← All 785 jobsFile 47-2141
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
Also filed here: Painter house, House painter, Wall painter
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 3% more of these jobs by 2035, slower than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #493 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +3% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $49,400 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 326,900 in the US, with about 24,900 openings a year
The work, 16 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Perform general construction or extraction activities11%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment11%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Apply protective solutions or coatings10%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Set up protective structures or coverings near work areas10%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Apply materials to fill gaps or imperfections6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes6%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Build structures6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Apply decorative finishes5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,208 conversations, and it got them there 62% of the time.
Still yours: Estimate project development or operational costs5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Determine resource needs of projects or operations5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,590 conversations, and it got them there 92% of the time.
AI helps with this: Prepare mixtures or solutions5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 714 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time.
AI does this: Select materials or equipment for operations or projects4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 529 Copilot conversations and completed it 94% of the time.
AI helps with this: Purchase goods or services4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 214 conversations, and it got them there 91% of the time.
Still yours: Cut materials3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate industrial processing or production equipment1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 103 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 24,900 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 56% of the workHelpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons0% AI does, against 10% here+1.5% by 2035 · $40,470 · No formal credential
- Shares 52% of the workPlasterers and Stucco Masons0% AI does, against 10% here+2.8% by 2035 · $57,660 · No formal credential
- Shares 48% of the workTile and Stone Setters2% AI does, against 10% here+9.8% by 2035 · $55,690 · No formal credential
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.09, higher than 31% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 47-2141 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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