When to paint a house exterior in Iowa City, IA
When to paint in Iowa City, IA
A normal season: plan the job, do not leave it late. The painting window is June to September, with 4 good months a year. The best month is August, at about 19 painting days. Book a painter by April.
If you want the house done in June to September, call for quotes in April 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
- 7May
- 13Jun
- 16Jul
- 19Aug
- 16Sep
- 4Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 17° / 32°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 18° / 38°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 5 | 31° / 52°F |
| April | 2 | 2 | 13 | 40° / 63°F |
| May | 7 | 6 | 14 | 53° / 75°F |
| June | 13 | 9 | 13 | 63° / 85°F |
| July | 16 | 11 | 16 | 66° / 86°F |
| August | 19 | 16 | 19 | 64° / 84°F |
| September | 16 | 15 | 19 | 58° / 81°F |
| October | 4 | 4 | 15 | 44° / 66°F |
| November | 1 | 1 | 7 | 32° / 51°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 23° / 40°F |
Deck stain does best in August. Low-temperature paint adds about 46 days a year here.
Towns near Iowa City compared
2 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Muscatine (86 a year, 29 miles southeast); 2 get fewer, down to 70 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. Coralville, North Liberty are read from the same station as Iowa City, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Iowa City | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coralville, IA | 5 mi northwest | 78 | June to September | same station |
| North Liberty, IA | 7 mi northwest | 78 | June to September | same station |
| Cedar Rapids, IA | 23 mi north | 70 | June to September | The Eastern Iowa Airport |
| Marion, IA | 27 mi north | 70 | June to September | The Eastern Iowa Airport |
| Muscatine, IA | 29 mi southeast | 86 | June to September | Davenport Municipal Airpt |
| Davenport, IA | 48 mi east | 86 | June to September | Davenport Municipal Airpt |
How Iowa City ranks in IA
Of 41 IA places with 10,000 people or more, Iowa City (population 76,710, 6th largest) ranks 8th for painting days, 6 days above the state median of 72. The longest season in the state is Council Bluffs, 118 days, 226 miles west. The shortest is Le Mars at 54. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 46 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Iowa City Municipal Airport (1.7 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.