Carpet Installers
Also called: Carpet Mechanic, Flooring Installer, Flooring Mechanic, InstallerLay and install carpet from rolls or blocks on floors. Install padding and trim flooring materials.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 1 of its 16 rated tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 16.4% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 5.9% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 12.8 hires for every 10 job openings in construction, which employs about 61% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.12.8 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $46,600 | $35,200 to $54,410 | 190 |
| Alaska | $76,790 | $72,040 to $76,960 | 70 |
| Arizona | $47,920 | $46,100 to $53,630 | 260 |
| Arkansas | $37,390 | $30,070 to $42,500 | 50 |
| California | $54,440 | $41,740 to $72,800 | 2,270 |
| Colorado | $51,280 | $50,540 to $62,790 | 190 |
| Connecticut | $49,230 | $45,760 to $62,730 | 40 |
| Delaware | $50,350 | $47,870 to $61,200 | 70 |
| Florida | $48,580 | $38,020 to $53,280 | 550 |
| Georgia | $48,260 | $38,690 to $59,400 | 530 |
| Hawaii | $58,710 | $47,730 to $60,100 | not published |
| Idaho | $51,550 | $42,290 to $55,410 | 170 |
| Illinois | $49,480 | $43,190 to $97,120 | 580 |
| Indiana | $49,640 | $45,660 to $55,810 | 190 |
| Iowa | $55,920 | $44,660 to $72,600 | not published |
| Kansas | $57,920 | $55,270 to $62,390 | 70 |
| Kentucky | $37,800 | $30,360 to $53,870 | 130 |
| Louisiana | $49,400 | $44,220 to $53,510 | 100 |
| Maryland | $57,030 | $53,030 to $61,260 | 250 |
| Massachusetts | $47,930 | $47,630 to $49,580 | not published |
| Michigan | $48,790 | $37,460 to $63,080 | 470 |
| Minnesota | $85,910 | $81,350 to $85,910 | not published |
| Mississippi | $36,590 | $35,850 to $46,030 | 180 |
| Missouri | $63,960 | $49,010 to $90,330 | 230 |
| Montana | $43,840 | $40,670 to $44,860 | 150 |
| Nebraska | $50,600 | $44,060 to $100,510 | not published |
| Nevada | $67,040 | $42,690 to $79,080 | 710 |
| New Hampshire | $65,600 | $54,660 to $79,630 | 60 |
| New Jersey | $115,180 | $64,590 to $120,810 | 390 |
| New Mexico | $52,700 | $42,640 to $63,570 | 60 |
| New York | $52,160 | $34,670 to $63,880 | 710 |
| North Carolina | not published | not published | 180 |
| Ohio | $54,370 | $44,930 to $70,490 | 310 |
| Oklahoma | $42,490 | $40,280 to $42,790 | 50 |
| Oregon | $57,800 | $47,150 to $75,770 | 520 |
| Pennsylvania | $46,030 | $39,300 to $59,610 | 490 |
| South Carolina | $33,810 | $32,170 to $51,270 | 80 |
| South Dakota | $40,420 | $36,520 to $45,850 | 80 |
| Tennessee | $74,510 | $57,920 to $75,590 | 50 |
| Texas | $43,610 | $36,520 to $63,100 | 810 |
| Utah | $44,480 | $33,720 to $61,740 | 240 |
| Vermont | $54,830 | $51,540 to $62,400 | 30 |
| Virginia | $48,920 | $32,490 to $74,820 | 210 |
| Washington | $54,830 | $46,270 to $64,560 | 470 |
| West Virginia | $36,220 | $30,490 to $46,320 | 50 |
| Wisconsin | $60,830 | $49,330 to $65,170 | 420 |
Nationally: $50,340. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 1 of its 16 rated tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Plan the layout of the carpet, allowing for expected traffic patterns and placing seams for best appearance and longest wear. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut and trim carpet to fit along wall edges, openings, and projections, finishing the edges with a wall trimmer. | Not published |
| Not much | Roll out, measure, mark, and cut carpeting to size with a carpet knife, following floor sketches and allowing extra carpet for final fitting. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect the surface to be covered to determine its condition, and correct any imperfections that might show through carpet or cause carpet to wear unevenly. | Not published |
| Not much | Install carpet on some floors using adhesive, following prescribed method. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean up before and after installation, including vacuuming carpet and discarding remnant pieces. | Not published |
See all 17 tasks
| Not rated | Cut and install vinyl composition tile or vinyl base. | Not published |
| Not much | Join edges of carpet and seam edges where necessary, by sewing or by using tape with glue and heated carpet iron. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Move furniture from area to be carpeted and remove old carpet and padding. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut carpet padding to size and install padding, following prescribed method. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Take measurements and study floor sketches to calculate the area to be carpeted and the amount of material needed. | Not published |
| Not much | Stretch carpet to align with walls and ensure a smooth surface, and press carpet in place over tack strips or use staples, tape, tacks or glue to hold carpet in place. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Nail tack strips around area to be carpeted or use old strips to attach edges of new carpet. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Fasten metal treads across door openings or where carpet meets flooring to hold carpet in place. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| AI + software | Draw building diagrams and record dimensions. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Measure, cut and install tackless strips along the baseboard or wall. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut and bind material. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 17 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 17 tasks fall under 14 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- #14 Create visual designs or displays
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build structures | |||
| Cut materials | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Create visual designs or displays | |||
| Plan work activities | |||
| Determine resource needs of projects or operations | |||
| Assess characteristics of land or property |
Show all 14 activities
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Dispose of waste or debris | |||
| Inspect facilities or equipment | |||
| Position materials or components for assembly | |||
| Perform general construction or extraction activities | |||
| Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A chart or visualization28%
- A document or report18%
- A design mockup12%
- A script or snippet12%
- Data or a spreadsheet4%
How they worked with Claude
55% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for carpet installers specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 2,555 moves out
- 1 Human Resources Specialists Very high +6.4% 5%
- 2 Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians High +3.1% 5%
- 3 Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other Moderate +2.8% 4%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 4%
- 5 Security Guards Moderate +0.9% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 1,594 moves in
- 1 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 6%
- 2 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 5%
- 3 Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians High +3.1% 3%
- 4 Security Guards Moderate +0.9% 3%
- 5 Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other Moderate +2.8% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 22% less than high school
- 69% high school
- 1% postsecondary certificate
- 7% some college
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 27 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 35% less than high school
- 41% high school
- 15% some college
- 4% associate's
- 4% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers” · 948 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers”
1 program: Carpet, Floor, and Tile Worker.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (CARPET LAYER). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Carpet Installers” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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