Construction and Extraction
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
Apply blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors.
Also called: Floor Covering Contractor, Floor Coverings Installer, Floor Installer, Floor Layer, Flooring Installer, Flooring Mechanic
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $98,290
- $47.25/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 740
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +11.3%
- 100 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- No formal educational credential
- plus Moderate-term on-the-job training
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $62,460 | $67,210 | $98,290 | $109,880 | $123,240 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d 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.
- Sweep, scrape, sand, or chip dirt and irregularities to clean base surfaces, correcting imperfections that may show through the covering.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Lower exposure8 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 7
- Language-model AIOE 15
- GPTs-are-GPTs 3
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
Floor layers have lower AI exposure, and observed AI use is little or none. AI tools might help with planning layouts or cut sizes, but cutting, rolling, trimming, and fitting coverings by hand are not tasks they do. Federal notes say demand is rising as more people choose resilient floor coverings, and Massachusetts employment is projected to grow 11.3% from 2024 to 2034.
Likely to change
- Planning layouts and cut sizes
- Reading plans and sketches for materials
Still relies on people
- Fitting coverings around obstructions by hand
- Rolling and pressing floors to a smooth finish
What federal projections say
“Demand change - share increases as more consumers choose resilient floor coverings.”
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Next steps from here
Related jobs that build on what you already do.
Glaziers
Reading plans, cutting to fit, and precise installing carry over, and glazing offers higher pay through an apprenticeship.
- Pay difference
- +$9,320 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +4.9%
- To get started
- High school diploma or equivalent
Structural Iron and Steel Workers
Reading blueprints and keeping work straight and aligned carry over, and this apprenticeship trade offers higher pay.
- Pay difference
- +$22,550 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +6.1%
- To get started
- High school diploma or equivalent
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.
Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.
Who employs floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles on Boston construction projects
Hours worked on projects covered by the Boston Residents Jobs Policy over the last 24 months. This shows who has employed floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles, not who has openings.
215,155 worker hours from Oct 20, 2024 to Oct 19, 2026 (trades: Floor Covers, Floor Layer).
- 14.6%
- of hours by boston residents
- 80.0%
- of hours by people of color
- 6.4%
- of hours by women
| Employer | Worker hours | Boston resident share | Projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Select Tile | 53,426 | 16.3% | 8 |
| Allegheny Contract Flooring Corporation | 53,112 | 12.0% | 15 |
| Pavilion Floors, Inc. | 33,761 | 17.3% | 8 |
| Circle Floors Inc. | 19,619 | 20.1% | 4 |
| Capital Carpet & Flooring Specialists, Inc | 14,622 | 7.8% | 7 |
| J.C. Floor Covering Company, Inc. | 7,383 | 26.7% | 7 |
| Business Interiors Acquisition Co | 5,039 | 3.7% | 5 |
| Custom Floors Design, Inc. | 4,757 | 0.3% | 6 |
Related occupations
Talk to a career coach
A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.
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