When to paint a house exterior in Chicago, IL
When to paint in Chicago, IL
A normal season: plan the job, do not leave it late. The painting window is May to September, with 5 good months a year. The best month is August, at about 27 painting days. Book a painter by March.
If you want the house done in May to September, call for quotes in March or earlier; a job pushed past September is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- under 1Mar
- 2Apr
- 14May
- 23Jun
- 26Jul
- 27Aug
- 27Sep
- 11Oct
- 2Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 21° / 35°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 22° / 40°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 7 | 32° / 48°F |
| April | 2 | 2 | 19 | 39° / 57°F |
| May | 14 | 14 | 25 | 50° / 68°F |
| June | 23 | 23 | 24 | 61° / 80°F |
| July | 26 | 26 | 26 | 68° / 83°F |
| August | 27 | 27 | 27 | 68° / 82°F |
| September | 27 | 27 | 28 | 61° / 77°F |
| October | 11 | 11 | 27 | 48° / 65°F |
| November | 2 | 2 | 15 | 35° / 52°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 27° / 42°F |
Deck stain does best in September. Low-temperature paint adds about 72 days a year here.
Towns near Chicago compared
6 get fewer, down to 89 a year. A gap like that between towns is usually elevation, a coast or a lake, which is why a painter from a few towns over can be on a different schedule.
| Place | From Chicago | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cicero, IL | 4 mi west | 89 | June to September | Chicago Midway International Airport |
| Berwyn, IL | 5 mi west | 89 | June to September | Chicago Midway International Airport |
| Oak Park, IL | 6 mi northwest | 89 | June to September | Chicago Midway International Airport |
| Forest Park, IL | 7 mi west | 89 | June to September | Chicago Midway International Airport |
| Lyons, IL | 7 mi west | 89 | June to September | Chicago Midway International Airport |
| Summit, IL | 7 mi southwest | 89 | June to September | Chicago Midway International Airport |
How Chicago ranks in IL
Of 225 IL places with 10,000 people or more, Chicago (population 2,721,308, 1st largest) ranks 1st for painting days, 54 days above the state median of 77. No place in IL has a longer season. The shortest is Woodstock at 65. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 72 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Northerly Island (4.1 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.