When to paint a house exterior in Tucson, AZ
When to paint in Tucson, AZ
A short season: book early and expect weather delays. The painting window is April to May, and even that is thin, with 0 good months a year. The best month is October, at about 11 painting days. Book a painter by February.
If you want the house done in April to May, call for quotes in February 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, Oct, Nov.
- under 1Jan
- 2Feb
- 5Mar
- 10Apr
- 9May
- under 1Jun
- under 1Jul
- under 1Aug
- 2Sep
- 11Oct
- 9Nov
- 2Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | 17 | 39° / 68°F |
| February | 2 | 1 | 18 | 41° / 72°F |
| March | 5 | 3 | 25 | 45° / 77°F |
| April | 10 | 9 | 21 | 51° / 86°F |
| May | 9 | 5 | 9 | 58° / 92°F |
| June | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 70° / 102°F |
| July | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 75° / 102°F |
| August | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 74° / 100°F |
| September | 2 | 1 | 2 | 69° / 97°F |
| October | 11 | 9 | 14 | 58° / 89°F |
| November | 9 | 7 | 25 | 47° / 78°F |
| December | 2 | 2 | 20 | 40° / 70°F |
Deck stain does best in April. Low-temperature paint adds about 102 days a year here.
Towns near Tucson compared
3 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Sierra Vista (78 a year, 52 miles southeast); 1 gets fewer, down to 30 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. Oro Valley is read from the same station as Tucson, so its numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Tucson | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sahuarita, AZ | 16 mi south | 53 | April | Tucson International Airport |
| Oro Valley, AZ | 20 mi north | 49 | April to May | same station |
| Marana, AZ | 27 mi northwest | 68 | April | Ryan Field Airport |
| Sierra Vista, AZ | 52 mi southeast | 78 | September to October | Sierra Vista Municipal-Libby |
| Nogales, AZ | 55 mi south | 30 | October | Nogales International Airport |
| Eloy, AZ | 59 mi northwest | 50 | March to May | Casa Grande Municipal Airport |
How Tucson ranks in AZ
Of 44 AZ places with 10,000 people or more, Tucson (population 554,013, 2nd largest) ranks 33rd for painting days, 26 days below the state median of 75. The longest season in the state is Bullhead City, 124 days, 295 miles northwest. The shortest is Show Low at 15. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 102 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Airport (1.2 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.