs scaffolding or a lift for a second story

Use the cost estimator below, or the full painting cost estimator, for a price based on your square footage, condition and ZIP code. Our painting cost guide covers national prices and paint finishes.

Interior painting in Miami homes

For single rooms, the Miami ranges in the table above work out to about $325 to $790 for a bedroom, $605 to $1,300 for a primary bedroom and $560 to $1,850 for a living room. A bathroom is $140 to $370, an interior door $70 to $140, and kitchen cabinets $835 to $3,550, since every door and drawer front is cleaned, sanded, primed and sprayed or brushed.

Most of a room price is labor, and walls take the largest share of the surface. Adding ceilings, baseboards and trim adds to the total. A single accent wall is a small job on its own, and painters often price it as a minimum call rather than by the square foot.

Interior work in South Florida has its own prep list. Bathrooms and kitchens without working exhaust fans grow mildew on ceilings and upper walls, and paint will not stick to it. A painter should wash those surfaces with a mildewcide, let them dry, and use a paint made for humid rooms. If the mildew keeps coming back, the fix is ventilation, not another coat. Our Miami bathroom guide covers exhaust fan and waterproofing work if the room needs more than paint.

If you are painting before a sale, a move-in or a rental turnover, plan the order of work. Floors usually go last, after paint, and any electrical or plumbing changes should happen before the walls are patched. Our Miami kitchen guide covers what else changes when the cabinets are part of a bigger remodel.

Exterior paint and the Miami climate

Exterior paint here spends the year in heat, salt air and rain. Miami International averages 67.41 inches of rain a year, with June (10.51 inches), September (10.22) and August (9.58) the wettest months and January (1.83) the driest (NOAA NCEI normals). Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood averages 60.95 inches and Palm Beach 61.75. Freezes are essentially absent: the normal number of nights at or below 32°F is 0.0 at Miami and Fort Lauderdale and 0.1 at Palm Beach. That means paint fails from sun, moisture and salt, not from ice.

The dew point matters more than the temperature. At Miami International the hourly normal dew point averages 74.4°F in August and 58.6°F in January. When the dew point sits in the mid-70s, moisture is a constant problem. Paint applied to a wall that is damp, or applied late in the day when dew forms before the film cures, can blush, blister or peel.

How often to repaint, by siding

Miami prices run about 7% below the national average.

Concrete block and stucco walls on concrete slabs are the most common South Florida house type, though no official count exists. On the coast, the walls that face the ocean take the most salt and usually fail first. Before you get quotes, rub a hand across the ocean-facing wall and a sheltered wall. Chalky residue on one side and not the other shows where the paint is going first.

Stucco: paint, elastomeric or fog coat

Stucco can take acrylic paint or elastomeric coating. A third option is a fog coat, a thin cement-based layer sprayed onto the stucco. It stays breathable, lasts longer and fades less than paint, and it can freshen up stained or lightly cracked stucco without replacing it. Ask your painter which of the three your walls can take, based on what is on them now.

When to schedule it

In Miami, the drier stretch runs from late November through April, when January averages 1.83 inches of rain. Summer work is possible but the crew has to start early and stop before afternoon storms. A typical exterior takes about 4 to 5 days, longer if there is heavy scraping or stucco repair.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and a fresh exterior coat is part of storm readiness. Do not schedule exterior painting when a storm is in the forecast. Paint needs dry, clean, stable surfaces, and a crew working around shutters and storm prep will cut corners.

Lead paint in homes built before 1978

About half of all homes in Miami-Dade and Broward were built before 1980, the closest Census bracket to the 1978 cutoff (Census ACS 2020 to 2024). Hollywood (74.7%), Miami Beach (67.3%), Fort Lauderdale (65.1%) and Coral Gables (61.1%) are older still. The EPA estimates that about three-quarters of US homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint (EPA).

That matters most during prep. Scraping and sanding old paint creates dust, and lead dust is the hazard. Under the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule:

1. Anyone paid to disturb paint in a pre-1978 home must work for an EPA-certified firm, with a certified renovator on the job. This applies even to one-person businesses.
2. Before work starts, the firm must give you EPA's Renovate Right pamphlet and keep a record that you got it.
3. Open-flame burning or torching of paint is prohibited, and so are power sanders and grinders without HEPA dust collection.
4. Small jobs are exempt: 6 square feet or less of paint per room inside, or 20 square feet or less outside. Window replacement is always covered.
5. Surfaces can be cleared if a certified inspector or a certified renovator tests them and finds no lead.

Florida is not among the states authorized to run its own RRP program, so the EPA administers it here (EPA). The rule does not generally apply to owners painting their own homes, unless they rent the home out, run a child care center there, or flip houses (Florida Department of Health). The Florida Department of Health warns that any renovation, repair or painting project in a pre-1978 home can easily create dangerous lead dust.

Lead-safe work costs more, because the crew contains the work area with plastic, collects dust with HEPA equipment and does a more careful cleanup. If paint is failing badly and has to come off entirely, ask for lead paint removal as a separate line on the estimate so you can compare bids fairly.

Paint fumes and air rules in Florida

Florida does not have a South Coast AQMD-style rule for house paint. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection regulates surface coating operations, mainly factories and shops that spray coatings all day, not a crew painting a house (FDEP). A surface coating operation can be exempt if it uses only coatings with 5.0% or less VOC by volume, or uses no more than 6.0 gallons per day (monthly average) of coatings over 5.0% VOC. That threshold is far above what a residential repaint uses.

The paint on the shelf at a Florida store is not held to a strict VOC cap the way it is in some other states, so low-VOC and zero-VOC products are a choice rather than a requirement. If someone in the house has asthma or chemical sensitivity, ask for the product data sheet and pick a low-VOC line. Ventilate while the work is going on, and plan to stay elsewhere for a day or two after a full interior repaint.

Do you need a permit?

Usually not. Miami-Dade County lists interior painting and wallpapering of your home as work that does not require a permit (Miami-Dade County). Exterior painting is also not regulated by the Florida Building Code in unincorporated Miami-Dade. Roof painting is different: waterproofing roof coatings need a permit.

The county's permit process applies only to properties with folios starting with 30, which is unincorporated Miami-Dade. Each city in the county, including Miami, Miami Beach and Coral Gables, has its own Building Official who issues permits for work inside that city's limits. Broward cities (Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood) and Palm Beach cities (Boca Raton, West Palm Beach) run their own building departments too.

Repairs that go beyond paint can need a permit. Exterior repair work like replacement of windows, doors, siding or a new roof needs one. If the painter finds rotted framing behind stucco, that is structural work and it needs a permit and inspection.

HOA color approval

In condos and planned communities, exterior colors often need HOA approval. Miami-Dade County tells homeowners to follow their Homeowner Association Guidelines and the Zoning District requirements before beginning any work (Miami-Dade County). Florida's Homeowners' Association Act is Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes, and it requires that meetings of any body with the power to approve or disapprove architectural decisions be open to members (Florida Legislature). Submit colors and wait for written approval before the crew orders paint.

Areas we cover

GOLDGCP painters take interior and exterior jobs across South Florida:

• Miami and Miami Beach
• Coral Gables
• Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood
• Boca Raton and West Palm Beach

Type in your ZIP code to see painting prices where you live and get matched with painters nearby.