Exterior painting costs $1.50 to $5.00 per square foot in 2026, by national published figures. In the Bronx the job is often not a whole house. Most homes here are brick, so the work is trim, cornices, doors, railings and the siding on an extension. Whole house repaints are more common on the frame houses of City Island, Throgs Neck, Woodlawn and Riverdale.
Price ranges on this page are national figures published by HomeGuide for 2026. They are not our quotes. New York City labor, building rules, access and the state of your own walls move the number up or down. Last checked October 2026.
How much does it cost to paint the exterior of a house?
It costs $3,000 to $10,000 to paint the exterior of an average 2,000 square foot house, by the national figures, or $1.50 to $5.00 per square foot of painted surface. Labor is listed at $25 to $75 per hour.
| Home size (paintable area) | National range |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft (800) | $1,200 to $4,000 |
| 1,500 sq ft (1,200) | $1,800 to $6,000 |
| 2,000 sq ft (1,700) | $2,600 to $8,500 |
| 2,500 sq ft (2,100) | $3,200 to $10,500 |
| 3,000 sq ft (2,500) | $3,800 to $12,500 |
Bronx lots are tight. A house a few feet from its neighbor is harder to set ladders on, and work over a sidewalk needs the public protected. Both add time.
How much does it cost to paint a two-story house outside?
HomeGuide's main exterior page gives no price by number of floors. Its vinyl siding page lists $1,500 to $7,900 for a two-story house of 1,500 to 2,500 square feet, and its brick page lists $2.50 to $3.50 per square foot for a two-story house.
Height costs more because of ladders, staging and slower work. The aluminum siding page says multi-story access can add up to 50%. Many Bronx houses are two or three floors, and some stand taller on the downhill side, so we look at access before we price.
How much for a small one-story house or ranch?
A one-story house of 1,000 to 1,500 square feet is listed at $1,000 to $3,600 on the vinyl siding page, and a one-story brick house at $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot. Those are the only published figures by height.
Ranch houses are uncommon in the Bronx. The closest local match is a bungalow in Edgewater Park, Silver Beach or on City Island. They are small, but near the water they often need more washing and scraping than their size suggests.
How much to paint just the trim, shutters and front door?
Exterior trim costs $1 to $4 per linear foot, or $1,000 to $2,500 in total, by the national figures. Shutters are $50 to $100 per pair. A front door is $125 to $225, and a garage door is $150 to $550.
| Item | National range |
|---|---|
| Exterior trim | $1 to $4 per linear foot |
| Eaves, fascia and soffit | $2 to $6 per linear foot |
| Exterior window frame | $40 to $150 per window |
| Shutters | $50 to $100 per pair |
| Front door | $125 to $225 |
| Deck or porch railing | $2 to $8 per linear foot |
This is the most common exterior job on a Bronx brick house: cornice, window trim, doors, stoop railings and the garage door, with the brick left alone.
Does the exterior price include power washing, scraping and caulking?
Our written quote includes washing, scraping loose paint, caulking open joints and priming bare spots, and it says so line by line. Ask any painter to list them, because some quotes leave prep out and add it as an extra.
As separate items, the national figures put pressure washing a house at $170 to $360. No labor price is published for caulking alone. Caulk itself is $2 to $12 per tube.
How much more does it cost if the old paint is peeling?
Peeling paint adds cost because it adds hours of scraping, sanding and priming. No per-house price is published for scraping. HomeGuide's painter page lists stripping at $1.91 to $2.38 per square foot and priming at $2.63 to $7.05 per square foot where those are billed on their own.
On a house built before 1978 the peeling paint may contain lead, and then the scraping must follow lead safe rules. That adds setup and cleanup time. We look at how much of the surface is failing and price it after a walk around the house.
How much does it cost to paint vinyl siding, brick or stucco?
On each material's own HomeGuide page, it costs $1 to $3 per square foot to paint vinyl siding, $1.50 to $4.50 for brick and $1.00 to $5.50 for stucco. Aluminum siding is $1 to $4.
| Surface | Per square foot | Average house |
|---|---|---|
| Vinyl siding | $1 to $3 | $1,500 to $5,000 |
| Aluminum siding | $1 to $4 | $1,500 to $7,000 |
| Brick | $1.50 to $4.50 | $2,000 to $8,000 |
| Stucco | $1.00 to $5.50 | $2,400 to $8,100 |
| Wood siding | $1.50 to $5.00 | Not published |
HomeGuide's main exterior page gives slightly different figures for the same materials. We quote from each material's own page here and do not blend the two.
Spray or roll outside: is there a cost or quality difference?
Spraying is faster on large open walls and rolling or brushing gives more control, and a good job often uses both. No published figure separates the two by price.
In the Bronx, houses sit close together and cars park at the curb. Spray can drift onto a neighbor's wall or a windshield. So most exterior work here is brushed and rolled, and spraying is kept for sites where everything nearby can be masked and the air is still.
How much does it cost to paint fire escapes, railings and iron fences?
No national figure is published for fire escapes or iron fences. The nearest published figure is $2 to $8 per linear foot for a deck or porch railing.
Ironwork is slow because rust has to be scraped and wire brushed, then primed with a rust inhibiting primer before the finish coat. A fire escape also needs safe access and, in a rental building, lead safe methods. We price ironwork after we see how much rust there is.
Why does the same house cost more to paint near the water?
It costs more when there is more prep, and houses near the water need more prep. On City Island and in Throgs Neck, salt and wind wear the weather side of a house faster. That side needs a wash to remove salt, more scraping and more primer.
The paint itself is a small part of any exterior price. The labor to get the surface ready is the large part.
A free estimate with a written quote is the only way to get a real price for your job. Call or text (718) 866-3263.