When to paint a house exterior in Sacramento, CA
When to paint in Sacramento, CA
A short season: book early and expect weather delays. The painting window is May, with 2 good months a year. The best month is May, at about 15 painting days. Book a painter by March.
If you want the house done in May, call for quotes in March or earlier; a job pushed past May is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- 2Mar
- 7Apr
- 15May
- 11Jun
- 6Jul
- 7Aug
- 12Sep
- 9Oct
- 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 7 | 39° / 59°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | 14 | 39° / 64°F |
| March | 2 | under 1 | 20 | 43° / 68°F |
| April | 7 | 6 | 24 | 47° / 76°F |
| May | 15 | 12 | 22 | 51° / 83°F |
| June | 11 | 11 | 12 | 57° / 92°F |
| July | 6 | 5 | 6 | 59° / 96°F |
| August | 7 | 5 | 7 | 59° / 95°F |
| September | 12 | 12 | 13 | 57° / 91°F |
| October | 9 | 9 | 23 | 50° / 82°F |
| November | 1 | under 1 | 16 | 41° / 67°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | 6 | 38° / 59°F |
Deck stain does best in May. Low-temperature paint adds about 97 days a year here.
Towns near Sacramento compared
3 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Davis (97 a year, 15 miles west). 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. West Sacramento, Elk Grove are read from the same station as Sacramento, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Sacramento | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Sacramento, CA | 4 mi west | 71 | May | same station |
| Elk Grove, CA | 11 mi southeast | 71 | May | same station |
| Rancho Cordova, CA | 13 mi east | 82 | September to October | Sacramento Mather Airport |
| Citrus Heights, CA | 13 mi northeast | 82 | September to October | Sacramento Mather Airport |
| Davis, CA | 15 mi west | 97 | May to June | University Airport |
| Roseville, CA | 16 mi northeast | 71 | May | Lincoln Regional Airport Karl |
How Sacramento ranks in CA
Of 376 CA places with 10,000 people or more, Sacramento (population 535,798, 6th largest) ranks 291st for painting days, 57 days below the state median of 128. The longest season in the state is Santa Clarita, 269 days, 331 miles southeast. The shortest is Susanville at 4. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 97 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Sacramento Executive Airport (4.4 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.