Career
Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles
Install floors.
$56,460
Median pay
+9.0%
Job growth, 2025–35
2,200
Openings a year
No formal educational credential
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Cut covering and foundation materials, according to blueprints and sketches.
- Trim excess covering materials, tack edges, and join sections of covering material to form tight joint.
- Cut flooring material to fit around obstructions.
- Roll and press sheet wall and floor covering into cement base to smooth and finish surface, using hand roller.
- Lay out, position, and apply shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors, walls, and cabinets, following guidelines to keep courses straight and create designs.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Cut covering and foundation materials, according to blueprints and sketches.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Coordination.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $56,460 a year and 2,200 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Carpet, Floor, and Tile WorkerCIP 46.0413
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Tile and Stone Setters$55,690 · +9.8%
- Carpet Installers$50,340 · -16.4%
- Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall$49,120 · +2.4%
- Floor Sanders and Finishers$50,440 · +1.4%
- Terrazzo Workers and Finishers$76,170 · -13.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.