Painting the outside of a house costs $1.50 to $5.00 per square foot in 2026, or $3,000 to $10,000 for an average 2,000 square foot house, by national published figures. In Fargo the real number depends most on the siding and on how much old paint has to come off.
Price ranges on this page are national figures published by HomeGuide for 2026. They are not our quotes. Local labor, paint prices and the condition of your own surfaces move the number up or down. Last checked October 2026.
How much does it cost to paint the exterior of a house?
Nationally, it costs $3,000 to $10,000 to paint the exterior of an average 2,000 square foot house, at $1.50 to $5.00 per square foot. HomeGuide lists painter labor at $25 to $75 per hour and says an average job takes 4 to 5 days.
| Home size | Paintable area assumed | National range |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | 800 sq ft | $1,200 to $4,000 |
| 1,500 sq ft | 1,200 sq ft | $1,800 to $6,000 |
| 2,000 sq ft | 1,700 sq ft | $2,600 to $8,500 |
| 2,500 sq ft | 2,100 sq ft | $3,200 to $10,500 |
| 3,000 sq ft | 2,500 sq ft | $3,800 to $12,500 |
| 3,500 sq ft | 2,900 sq ft | $4,400 to $14,500 |
| 4,000 sq ft | 3,350 sq ft | $5,000 to $16,800 |
The work is also seasonal here. Exterior paint needs mild, dry weather to cure, and Fargo only has that from about late May to mid September. The painting season is short, so plan early.
How much to paint a two-story house outside?
HomeGuide does not publish a price by number of stories on its main exterior page, so the honest answer is the size table above plus the cost of working at height. Its page on vinyl siding gives $1,500 to $7,900 for a two-story house of 1,500 to 2,500 square feet. Its page on aluminum siding says multi-story access can add up to 50%.
A two-story house takes longer because of ladders, planks or a lift, and because every trip up and down costs time. Gables and dormers on older Fargo homes add more. We look at access when we walk the job and price it then.
How much for a small single-story ranch?
A small ranch is the least costly house to paint. The national table gives $1,200 to $4,000 for a 1,000 square foot home and $1,800 to $6,000 for 1,500 square feet. HomeGuide's vinyl siding page lists a one-story house of 1,000 to 1,500 square feet at $1,000 to $3,600.
Fargo and Moorhead have many one-story ramblers from the 1950s to the 1970s. They are easy to reach, but their hardboard or wood lap siding often needs scraping and caulking first, and that prep can outweigh the saving on access.
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 for a house, by the national figures. Shutters are $50 to $100 per pair and a front door is $125 to $225. A garage door is $150 to $550, and eaves, fascia and soffits run $2 to $6 per linear foot.
Trim-only jobs make sense on houses with vinyl or steel siding, where the siding is fine but the wood trim, fascia and doors are worn. That describes a lot of homes built here since the 1990s.
Does the exterior price include power washing, scraping and caulking?
In our quotes, yes: washing, scraping loose paint, caulking and spot priming are included, and the quote says so. In other quotes they may be listed as extras, so check. HomeGuide lists pressure washing a house at $170 to $360 as a separate job, and $90 to $250 on its vinyl and aluminum pages.
No national figure is published for scraping a whole house or for caulking labor alone. Both depend on the state of the old paint, which we judge on site.
How much more if the old paint is peeling?
Peeling paint adds cost because every loose edge has to be scraped, sanded and primed before new paint goes on. No published figure covers scraping a full house. The closest national numbers are paint removal on trim at $1.50 to $5.00 per linear foot and stripping at $1.91 to $2.38 per square foot.
Peeling is common on older wood siding in Fargo. Water gets behind the paint, freezes, and pushes the film off the wood. If the house was built before 1978 the old layers may contain lead, and scraping then has to follow lead-safe rules. See our lead paint guide.
How much does it cost to paint vinyl siding, brick or stucco?
By HomeGuide's main exterior page, it costs $1.50 to $4.50 per square foot to paint vinyl siding, $2.00 to $5.00 for stucco and $2.50 to $5.00 for brick. Wood is $1.50 to $5.00 and aluminum is $2.00 to $4.50.
| Siding | Per sq ft, main exterior page | Per sq ft, that siding's own page | Average house, own page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | $1.50 to $5.00 | not published | not published |
| Vinyl | $1.50 to $4.50 | $1 to $3 | $1,500 to $5,000 |
| Aluminum | $2.00 to $4.50 | $1 to $4 | $1,500 to $7,000 |
| Stucco | $2.00 to $5.00 | $1.00 to $5.50 | $2,400 to $8,100 |
| Brick | $2.50 to $5.00 | $1.50 to $4.50 | $2,000 to $8,000 |
HomeGuide's two sets of pages do not agree, so we show both. Steel siding is very common in the Fargo area. No figure is published for it. We price steel after a look, because the factory finish and any chalking decide the prep.
Spray or roll outside: is there a cost or quality difference?
Spraying is faster and rolling or brushing works paint into the surface better. The best result on rough siding often uses both: spray the paint on, then back-roll or back-brush it. No published figure sets one price against the other.
Spraying saves labor on large plain walls, but it needs more masking, and it cannot be done in wind. Fargo is a windy place. On gusty days we brush and roll, or we wait, because overspray travels to cars and neighbors' houses.
How much paint does an exterior need?
A 1,500 square foot house needs 6 to 10 gallons for two coats, and a 2,400 square foot house needs 10 to 16, by HomeGuide's figures. One gallon covers 350 to 400 square feet. Exterior paint is listed at $30 to $80 per gallon.
Rough wood, stucco and bare patches drink more paint than smooth siding. Paint is the small part of the bill in any case. Most of the cost is labor.
A free estimate with a written quote is the only way to get a real price for your job. Call or text (701) 502-6833.