NYC Apartment Painting Cost Guide 2026: Studio to 3-Bedroom

Typical NYC Apartment Painting Costs by Size (2026)

How to read this table:

• The middle column is based on current NYC guides that price walls (and in most cases ceilings) with standard prep and two finish coats.
• The right-hand column adds trim, baseboards, and doors. It is based on one 2026 NYC guide that breaks scope out separately.
• Manhattan generally runs higher than Brooklyn and Queens. One 2026 guide puts the gap at 10–20%.
• The low end usually means sound walls, a vacant apartment, and an easy building. The high end usually means real plaster repair, an occupied apartment, tall ceilings, and strict building rules.

What a standard quote usually includes

• Protecting floors, furniture, and fixtures
• Filling nail holes and minor cracks, sanding, and caulking trim
• Spot priming repairs
• Two finish coats
• Daily cleanup and a final room-by-room punch list

What’s usually priced separately

• Skim coating and major plaster repair
• Wallpaper removal
• Cabinet painting
• Floor refinishing or installation
• Moving heavy or oversized furniture

How much to paint a studio apartment in NYC

Typical NYC pricing puts a studio at roughly $1,550–$3,350 with standard prep and two coats, and about $2,050–$3,600 when trim and doors are included. Those are typical NYC market ranges for a studio of about 400–550 square feet.

• What keeps it at the low end: sound walls, a vacant apartment, staying with the same light color, and an easy building.
• What pushes it up: prewar plaster repair, a ceiling around 10 feet, an alcove or sleeping nook with lots of corners, and a color change.
• Why a small apartment isn’t proportionally cheaper: the kitchen and bathroom take up a big share of a studio, and cutting in around cabinets, tile, and fixtures is slow work. The setup, protection, building paperwork, and cleanup cost about the same as in a larger apartment.

How much to paint a one bedroom apartment in NYC

Typical NYC pricing puts a one-bedroom at roughly $2,400–$4,800 with standard prep and two coats, and about $3,100–$5,750 with trim and doors. That’s for a typical one-bedroom of about 550–800 square feet.

• How long it takes: guides say a crew typically paints a one-bedroom in two to three days, longer when the walls need significant repair.
• Watch for the cheaper tier: a one-coat, minimal-prep refresh commonly runs about $1,200–$1,800 for a one-bedroom, but it’s a different job from a full two-coat repaint with real prep. Check the number of coats on every quote.
• What pushes it up: a skim coat on even one or two rough walls, painting the ceilings, wide prewar trim and paneled doors, and working around furniture in an occupied apartment.

How much to paint a two bedroom apartment in NYC

Typical NYC pricing puts a two-bedroom at roughly $3,600–$7,800 with standard prep and two coats, and about $4,550–$9,000 with trim and doors. That’s for a typical two-bedroom of about 850–1,200 square feet.

• How long it takes: guides say a crew typically paints a two-bedroom in three to five days, longer with significant wall repair.
• Why the range is so wide: a two-bedroom has more of everything that moves the price: more ceiling, more trim, more doors, and often more rooms with different colors. In a prewar building, plaster condition can matter as much as square footage.
• Floors at the same time: if the floors need refinishing too, doing them right after the painting saves a second round of moving furniture, protection, and building scheduling. See the floors table below.

What Changes the Price in Prewar Buildings

Most apartments in Washington Heights, Inwood, and Hudson Heights are prewar, and in prewar buildings four things move the price more than anything else.

Plaster

Prewar plaster with decades of paint on it rarely just needs a quick patch. Cracks have to be cut out and refilled, and wavy or bulging areas may need a skim coat. Typical NYC pricing puts general patching at about 10–20% on top of a paint job and a full skim coat at about 40–60%, or roughly $350–$1,450 per wall depending on condition. Here’s how we decide between patching, skim coating, and replacing prewar plaster.

Ceilings

Many prewar apartments have ceilings around 10 feet. Taller ceilings mean taller ladders, more cutting in, and more paint, and cracked ceiling plaster is slower to repair than walls. Guides put the effect at about 20% for 10-foot ceilings and 20–35% for tall ceilings generally.

Occupied vs. vacant

An empty apartment is faster and usually cheaper to paint. In an occupied apartment the crew moves and wraps furniture, works room by room so you can still live there, and cleans up every day. That’s real labor, and it’s one reason quotes for same-size apartments can vary.

COIs and building rules

Co-ops, condos, and managed buildings usually require a certificate of insurance written to the building’s requirements, and many require an alteration agreement or a decorative work form. Guides estimate that co-op and condo insurance requirements alone can add a few hundred dollars. Restricted work hours and elevator windows also shorten the workday, which adds days to the job. See how COIs work for NYC painters and what goes in a co-op board approval package.

Other Things That Move the Price

Two quotes for the same apartment can differ by thousands of dollars. Usually that’s because they describe different jobs. Beyond the prewar factors above, these matter most in NYC.

Moldings, trim, doors, and radiators

Crown molding, picture rails, wide baseboards, and paneled doors are slow, detailed work. Typical 2026 NYC figures:

• Doors: about $90–$215 each, including the frame
• Crown molding: about $5–$11 per linear foot
• Radiators, with heat-resistant paint: about $120–$300 each

Color changes

Going from a dark color to white, or from white to a deep color, usually needs a primer coat or an extra finish coat. That adds about 15%. Every extra color, like accent walls or different colors in each room, adds cutting in and time.

Number of coats

Most professional quotes assume two finish coats over sound, primed surfaces. A one-coat, minimal-prep refresh is a different and cheaper tier of job (see the one-bedroom section above), so when you compare quotes, check the number of coats first.

Elevator access and walk-ups

A walk-up means every ladder, gallon, and bag of debris goes up and down the stairs. In an elevator building, the crew may only be able to use the service elevator during reserved windows. Both add time. One 2026 guide puts tall ceilings and walk-up access together at about 20–30% added.

Paint quality

Premium paint lines cost more per gallon, but paint is a small share of the total. For a full apartment, the upgrade typically adds about $240–$720. Sheen matters less to the price than to the prep: satin on wavy prewar plaster may need more patching or a skim coat than matte would. Here’s how to choose matte, eggshell or satin for each room.

Floors add-on

If your floors need work, doing them with the painting saves a second round of furniture moving, protection, and building scheduling. Typical 2025–2026 NYC figures:

As an example, a standard sand and refinish of about 500 sq ft of oak works out to roughly $2,400–$6,000 at those rates. New floor installation in a co-op often needs an alteration agreement and an approved sound-rated underlayment, so build approval time into your plan.

Quick Reference: Common Price Adjustments

How Long It Takes

Current guides say a crew typically paints a one-bedroom in two to three days and a two-bedroom in three to five, and longer when the walls need significant repair. Paint Squad NYC offers a 72-hour turnaround on defined scopes. If your building has to approve the work first, plan for its review time before the start date. Moving soon? Here’s how to plan painting before moving in, working back from your closing or lease date.

Painting in Upper Manhattan’s Prewar Buildings

Uptown, many of these price factors show up together: plaster walls, tall ceilings, moldings, radiators, walk-ups or single-elevator buildings, and co-op paperwork. Plaster is often the biggest variable, so read our guide to plaster repair and skim coating before painting before you compare quotes. See what that looks like in practice for painters in Washington Heights, painters in Hudson Heights, and painters in Inwood.

Renting? Before you pay for paint, check whether you can paint your apartment in NYC and what your landlord already owes you under the three-year repaint rule.

How to Get an Accurate Quote

1. Send photos of each room, including ceilings, trim, and any cracks or water stains.
2. Get your building’s paperwork: house rules, the insurance requirements sheet, and any alteration agreement or decorative work form.
3. Decide on scope: walls only, walls and ceilings, or everything including trim and doors, and whether floors are included.
4. Ask every contractor the same questions: number of coats, paint product, what prep is included, what’s excluded, the schedule, and proof of insurance.
5. Send photos, a video or a floor plan for a written quote. Clear photos of each room, a short phone video of each room, and your floor plan let us price plaster, ceilings, and building logistics. With Paint Squad NYC, you’ll have a detailed written quote within 24 hours, with a clear scope.
6. Check the payment terms. Make sure the full price and payment schedule are in writing before work starts.