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Interior Painting Cost Calculator, California

Walls and ceilings, two coats, with patching and protection. Enter the floor area of the rooms.

Typical mid-range budget: $8,300–$9,900, depending on the city, for a 1,500 sq ft home interior, walls and ceilings.

Estimate my interior painting by ZIP Costs by city

Budget estimate, not a bid, appraisal, or insurance claim valuation. Get licensed contractor bids. Pilot.

Interior painting cost by California city

Mid finish, same size everywhere. Likely is the median of 4,000 simulated outcomes; the range is the 10th to 90th percentile.

City (ZIP)	Likely	Range
Los Angeles (90026)	$9,000	$7,500–$10,900
San Diego (92104)	$8,800	$7,300–$10,600
San Jose (95112)	$9,800	$8,200–$11,800
San Francisco (94110)	$9,900	$8,200–$12,000
Sacramento (95819)	$9,400	$7,700–$11,400
Fresno (93704)	$8,300	$7,000–$9,900
Riverside (92507)	$8,300	$6,900–$10,000
Santa Cruz (95060)	$9,500	$7,900–$11,600

By finish level (Los Angeles, 90026)

Finish	Likely	Range
Basic	$8,200	$6,700–$9,900
Mid	$9,000	$7,500–$10,900
Premium	$9,000	$7,500–$10,800

Where the money goes (likely, Los Angeles)

Materials, with sales tax	$1,800
Labor at local billed rates	$6,300
Contractor markup on materials	$300
Contingency	$400

Time on site: about 5 crew days; roughly 1–2 weeks start to finish. Usually no permit wait.

How the numbers are built

Local labor
Each trade at the hourly rate contractors bill in your county: BLS wages, payroll taxes, California workers' comp rates for that trade, and contractor overhead and profit.
Real product prices
Materials priced from public store pages, each with its link and the date checked (latest 2026-10-29), plus waste and your county's sales tax.
Honest ranges
Low, likely and high from 4,000 simulated outcomes, not one number that sounds more certain than it is.

Open the free estimator to change the size, finish and ZIP, leave out or add line items, and print a scope sheet for contractor bids. Method and sources.

Questions

How much does a interior painting cost in California?

For a 1,500 sq ft home interior, walls and ceilings, our mid-finish likely budget is $8,300 to $9,900 across eight California cities (Fresno lowest, San Francisco highest). Your own size, finish and ZIP change this; the free estimator recalculates it line by line.

Why do costs vary so much by city?

Mostly labor. We price each trade at the hourly rate a contractor bills in your county, built from Bureau of Labor Statistics wages, payroll taxes, California workers' comp rates and contractor overhead. Sales tax and permit fees also vary by county and city.

Does the estimate include permits and contractor profit?

Yes. Permit fees are estimated from the job's valuation (this project usually needs none). When three or more trades are involved, a general contractor overhead and profit line is shown separately; single-trade jobs are priced at the trade's billed rate only.

Is this a quote?

No. It is a budget estimate, not a bid, appraisal, or insurance claim valuation. Get written bids from licensed contractors, and check licenses with the Contractors State License Board.

Other cost guides

Remodel Estimator is self-serve budgeting software from Caissonix, in pilot. Budget estimate, not a bid, appraisal, or insurance claim valuation. Figures computed 2026-10-29 from price book 2026-10-29.2; they change as prices and wages are updated. Get licensed contractor bids, and check a contractor's license with the Contractors State License Board before you sign.