When to paint a house exterior in St. Cloud, MN
When to paint in St. Cloud, MN
A short season: book early and expect weather delays. The painting window is July to August, with 2 good months a year. The best month is July, at about 17 painting days. Book a painter by May.
If you want the house done in July to August, call for quotes in May or earlier; a job pushed past August is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- under 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 5May
- 12Jun
- 17Jul
- 14Aug
- 10Sep
- 2Oct
- under 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 | 8° / 24°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 7° / 27°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 22° / 42°F |
| April | 1 | under 1 | 7 | 33° / 55°F |
| May | 5 | 4 | 16 | 46° / 71°F |
| June | 12 | 8 | 15 | 57° / 82°F |
| July | 17 | 11 | 17 | 60° / 84°F |
| August | 14 | 11 | 17 | 58° / 80°F |
| September | 10 | 10 | 17 | 52° / 75°F |
| October | 2 | 2 | 10 | 39° / 58°F |
| November | under 1 | under 1 | 3 | 26° / 43°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 15° / 30°F |
Deck stain does best in July. Low-temperature paint adds about 44 days a year here.
Towns near St. Cloud compared
4 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Big Lake (78 a year, 24 miles southeast). 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. Sauk Rapids, Sartell are read from the same station as St. Cloud, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From St. Cloud | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk Rapids, MN | 5 mi north | 61 | July to August | same station |
| Sartell, MN | 7 mi north | 61 | July to August | same station |
| Big Lake, MN | 24 mi southeast | 78 | June to August | Maple Lake Municipal Airport |
| Monticello, MN | 25 mi southeast | 78 | June to August | Maple Lake Municipal Airport |
| Buffalo, MN | 28 mi southeast | 78 | June to August | Maple Lake Municipal Airport |
| Elk River, MN | 32 mi southeast | 71 | June to September | Crystal Airport |
How St. Cloud ranks in MN
Of 103 MN places with 10,000 people or more, St. Cloud (population 72,145, 12th largest) ranks 90th for painting days, 12 days below the state median of 73. The longest season in the state is Owatonna, 100 days, 109 miles southeast. The shortest is Hibbing at 23. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 44 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from St Cloud Regional Airport (5.9 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.