Where America's painting contractors are: the top states by count

There are roughly 38,280 painting & wall-covering contractor establishments in the U.S. (NAICS 23832, 2023 Census County Business Patterns). California tops the list with 4,880, but the story is second place: Florida has 4,421 — nearly matching California and far ahead of Texas's 1,468 — a reflection of the state's heavy construction and repainting demand. New York is third with 2,579, followed by Washington 1,809, Illinois 1,505, Texas 1,468, Pennsylvania 1,168, and Oregon 1,091 — the Pacific Northwest punching well above its population.

Why it matters for insurance: painting is a general-liability-driven trade (overspray, property damage, ladder and fall exposure), and the states with the most painters also tend to have the deepest, most competitive insurance markets. See how general-liability profitability varies by state in our General Liability Loss Ratios by State study.

Paid employees = total employment reported for the week of March 12, U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 County Business Patterns. "—" marks state cells the Census suppressed for disclosure.

Counts are establishments classified under NAICS 23832 (Painting & Wall-Covering Contractors) in the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 County Business Patterns, the most recent CBP release. An establishment is a single physical location, so a business operating in several states is counted once per location; figures count establishments, not employees or revenue. State rows exclude cells the Census suppressed for disclosure.

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