Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
Also called: Floor Coverings Installer, Floor Layer, Flooring Installer, Flooring MechanicApply blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 14 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 9.0% 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 88% 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 | $38,730 | $34,340 to $49,460 | 150 |
| Alaska | $92,860 | $85,110 to $93,270 | 70 |
| Arizona | $44,740 | $34,460 to $56,980 | 610 |
| Arkansas | $40,750 | $33,010 to $48,830 | 210 |
| California | $61,210 | $48,080 to $88,690 | 4,330 |
| Colorado | $46,020 | $44,320 to $58,610 | 240 |
| Connecticut | $47,210 | $45,940 to $54,860 | 110 |
| Florida | $57,020 | $49,530 to $77,420 | 1,660 |
| Georgia | $46,030 | $41,130 to $59,450 | 330 |
| Hawaii | $77,280 | $58,880 to $86,520 | 210 |
| Idaho | not published | not published | 210 |
| Illinois | $69,880 | $51,960 to $91,090 | 1,330 |
| Indiana | $50,720 | $40,230 to $61,420 | 730 |
| Iowa | $54,960 | $31,870 to $66,000 | 160 |
| Kansas | $45,970 | $42,030 to $54,180 | 180 |
| Kentucky | $50,380 | $46,800 to $60,370 | 390 |
| Louisiana | $42,260 | $40,270 to $44,790 | 70 |
| Maine | $53,390 | $48,710 to $56,980 | 120 |
| Maryland | $47,880 | $40,680 to $55,600 | 450 |
| Massachusetts | $79,280 | $65,610 to $109,460 | 1,060 |
| Michigan | $46,800 | $42,300 to $57,030 | 670 |
| Minnesota | $59,380 | $44,690 to $99,160 | 490 |
| Mississippi | $49,240 | $37,650 to $59,330 | 100 |
| Missouri | $54,710 | $42,270 to $74,470 | 590 |
| Montana | $37,710 | $30,150 to $48,540 | 50 |
| Nevada | $58,540 | $40,730 to $72,760 | 560 |
| New Jersey | $59,840 | $57,660 to $118,840 | 700 |
| New Mexico | $49,790 | $39,100 to $69,870 | 200 |
| New York | $61,360 | $52,000 to $73,840 | 880 |
| North Carolina | $51,700 | $44,650 to $62,360 | 490 |
| North Dakota | $48,050 | $43,800 to $65,020 | 90 |
| Ohio | $59,470 | $49,500 to $72,850 | 850 |
| Oklahoma | $38,030 | $35,160 to $52,620 | 140 |
| Oregon | $56,460 | $48,060 to $64,860 | 300 |
| Pennsylvania | $60,050 | $48,880 to $82,510 | 720 |
| South Carolina | $49,860 | $42,630 to $54,550 | 170 |
| South Dakota | $58,930 | $46,250 to $69,220 | 180 |
| Tennessee | $49,900 | $40,730 to $58,670 | 200 |
| Texas | $43,070 | $37,900 to $47,570 | 1,480 |
| Utah | $47,900 | $43,810 to $84,650 | 550 |
| Vermont | $51,200 | $49,400 to $62,260 | 60 |
| Virginia | $50,440 | $45,120 to $63,710 | 270 |
| Washington | $56,800 | $50,160 to $74,670 | 370 |
| West Virginia | $45,390 | $27,810 to $62,750 | 30 |
| Wisconsin | $52,860 | $46,780 to $71,280 | 700 |
Nationally: $56,460. 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 none of its 14 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Cut covering and foundation materials, according to blueprints and sketches. | Not published |
| Not much | Trim excess covering materials, tack edges, and join sections of covering material to form tight joint. | Not published |
| Not much | Cut flooring material to fit around obstructions. | Not published |
| Not much | Sweep, scrape, sand, or chip dirt and irregularities to clean base surfaces, correcting imperfections that may show through the covering. | Not published |
| Not much | Measure and mark guidelines on surfaces or foundations, using chalk lines and dividers. | Not published |
| Not much | Roll and press sheet wall and floor covering into cement base to smooth and finish surface, using hand roller. | Not published |
See all 14 tasks
| Not much | Inspect surface to be covered to ensure that it is firm and dry. | Not published |
| Not much | Form a smooth foundation by stapling plywood or Masonite over the floor or by brushing waterproof compound onto surface and filling cracks with plaster, putty, or grout to seal pores. | Not published |
| Not much | Apply adhesive cement to floor or wall material to join and adhere foundation material. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove excess cement to clean finished surface. | Not published |
| Not much | 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. | Not published |
| Not much | Determine traffic areas and decide location of seams. | Not published |
| Not much | Disconnect and remove appliances, light fixtures, and worn floor and wall covering from floors, walls, and cabinets. | Not published |
| Not much | Heat and soften floor covering materials to patch cracks or fit floor coverings around irregular surfaces, using blowtorch. | 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. 0 of the 14 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 14 tasks fall under 10 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.
- #44 Gather data about operational or development activities
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perform general construction or extraction activities | |||
| Cut materials | |||
| Dispose of waste or debris | |||
| Apply materials to fill gaps or imperfections | |||
| Gather data about operational or development activities | |||
| Apply decorative finishes | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas |
Show all 10 activities
| Inspect facilities or equipment | |||
| Position materials or components for assembly |
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 floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles 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 2,726 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 2 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 6%
- 3 Information Security Analysts Very high +21.0% 5%
- 4 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 3%
- 5 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General Low +4.2% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 2,168 moves in
- 1 Information Security Analysts Very high +21.0% 6%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 3 Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers High +3.7% 5%
- 4 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 4%
- 5 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
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
- 6% less than high school
- 90% high school
- 4% postsecondary certificate
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 24 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 7 registered apprenticeships in this occupation. Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles” 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
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/47-2042.00