Top Skills for This Career
BLS identifies these as the three highest-rated skills for this detailed occupation. TrustInEd adds the plain-language explanations so visitors understand what each skill means.
Paying close attention to accuracy, quality, instructions, and small but important details.
Using precise hand and finger movements to control tools, equipment, or materials.
Adjusting effectively when priorities, conditions, tools, or expectations change.
How Do You Prepare for This Career?
BLS describes the typical preparation for this occupation. Requirements can vary by employer, state, licensing rules and individual circumstances.
How to Become One
How to Become a Flooring Installer or Tile and Stone Setter Most flooring installers and tile and stone setters learn on the job working with experienced installers. Flooring installers and tile and stone setters typically need no formal
Education
al credential. They learn their trade on the job, sometimes starting as a helper. Some learn through an apprenticeship. Education There are typically no formal education requirements for becoming a flooring installer or tile and stone setter, although candidates entering an apprenticeship program may need a high school diploma or equivalent. Certain high school courses, such as art and math, may be helpful for flooring installers and tile and stone setters.
Training
Flooring installers and tile and stone setters typically learn on the job, working with experienced installers or starting as helpers. New workers usually do simple tasks, such as moving materials. As they gain experience, they take on more complex tasks, such as cutting carpet. Some helpers work as tile finishers before becoming tile installers. Some flooring installers and tile and stone setters learn their trade through a 2- to 4-year apprenticeship. For each year of a typical program, apprentices must complete a predetermined number of hours of technical instruction and paid on-the-job training. Technical instruction in the apprenticeship may include mathematics, building code requirements, safety and first-aid practices, and blueprint reading. After completing an apprenticeship program, flooring installers and tile and stone setters are considered journey workers and may perform duties on their own. Certification Several organizations offer certification for floor and tile installers. Although certification is not required, it demonstrates that a flooring installer and tile and stone setter has a specific mastery of skills to do a job. Information on certifications is available from CareerOneStop.
Your Next Step
Review training, certifications, apprenticeships, or employer-based preparation that may support entry into this career.
Pay
the median annual wage for all workers was $50,980.
Job Outlook
Job Outlook Overall employment of flooring installers and tile and stone setters is projected to grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 6,400 openings for flooring installers and tile and stone setters are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. Employment Projected employment of flooring installers and tile and stone setters varies by occupation (see table). The construction of new homes and the renovation of existing units will be the primary source of flooring and tile and stone installation over the projections decade. Demand for carpet installation is expected to continue to decline as other flooring materials become more popular. As a result, employment of carpet installers will decrease. Conversely, vinyl and other resilient flooring products have become increasingly popular, especially in homes, which will lead to employment growth for floor layers. Tile and stone installation will continue to be common for bathrooms, restaurants, and other buildings, supporting demand for these workers. Flooring Installers and Tile and Stone Setters Percent change in employment, projected 2025–35 Construction trades workers 6% Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers 4% Total, all occupations 3% Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.
What They Do
What Flooring Installers and Tile and Stone Setters Do
Flooring installers and tile and stone setters lay and finish carpet, wood, vinyl, and other materials, such as ceramic, glass, marble, and granite.
Duties
Flooring installers and tile and stone setters typically do the following:
- Remove existing materials from floors, walls, or other surfaces
- Clean and level the surface to be covered
- Measure the area and cut material to fit
- Arrange materials according to design plans
- Place materials and secure with adhesives, nails, or staples
- Fill joints with filler compound and remove excess compound
- Trim excess carpet or linoleum
- Apply finishes, such as sealants and stains
Flooring installers and tile and stone setters lay the materials that improve the look and feel of homes, offices, restaurants, and other buildings. Many of these workers install materials on floors. However, they also work on walls, ceilings, countertops, and showers.
Installing floors and tiles requires a smooth, even base of mortar or plywood. Flooring installers and tile and stone setters or other construction craftworkers lay this base. On remodeling jobs, workers may need to remove old flooring and smooth the surface before laying the base.
The following are examples of types of flooring installers and tile and stone setters:
Carpet installers lay carpet on new floors or over existing flooring. They use special tools, including “knee kickers” to position the carpet and power stretchers to pull the carpet snugly against walls. They also join carpet edges and seam edges by sewing or by using tape with glue and a heated carpet iron.
Carpet tile installers lay modular pieces of carpet that may be glued into place. Installing carpet tiles may be an option where standard carpet is impractical, such as in designing a pattern over an area.
Floor sanders and finishers scrape and smooth wood floors, often using power sanders. They then apply stains and sealants to preserve the wood. (For information on workers who install wood floors, see the profile on carpenters.)
Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles, install a variety of resilient flooring materials. Linoleum installers lay washable flooring material of the same name, cutting the linoleum to size and gluing it into place. Vinyl installers lay plastic-based flooring that includes vinyl ester, vinyl sheeting, and vinyl tile. Installers of laminate, manufactured wood, and wood tile floors are included in this category.
Tile and stone setters install pieces of ceramic, marble, granite, glass, or other materials. Tile installers, sometimes called tile setters, cut tiles using wet saws, tile scribes, or handheld tile cutters. They then use trowels of different sizes to spread mortar or a sticky paste, called mastic, evenly on the work surface before placing the tiles. Tile finishers apply grout between tiles after the tiles are set by using a rubber trowel, called a float, and then wipe the tiles clean after the grout dries. Stone setters may cut marble, granite, or other stone to a specified size with a wet saw. They use special adhesives to fasten the stone to the desired surface; in remodeling projects, they may first need to smooth the underlying surface after removing old materials.
Work Environment
Work Environment
Flooring installers and tile and stone setters held about 97,000 jobs in 2025. Employment in the detailed occupations that make up flooring installers and tile and stone setters was distributed as follows:
| Tile and stone setters | 45,200 |
| Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles | 29,800 |
| Carpet installers | 17,400 |
| Floor sanders and finishers | 4,700 |
The largest employers of flooring installers and tile and stone setters were as follows:
| Specialty trade contractors | 58% |
| Self-employed workers | 21 |
| Manufacturing | 6 |
| Construction of buildings | 4 |
Installing flooring, tile, and stone is physically demanding, requiring workers to spend much of their time reaching, bending, and kneeling. Workers typically wear kneepads while kneeling; safety goggles when using grinders, saws, and sanders; and dust masks or respirator systems to prevent inhaling work-generated dust in enclosed areas with poor ventilation.
Injuries and Illnesses
Carpet installers and floor sanders and finishers have some of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations.
Work Schedules
Most flooring installers and tile and stone setters work full time, although schedules may vary. In commercial settings, they may need to work evenings and weekends to avoid disturbing regular business operations.
Important Qualities
The following are examples of qualities that are important for these workers to perform their duties. For more information, visit the Employment Projections (EP) skills data page. Color vision. Flooring installers and tile and stone setters often determine small color variations and must be able to distinguish among colors in patterns for the best looking finish. Customer-service skills. Flooring installers and tile and stone setters must be courteous with and considerate of customers, especially while completing tasks in customers’ homes. Detail oriented. Flooring installers and tile and stone setters need to be thorough and exacting to ensure that tile, wood, and carpet patterns are properly aligned. Math skills. Flooring installers and tile and stone setters use math to measure an area to be covered and to calculate the amount of material needed to cover it. Physical stamina. Flooring installers and tile and stone setters must be able to stand or kneel for many hours in order to spread adhesive quickly and place tiles before the adhesive hardens. Physical strength. Flooring installers and tile and stone setters must be able to lift, carry, and set heavy pieces of flooring material into position.
More Information
More Information, Including Links to O*NET
Learn more about flooring installers and tile and stone setters by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.
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Start with ED →Career data and occupational profile text are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections program. Education requirements are typical entry-level requirements and may vary by employer, state, occupation or individual circumstance. View the official BLS profile.