DRYWALL PRICING GUIDE
Drywall pricing: how much to charge per square foot
The 2026 US rates to hang, tape and finish drywall by the square foot and the finish level, what ceilings, replacement and repairs run, the hourly benchmark, what to add for texture, tear-out and painting — and a free calculator that turns them into a price you can put on your website.
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The short answer
Drywall installation runs $1.50 to $3.50 per square foot in the US, labor and materials — $1.00 to $2.70 of that is the labor to hang and finish, and the board itself is $0.50 to $0.80 (HomeGuide, September 2025). HomeAdvisor's band is the same $1.50 to $3.50, and Housecall Pro says most US contractors charge $1.50 to $3 per square foot for hanging, taping, mudding and sanding, with materials at $0.40 to $0.65.
By finish level: hung only, no tape or mud (level 0) $0.85 to $1.90 per square foot; one coat for storage or tiled walls (level 2) $1.30 to $2.60; paint-ready (level 4) $1.70 to $3.20; a smooth level 5 for satin or gloss paint $1.75 to $3.50 (HomeGuide). Ceilings are $1.50 to $3.80, and replacing old drywall — tear-out, haul-away and new board — $2 to $6 per square foot.
The extras are their own lines: texture $0.80 to $2.00 per square foot, removing old drywall $0.50 to $2.50 (HomeGuide; Fixr's removal is $0.50 to $1), sanding and priming $0.10 to $0.50 (HomeAdvisor), painting the new wall $1 to $3 (HomeGuide). Drywall contractors charge $40 to $100 an hour (HomeGuide) and most set a $100 to $150 minimum for small repairs (HomeAdvisor, June 2026).
Price the square feet by finish level, add 10%–15% waste on the board (Housecall Pro), list the extras separately — then put “from” prices on your website: “drywall pricing” is Googled about 5,400 times a month, and “how much to charge for drywall” is put to AI assistants about 900 times (DataForSEO, October 2026).
FREE PRICE CALCULATOR
What should I charge for this drywall job?
Pick the job and the square feet of wall and ceiling, then tick the extras. The range uses the published 2026 US figures in the table below.
Suggested price
$500–$1,350
hang and finish, labor only, 500 sq ft
A starting range from published US figures — not a price for a customer until you've measured the walls and ceiling, counted the corners and seen what's behind the old board. Add 10%–15% waste on the material.
Show this price on your website ↓Show this price on your website
Put your drywall prices where customers look
Add your town, and Zarla builds your drywall website from this one line. Then tell the editor “add a pricing section” with your prices, and change them any time.
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RATES · OCTOBER 2026
Drywall rates per square foot (2026)
By the job and the finish level. For context, HomeGuide's room totals: a 5' × 8' bathroom $300 to $1,000, a 12' × 12' bedroom $580 to $1,800, a 16' × 20' living room $850 to $3,100, a 2,000-square-foot house $8,000 to $30,000; per sheet, $30 to $70 hung and finished.
| The job | Typical US price · source |
|---|---|
| Hang and finish, labor only | $1–$2.70 per sq ft · about $500–$1,350 for 500 sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Level 4 paint-ready, labor and materials | $1.70–$3.20 per sq ft · about $850–$1,600 for 500 sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Level 5 smooth finish, labor and materials | $1.75–$3.50 per sq ft · about $875–$1,750 for 500 sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Level 2 (one coat — storage, garages, tiled walls) | $1.30–$2.60 per sq ft · about $650–$1,300 for 500 sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Hung only, no tape or mud (level 0) | $0.85–$1.90 per sq ft · about $425–$950 for 500 sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Taping and mudding only | $0.35–$1.10 per sq ft · about $175–$550 for 500 sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Ceiling, installed | $1.50–$3.80 per sq ft · about $750–$1,900 for 500 sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Replace existing drywall (tear-out, haul-away, new board) | $2–$6 per sq ft · about $1,000–$3,000 for 500 sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Repair, flat | Patch or repair: $300–$1,500+ · HomeGuide |
| Job minimum | $100–$150 · HomeAdvisor |
| Hourly, drywall contractors | $40–$100 an hour · HomeGuide |
Rates read off each publisher's page in October 2026. The calculator above uses exactly these numbers, and never goes below the job minimum. Full source list below.
ADD-ONS AND ADJUSTMENTS
What to add for texture, tear-out, priming and paint
The lines that turn a square-foot rate into a job price — each one priced on its own.
| What | Typical US price · source |
|---|---|
| Texture (orange peel, knockdown, popcorn) | +$0.80–$2 per sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Remove and dispose of old drywall | +$0.50–$2.50 per sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Sanding and priming | +$0.10–$0.50 per sq ft · HomeAdvisor |
| Paint the new drywall | +$1–$3 per sq ft · HomeGuide |
| Permit (new walls, a finished basement or attic) | +$50–$400 · HomeGuide |
| Lead and asbestos testing, older homes | +$600–$1,500 · HomeGuide |
Where a row shows a sum (a rate × a quantity, or a percentage worked out from published dollar ranges), the arithmetic is ours and the inputs are the publisher's.
THE PRICING FORMULA
How to price a drywall job
Six steps from the tape measure to the number on the price list.
Measure walls and ceiling, add waste
Square feet of every surface the board covers, plus 10%–15% waste for cuts and breakage — 20% on jobs with lots of corners, soffits or angled ceilings (Housecall Pro). The rate × the measured area is the price; the waste sits in the material line.
Price by the finish level
Level 0 hung only $0.85–$1.90, level 2 $1.30–$2.60, level 4 paint-ready $1.70–$3.20, level 5 smooth $1.75–$3.50 per square foot, labor and materials (HomeGuide). Write the level on the price list — a level 5 for gloss paint is a different job from a garage.
Charge ceilings more
$1.50–$3.80 per square foot installed (HomeGuide) — the top of the range above eight feet. Lifts, ladders and overhead mud take longer than walls; never price a ceiling at the wall rate.
Price the tear-out separately
Removing old drywall is $0.50–$2.50 per square foot (HomeGuide), replacement all-in $2–$6. A separate line shows the customer why a remodel costs more than new construction.
Add texture, priming and paint as lines
Texture $0.80–$2.00 per square foot (HomeGuide; HomeAdvisor agrees), sanding and priming $0.10–$0.50 (HomeAdvisor), painting $1–$3 (HomeGuide). Each is an add-on, not a bundled rate.
Check it against the hour and the minimum
Contractors charge $40–$100 an hour (HomeGuide) and labor is 65%–75% of the bill. Divide your labor line by the hours; if it's under $40, the rate is too low. Set a $100–$150 minimum for small repairs (HomeAdvisor).
The formula, worked through
Say a 12' × 12' bedroom, walls and ceiling — about 500 square feet of board, the 18 sheets HomeGuide counts for the room — hung and finished to level 4 and primed, in a remodel where the old drywall comes out.
Level 4 at $1.70–$3.20 per square foot (HomeGuide) is $850–$1,600; tear-out at $0.50–$2.50 adds $250–$1,250; sanding and priming at $0.10–$0.50 (HomeAdvisor) adds $50–$250. So the job runs about $1,150–$3,100 — HomeGuide's own range for a 12' × 12' room is $580–$1,800 for new drywall before the tear-out, so the middle of the range is where a remodel lands.
Against the hours: two people over two days with drying time between coats, about 24 crew hours, the middle of that range is about $90 an hour for the crew — inside HomeGuide's $40–$100 per contractor hour. So “drywall hung and finished from $1.70 per square foot, repairs from $300” is a fair line for your website. The arithmetic is ours; the rates are the publishers'.
What to charge in your part of the country
Labor is 65%–75% of a drywall bill (HomeGuide), so the rate moves with local wages; HomeGuide says contractors charge higher per-square-foot rates for small jobs, and Fixr's install band is $1.50–$3.50 per square foot with a $2,000 national average for 1,000 square feet (January 2025).
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts overall prices in California at 110.7 against a US average of 100 and Arkansas at 86.9 (2024 regional price parities, released February 2026) — so a $2.50-per-square-foot rate in an average market is about $2.75 in California and about $2.15 in Arkansas.
In the US, replacing or repairing existing drywall needs no permit, but a new wall, a finished basement or attic does — $50–$400 (HomeGuide; HomeAdvisor) — and in older homes the old board and its joint compound may need lead and asbestos testing ($600–$1,500, HomeGuide) before it comes out; testing and disposal rules are set by state. Check your local rules before you price a tear-out.
Put your prices on your website
A price list — even “from” prices — answers a customer's first question before they pick up the phone, and it's the line an AI assistant can quote when someone asks what drywall work costs near them.
If you build your site with Zarla, tell the editor “add a pricing section: drywall hung and finished from $1.70 per square foot, ceilings from $1.50, texture from $0.80, repairs from $300” and your prices go on the site, in a section you can edit any time. Want to see a finished site first? Browse drywall website templates or see how Zarla builds drywall websites.
Still setting up? Write your drywall business plan, and when the prices are set, read SEO for contractors. Raising prices you set a year ago? The price increase letter tells customers a month ahead.
Drywall pricing: common questions
$1.50–$3.50 per square foot installed, labor and materials; $1.00–$2.70 for the labor alone (HomeGuide, September 2025). HomeAdvisor's band is $1.50–$3.50 on its installation page and $1.50–$3 on its drywall-prices page (June 2026), and Housecall Pro's is $1.50–$3 for hanging, taping, mudding and sanding. The calculator above uses the HomeGuide rates by finish level.
$0.85–$1.90 per square foot to hang it with no tape or mud — a level 0 finish (HomeGuide, September 2025). HomeAdvisor prices the hanging task alone at $0.15–$0.65 per square foot of labor, with taping and mudding $0.40–$0.70 and finishing $0.50–$1.15 on top (June 2026).
Taping and mudding alone is $0.35–$1.10 per square foot; hung and finished, a level 4 paint-ready wall is $1.70–$3.20 and a level 5 smooth finish $1.75–$3.50, labor and materials (HomeGuide, September 2025). Fixr puts level 5 at $1.15–$3.50 (January 2025). Price the level, not “finishing”.
$40–$100 an hour (HomeGuide, September 2025); $50–$100 (HomeAdvisor, June 2026). Use it to check the square-foot price, not as the price — customers want a number for the room.
$300–$1,500+ for a repair (HomeGuide, September 2025), with a $100–$150 minimum for small patches (HomeAdvisor, June 2026). Price a patch and a multi-step repair differently, and do all the repairs in a house at once to save the customer the minimums.
$1.50–$3.80 per square foot installed, the top of the range for ceilings over eight feet (HomeGuide, September 2025). HomeGuide's ceiling totals run from $60–$150 for a bathroom to $900–$3,500 for a basement.
Most drywall contractors print one installed rate per square foot ($1.50–$3.50) and show the board as a line behind it — $0.50–$0.80 per square foot or $10–$20 a sheet (HomeGuide). Either way, list tear-out, texture and paint separately so a new-construction job and a remodel price differently on paper.
Yes — a “from $1.70 per square foot” line by finish level, with ceilings, texture and repairs listed, answers the first question before the call. On a Zarla site, tell the editor “add a pricing section” with your rates, and change them when your costs do.
Where these numbers come from
Every range on this page is read off a published source, dated below. They're US figures for residential work — typical, not a rule; your costs and your market come first.
- HomeGuide — How Much Does Drywall Installation Cost? — dated September 2025, read October 2026
- HomeAdvisor — How Much Does Drywall Installation Cost? — dated June 2026, read October 2026
- HomeAdvisor — What Does Drywall Cost? — dated June 2026, read October 2026
- Fixr — How Much Does It Cost to Install Drywall? — dated January 2025, read October 2026
- Housecall Pro — General Contractor Drywall Calculator — no date on the page, read October 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — regional price parities by state, 2024 — dated February 2026, read September 2026
Put your drywall prices on your website
Add your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line. Your square-foot rates go in a pricing section you edit by chat.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.