Flooring costs
25 priced projects, from a $300 carpet removal to a $6,000 terrazzo flooring installation. The spread inside one material is as wide as the gap between two, and the work of taking up what is already down is priced apart from the work of laying anything new.
All 25, one axis
national ranges · typical marked · $0 – $16,000Price per sq ft against service life
two scales, same 10 materialsRead the two columns together: the cheapest material to install is rarely the cheapest to own.
| Material | Cost per sq ft ↑ | Lifespan | Maintenance | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheet VinylMost Affordable | $2 – $5 | 10–20 years | low | ★★☆☆☆ | ▸ |
| Carpet | $3 – $8 | 5–15 years | medium | ★★☆☆☆ | ▸ |
| Laminate | $3 – $8 | 15–25 years | low | ★★☆☆☆ | ▸ |
| Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) | $4 – $9 | 15–25 years | low | ★★☆☆☆ | ▸ |
| Ceramic Tile | $5 – $12 | 50–75 years | low | ★★★☆☆ | ▸ |
| Polished Concrete | $5 – $12 | 50–80 years | low | ★★★★★ | ▸ |
| Engineered Hardwood | $6 – $14 | 20–40 years | medium | ★★★☆☆ | ▸ |
| Porcelain TileBest Value | $6 – $15 | 60–100 years | low | ★★★☆☆ | ▸ |
| Solid Hardwood | $8 – $18 | 50–100 years | medium | ★★★☆☆ | ▸ |
| Natural Stone (Marble/Granite) | $10 – $25 | 75–100 years | medium | ★★★☆☆ | ▸ |
The trade range, metro by metro
$0 – $16,000The typical project, adjusted by each metro's measured labour index. The spread between the cheapest and the dearest metro is 56% on identical work.
Also flooring work
priced under the silo that owns them- Tile Floor Installation $3,500
- Tile Floor Removal $560
- Tile Backsplash Installation $1,000
- Porcelain Tile Installation $3,000
12 flooring guides
questions the price alone does not answerLaminate vs Vinyl Plank Flooring: Cost Compared (2026)
Laminate and vinyl plank both cost about $1-$5 per sq ft for materials. Compare installed cost, water resistance, durability, and best rooms for each.
Water Damaged Floor Repair Cost: The Full Cost Stack (2026)
Water damaged floor repair costs $200 to $3,000 for a small area and $1,200 to $5,000+ per room. Full cost stack: drying, floor, subfloor, joists, mold.
Tile vs Vinyl Flooring: Cost Compared (2026)
Tile runs $7–$20 per sq ft installed, vinyl plank $3–$7. Materials overlap — labor is the gap. Compare installed cost, lifespan, and cost per year.
Most Durable Flooring: The Four Ratings That Decide It, and What Each Floor Costs Per Year (2026)
Durable flooring costs $2–$50 per sq ft installed. Compare Janka, AC, PEI and wear-layer ratings, dent resistance, repairability, and cost per year.
How Long Does Flooring Installation Take? Timeline by Material (2026)
Flooring installation runs 1–3 days for carpet or laminate and 3–7 days for hardwood or tile — plus acclimation and cure time before the room is usable.
Does New Flooring Increase Home Value? What the ROI Data Shows (2026)
New flooring recovers roughly 50-80% of its $900-$8,000 cost at resale. Refinishing hardwood ($1,000-$4,000) recovers the most. The ROI data, compared.
Cheapest Flooring Options: Every Floor Type Ranked by Price (2026)
The cheapest flooring runs $1–$3 per sq ft in materials and $2–$5 installed. Every floor type ranked by price, plus cost per year of service.
Carpet vs Hardwood Cost: Upfront, Lifetime, and Per Year (2026)
Carpet costs $800–$4,000 installed per room; hardwood $2,500–$8,000. See the 30-year total, replacement cycles, refinishing, and cost per year.
Best Waterproof Flooring: What Waterproof Actually Means, and What It Costs (2026)
Waterproof flooring costs $2–$20 per sq ft installed. Compare waterproof planks vs waterproof assemblies, where water gets in, and what a leak costs.
Best Flooring for Pets: Scratch, Urine, and Traction Data (2026)
Pet-friendly flooring costs $2–$25 per sq ft installed. Compare scratch resistance, urine damage, traction, and what one accident costs to fix.
Best Flooring for a Basement: What Performs Below Grade and What It Costs (2026)
Basement flooring costs $2–$20 per sq ft installed. Compare moisture tolerance, installed cost, and what each floor costs to recover after a flood.
Engineered vs Solid Hardwood: Cost Compared (2026)
Solid hardwood material runs $5-$28 per sq ft and engineered $3-$14; both install around $6-$25 per sq ft. Compare cost, moisture resistance, lifespan.
Price flooring work
The typical one runs $6,320 in Chicago against $4,040 in San Antonio. The calculator below does the same for all 25. Material choice moves the other half of the bill: 10 flooring materials compared. The method sets out where the factor comes from.
Cost Calculator
To get exact pricing for your project, request written quotes from at least three licensed contractors in New York.
Questions
- Is tearing out the old floor included?
- No — removal is its own job in this dataset. Carpet removal runs $120 – $720 and general floor removal $300 – $1,800. A quote covering both normally itemises them, and the install ranges on this page assume a floor that is already clear.
- Why do two hardwood quotes differ by more than the material?
- Usually the subfloor. Replacing it runs $900 – $3,000 and its condition is invisible until the old floor is lifted, so it tends to surface as a change order rather than a line in the original quote.
- Does refinishing cost less than replacing?
- On these figures yes: refinishing runs $1,000 – $4,000 against $2,500 – $8,000 to install new hardwood. What limits refinishing is thickness — each pass takes material off, and engineered boards have a thin wear layer.
- Which floor is cheapest to install?
- Sheet vinyl at $800 – $3,500 and rubber at $800 – $3,000 are the cheapest full-room installs here, with carpet just above. Cost per year of service life produces a different order, which is what the materials comparison sets out.
How the scale is built
Base ranges
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025
- Published contractor and industry pricing ranges
- Manufacturer and retailer material pricing
Metro adjustment
Labor adjustment factors are measured from BLS metropolitan wage data: the median ratio of local to national hourly wages across the ten trades this site prices.
Drawing rules
Every chart on a page shares one axis unless its caption says otherwise. Bars are drawn from zero and are never truncated. Full method →
Last updated: July 2026
Estimates, not quotes. These cost estimates are based on aggregated data from public sources. Actual costs vary by project scope, contractor, and local conditions. Always obtain multiple written quotes from licensed professionals. This site sells nothing, lists no contractors and takes no payment for placement. Methodology →