Carpet Installers
Carpet Installers (SOC 47-2041) earn a median $50,340 a year ($24.20 an hour) in the United States, with 13,780 employed as of May 2025; the highest-paying state is New Jersey.
What carpet installers do
Carpet installers lay carpet from rolls or blocks over floors and install the padding and trim that go with it. Before any carpet goes down they inspect the surface and correct imperfections that could show through or make the carpet wear unevenly, then plan the layout around expected traffic so seams sit where they look best and last longest. They roll out the carpet, measure and cut it with a carpet knife following floor sketches, allowing extra for final fitting, and join edges by sewing or with tape, glue and a heated iron. The carpet is stretched to align with the walls and pressed over tack strips, or held with staples, tape, tacks or glue. Edges are trimmed to fit along walls, openings and projections. It is separate from the floor layers who install other coverings (47-2042) and from carpet cleaners, who service flooring already in place.
Typical entry: O*NET respondents most often report a high school diploma or the equivalent as the education needed.
Also called: Carpet Cleaning Tech (Carpet Cleaning Technician), Carpet Installation Specialist, Carpet Installer, Carpet Layer, Carpet Mechanic.
National wage percentiles, May 2025
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||
| United States | Hourly | $17.05 | $20.18 | $24.20 | $31.89 | $39.49 | $27.40 | 13,780 |
| Annual | $35,450 | $41,970 | $50,340 | $66,320 | $82,140 | $56,990 | ||
Employment per 1,000 jobs and the location quotient are area measures; they appear in the state and metro tables below. To see what a wage in this range leaves after tax, use FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.
Where carpet installers earn and work most
Five highest-paying states
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
| New Jersey | Hourly | $23.46 | $31.05 | $55.38 | $58.08 | $61.60 | $46.84 | 390 | 0.09 | 1.03 |
| Annual | $48,790 | $64,590 | $115,180 | $120,810 | $128,130 | $97,430 | ||||
| Minnesota | Hourly | $27.28 | $39.11 | $41.30 | $41.31 | $42.63 | $39.03 | ** | ** | ** |
| Annual | $56,730 | $81,350 | $85,910 | $85,910 | $88,660 | $81,180 | ||||
| Alaska | Hourly | $22.47 | $34.64 | $36.92 | $37.00 | $38.13 | $33.84 | 70 | 0.21 | 2.35 |
| Annual | $46,740 | $72,040 | $76,790 | $76,960 | $79,310 | $70,380 | ||||
| Tennessee | Hourly | $25.16 | $27.84 | $35.82 | $36.34 | $38.19 | $31.85 | 50 | 0.02 | 0.18 |
| Annual | $52,340 | $57,920 | $74,510 | $75,590 | $79,440 | $66,250 | ||||
| Nevada | Hourly | $18.92 | $20.53 | $32.23 | $38.02 | $40.15 | $29.99 | 710 | 0.46 | 5.15 |
| Annual | $39,350 | $42,690 | $67,040 | $79,080 | $83,510 | $62,380 | ||||
Five states with the most jobs
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
| California | Hourly | $18.45 | $20.07 | $26.17 | $35.00 | $38.73 | $28.67 | 2,270 | 0.13 | 1.41 |
| Annual | $38,380 | $41,740 | $54,440 | $72,800 | $80,560 | $59,640 | ||||
| Texas | Hourly | $15.15 | $17.56 | $20.97 | $30.34 | $39.05 | $25.55 | 810 | 0.06 | 0.65 |
| Annual | $31,510 | $36,520 | $43,610 | $63,100 | $81,220 | $53,140 | ||||
| Nevada | Hourly | $18.92 | $20.53 | $32.23 | $38.02 | $40.15 | $29.99 | 710 | 0.46 | 5.15 |
| Annual | $39,350 | $42,690 | $67,040 | $79,080 | $83,510 | $62,380 | ||||
| New York | Hourly | $15.50 | $16.67 | $25.08 | $30.71 | $35.65 | $25.24 | 710 | 0.07 | 0.82 |
| Annual | $32,240 | $34,670 | $52,160 | $63,880 | $74,150 | $52,490 | ||||
| Illinois | Hourly | $18.22 | $20.77 | $23.79 | $46.69 | $55.91 | $31.35 | 580 | 0.10 | 1.08 |
| Annual | $37,890 | $43,190 | $49,480 | $97,120 | $116,300 | $65,210 | ||||
Five highest-paying metropolitan areas
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
| Reno, NV | Hourly | $21.84 | $26.66 | $37.54 | $39.79 | $41.03 | $34.25 | 180 | 0.67 | 7.55 |
| Annual | $45,440 | $55,440 | $78,080 | $82,750 | $85,340 | $71,230 | ||||
| Anchorage, AK | Hourly | $22.15 | $27.48 | $36.92 | $36.92 | $38.13 | $33.34 | 50 | 0.29 | 3.24 |
| Annual | $46,070 | $57,150 | $76,790 | $76,790 | $79,310 | $69,340 | ||||
| St. Louis, MO-IL | Hourly | $23.56 | $25.21 | $34.14 | $43.43 | $48.47 | $33.81 | 130 | 0.09 | 1.06 |
| Annual | $49,010 | $52,430 | $71,020 | $90,330 | $100,810 | $70,330 | ||||
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | Hourly | $27.68 | $27.68 | $33.49 | $39.39 | $54.90 | $35.79 | 30 | 0.19 | 2.16 |
| Annual | $57,570 | $57,570 | $69,660 | $81,940 | $114,200 | $74,450 | ||||
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | Hourly | $16.67 | $18.09 | $31.05 | $45.19 | $61.60 | $34.40 | 620 | 0.07 | 0.73 |
| Annual | $34,670 | $37,620 | $64,590 | $93,990 | $128,130 | $71,550 | ||||
Five metropolitan areas with the most jobs
| Area | Basis | Percentile wage | Mean | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | ||||||
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | Hourly | $18.57 | $20.00 | $26.00 | $33.70 | $36.72 | $27.54 | 790 | 0.13 | 1.41 |
| Annual | $38,630 | $41,600 | $54,080 | $70,100 | $76,390 | $57,270 | ||||
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | Hourly | $16.67 | $18.09 | $31.05 | $45.19 | $61.60 | $34.40 | 620 | 0.07 | 0.73 |
| Annual | $34,670 | $37,620 | $64,590 | $93,990 | $128,130 | $71,550 | ||||
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | Hourly | $18.92 | $19.58 | $26.37 | $37.39 | $39.10 | $28.51 | 500 | 0.44 | 4.99 |
| Annual | $39,350 | $40,730 | $54,850 | $77,770 | $81,340 | $59,290 | ||||
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | Hourly | $15.82 | $22.67 | $27.81 | $39.49 | $40.14 | $28.71 | 360 | 0.29 | 3.32 |
| Annual | $32,900 | $47,150 | $57,840 | $82,140 | $83,490 | $59,710 | ||||
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | Hourly | $18.02 | $20.82 | $27.66 | $35.00 | $36.22 | $28.99 | 320 | 0.21 | 2.35 |
| Annual | $37,470 | $43,300 | $57,540 | $72,800 | $75,330 | $60,310 | ||||
Top industries employing carpet installers
Building Finishing Contractors employ 51.7% of carpet installers nationally (7,120 jobs) at a median $51,200 a year ($24.62 an hour), followed by Furniture and Home Furnishings Retailers (35.8%) and Residential Building Construction (2.4%).
| Industry | Employment | Share of occupation | Median annual | Median hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building Finishing Contractors NAICS 238300 | 7,120 | 51.7% | $51,200 | $24.62 |
| Furniture and Home Furnishings Retailers NAICS 449100 | 4,940 | 35.8% | $49,710 | $23.90 |
| Residential Building Construction NAICS 236100 | 330 | 2.4% | $57,030 | $27.42 |
| Other Wood Product Manufacturing NAICS 321900 | 60 | 0.4% | $48,260 | $23.20 |
| Traveler Accommodation NAICS 721100 | 50 | 0.4% | * | * |
Share is the industry's employment over the occupation's national employment (13,780). Industries whose employment BLS withheld are not ranked.
Published medians, May 2021 to May 2025
BLS published a median annual wage of $46,640 for carpet installers in May 2021 and $50,340 in May 2025, with employment of 19,790 and 13,780.
| Release | Median annual | Median hourly | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | $46,640 | $22.42 | 19,790 |
| May 2022 | $45,240 | $21.75 | 17,400 |
| May 2023 | $47,520 | $22.85 | 15,560 |
| May 2024 | $49,850 | $23.97 | 14,980 |
| May 2025 | $50,340 | $24.20 | 13,780 |
BLS does not design OEWS as a time series: each release pools three years of samples, and occupational classifications, area definitions and estimation methods change between releases, so a difference between two releases is not a measure of change over time. The figures are shown as published, side by side, and nothing is computed from them. See how often OEWS is updated.
Every state, by median wage
46 states and DC publish a row for this occupation. A linked state has its own page with the within-state metro table and comparison; the others appear here only.
| Rank | State | Median hourly | Median annual | 10th pct (annual) | 90th pct (annual) | Employment | Jobs per 1,000 | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey profile | $55.38 | $115,180 | $48,790 | $128,130 | 390 | 0.09 | 1.03 |
| 2 | Minnesota profile | $41.30 | $85,910 | $56,730 | $88,660 | ** | ** | ** |
| 3 | Alaska profile | $36.92 | $76,790 | $46,740 | $79,310 | 70 | 0.21 | 2.35 |
| 4 | Tennessee profile | $35.82 | $74,510 | $52,340 | $79,440 | 50 | 0.02 | 0.18 |
| 5 | Nevada profile | $32.23 | $67,040 | $39,350 | $83,510 | 710 | 0.46 | 5.15 |
| 6 | New Hampshire profile | $31.54 | $65,600 | $50,720 | $89,490 | 60 | 0.09 | 1.01 |
| 7 | Missouri profile | $30.75 | $63,960 | $47,380 | $100,810 | 230 | 0.08 | 0.89 |
| 8 | Wisconsin profile | $29.25 | $60,830 | $37,860 | $80,430 | 420 | 0.14 | 1.60 |
| 9 | Hawaii profile | $28.23 | $58,710 | $46,920 | $62,140 | ** | ** | ** |
| 10 | Kansas profile | $27.84 | $57,920 | $50,390 | $81,110 | 70 | 0.05 | 0.58 |
| 11 | Oregon profile | $27.79 | $57,800 | $32,900 | $82,290 | 520 | 0.27 | 3.00 |
| 12 | Maryland profile | $27.42 | $57,030 | $39,170 | $85,220 | 250 | 0.09 | 1.02 |
| 13 | Iowa profile | $26.89 | $55,920 | $39,150 | $74,720 | ** | ** | ** |
| 14 | Vermont profile | $26.36 | $54,830 | $49,400 | $65,370 | 30 | 0.10 | 1.11 |
| 15 | Washington profile | $26.36 | $54,830 | $43,490 | $138,980 | 470 | 0.13 | 1.50 |
| 16 | California profile | $26.17 | $54,440 | $38,380 | $80,560 | 2,270 | 0.13 | 1.41 |
| 17 | Ohio profile | $26.14 | $54,370 | $40,920 | $74,700 | 310 | 0.06 | 0.63 |
| 18 | New Mexico profile | $25.34 | $52,700 | $34,960 | $69,850 | 60 | 0.07 | 0.79 |
| 19 | New York profile | $25.08 | $52,160 | $32,240 | $74,150 | 710 | 0.07 | 0.82 |
| 20 | Idaho profile | $24.79 | $51,550 | $37,980 | $56,240 | 170 | 0.20 | 2.23 |
| 21 | Colorado profile | $24.66 | $51,280 | $46,260 | $75,800 | 190 | 0.07 | 0.76 |
| 22 | Nebraska profile | $24.33 | $50,600 | $39,480 | $125,010 | ** | ** | ** |
| 23 | Delaware profile | $24.21 | $50,350 | $36,310 | $61,220 | 70 | 0.15 | 1.70 |
| 24 | Indiana profile | $23.86 | $49,640 | $37,950 | $63,340 | 190 | 0.06 | 0.66 |
| 25 | Illinois profile | $23.79 | $49,480 | $37,890 | $116,300 | 580 | 0.10 | 1.08 |
| 26 | Louisiana profile | $23.75 | $49,400 | $37,160 | $56,750 | 100 | 0.05 | 0.58 |
| 27 | Connecticut profile | $23.67 | $49,230 | $39,480 | $76,890 | 40 | 0.02 | 0.26 |
| 28 | Virginia profile | $23.52 | $48,920 | $27,860 | $79,340 | 210 | 0.05 | 0.57 |
| 29 | Michigan profile | $23.46 | $48,790 | $29,210 | $78,730 | 470 | 0.11 | 1.21 |
| 30 | Florida profile | $23.36 | $48,580 | $36,000 | $65,140 | 550 | 0.06 | 0.63 |
| 31 | Georgia profile | $23.20 | $48,260 | $34,340 | $72,670 | 530 | 0.11 | 1.23 |
| 32 | Massachusetts profile | $23.04 | $47,930 | $45,350 | $65,750 | ** | ** | ** |
| 33 | Arizona profile | $23.04 | $47,920 | $43,780 | $56,610 | 260 | 0.08 | 0.92 |
| 34 | Alabama profile | $22.40 | $46,600 | $30,090 | $69,050 | 190 | 0.09 | 1.01 |
| 35 | Pennsylvania profile | $22.13 | $46,030 | $36,390 | $66,820 | 490 | 0.08 | 0.92 |
| 36 | Utah profile | $21.38 | $44,480 | $31,620 | $71,490 | 240 | 0.14 | 1.54 |
| 37 | Montana profile | $21.08 | $43,840 | $27,820 | $47,750 | 150 | 0.29 | 3.22 |
| 38 | Texas profile | $20.97 | $43,610 | $31,510 | $81,220 | 810 | 0.06 | 0.65 |
| 39 | Oklahoma profile | $20.43 | $42,490 | $38,870 | $45,020 | 50 | 0.03 | 0.32 |
| 40 | South Dakota profile | $19.43 | $40,420 | $35,220 | $49,510 | 80 | 0.17 | 1.95 |
| 41 | Kentucky profile | $18.17 | $37,800 | $27,710 | $61,530 | 130 | 0.07 | 0.74 |
| 42 | Arkansas profile | $17.98 | $37,390 | $25,850 | $52,320 | 50 | 0.04 | 0.39 |
| 43 | Mississippi profile | $17.59 | $36,590 | $27,550 | $56,350 | 180 | 0.16 | 1.79 |
| 44 | West Virginia profile | $17.42 | $36,220 | $24,390 | $56,770 | 50 | 0.07 | 0.73 |
| 45 | South Carolina profile | $16.25 | $33,810 | $29,920 | $51,270 | 80 | 0.03 | 0.37 |
| – | North Carolina profile | * | * | * | * | 180 | 0.04 | 0.41 |
Related occupations
Occupations in the same SOC broad group (47-2040), with their national median annual wage.
Part of Construction and Extraction Occupations. Compare any area in the wage explorer.
Source and notes
Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS 47-2041 Carpet Installers.
*- Wage estimate not available.
**- Employment estimate not available.
- Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
- Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
- Top industries: nat4d_M2025_dl.xlsx in oesm25in4.zip (BLS OEWS May 2025, national, 4-digit NAICS, cross-ownership). Employment is the industry's rounded total for this occupation; industries whose employment BLS withheld (**) are not ranked. A withheld or top-coded median in that table shows the marker explained above.
- Published medians: national_M2021_dl.xlsx to national_M2024_dl.xlsx in oesm21nat.zip to oesm24nat.zip (BLS OEWS May 2021 to May 2024, national, cross-industry, all ownerships) and the May 2025 spine. Each release is shown as published; nothing is computed between them.
Sources
- BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018, definition of 47-2041, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- O*NET 30.1 Database, 47-2041.00, National Center for O*NET Development, USDOL/ETA (CC BY 4.0).
- OEWS May 2025 national industry-specific estimates, 4-digit NAICS (oesm25in4.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2021 national estimates (oesm21nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2022 national estimates (oesm22nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2023 national estimates (oesm23nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2024 national estimates (oesm24nat.zip), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
- OEWS May 2025 national estimates (oesm25nat.zip), the site's data spine, US Bureau of Labor Statistics (public domain).
Includes information from O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Description written 2026-10-17 in our own words from the sources above.