Based on aggregated data, carpet costs $800 to $4,000 installed for a comparable 400-square-foot room and solid hardwood costs $2,500 to $8,000 — roughly $2 to $10 per square foot against $6 to $20 per square foot. Hardwood is two to three times the price. That is where almost every comparison of these two floors stops.
It is also the point at which the comparison becomes misleading, because the two floors are not being priced over the same period of time. The carpet in that room is a consumable with an 8-to-15-year life. The hardwood is a renewable surface rated for 50 to 100 years that can be sanded back to new four to six times. Price them across the same 30 years and the ranking inverts twice — once when the carpet is torn out and replaced for the second time, and again when the hardwood is refinished for a fraction of what a new floor costs.
This page prices both floors upfront, then over 30 years, then per year of service, and finally states where each one is genuinely the cheaper decision — because the honest answer for most houses is room by room, not either-or.
Cost at a Glance
| Factor | Carpet | Solid Hardwood |
|---|---|---|
| Material (per sq ft) | $1–$5 | $3–$20 |
| Installed (per sq ft) | $2–$10 | $6–$20 |
| Typical 400 sq ft room | $800–$4,000 | $2,500–$8,000 |
| Typical project | ~$2,000 | ~$5,000 |
| Lifespan | 8–15 years | 50–100 years |
| Renewable? | No — replaced | Yes — 4–6 sandings |
| Refinish cost | Not possible | $3–$8 per sq ft |
| Routine upkeep | $0.20–$0.40 per sq ft per cleaning | Under $10 per year |
| Resale treatment | Neutral to a deduction | 70–80% cost recouped |
| Installation time | 1–3 days | 3–7 days |
Upfront, carpet wins by $1,700 to $4,000 on a single room. The rest of this page is about what happens to that lead.
Cost Per Square Foot: Materials and Installed
Both floors are usually quoted per square foot, and both quotes hide a second line — pad and tack strip for carpet, underlayment or adhesive and finishing for wood.
| Floor | Material per sq ft | Installed per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Carpet (olefin/PET, builder grade) | $1–$3 | $2–$4.50 |
| Carpet (nylon, mid to premium) | $3–$5 | $4.50–$8 |
| Carpet (wool) | $4.50–$12 | $6–$12+ |
| Carpet pad (separate line) | $0.30–$1.50 | included in labor |
| Engineered hardwood | $3–$14 | $6–$16 |
| Solid hardwood (red oak, strip) | $3–$6 | $6–$12 |
| Solid hardwood (hickory, maple, ash) | $5–$9 | $9–$16 |
| Solid hardwood (walnut, wide plank, exotic) | $10–$20+ | $14–$25 |
The overlap zone is real: a wool carpet installed at $10 per square foot costs more than a red oak strip floor at $8 per square foot. The claim “hardwood costs more than carpet” holds at every tier only when it is compared tier for tier. Premium carpet against entry hardwood is a coin flip on price and a rout on lifespan.
What It Costs by Room Size
| Area | Carpet installed | Solid hardwood installed | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 sq ft (bedroom) | $400–$2,000 | $1,200–$4,000 | $800–$2,000 |
| 400 sq ft (living room) | $800–$4,000 | $2,500–$8,000 | $1,700–$4,000 |
| 800 sq ft (main floor) | $1,600–$8,000 | $4,800–$16,000 | $3,200–$8,000 |
| 1,200 sq ft (upper floor) | $2,400–$12,000 | $7,200–$24,000 | $4,800–$12,000 |
| 1,500 sq ft (whole house) | $3,000–$15,000 | $9,000–$30,000 | $6,000–$15,000 |
Larger jobs land nearer the low end of each per-square-foot band, because setup, mobilization, and equipment transport are fixed costs spread over more area. The cost calculator prices either floor against a specific square footage.
Materials vs Labor: Where the Money Goes
| Line | Carpet (400 sq ft) | Solid hardwood (400 sq ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | $400–$2,000 | $1,200–$4,000 |
| Labor | $350–$1,800 | $1,100–$3,500 |
| Total | $800–$4,000 | $2,500–$8,000 |
| Labor share of typical project | ~45% | ~44% |
| Typical duration | 1–3 days | 3–7 days |
The split is nearly identical in percentage terms — both floors are roughly half labor — but the absolute labor line on hardwood is two to three times higher, because a hardwood installation is a multi-day job involving acclimation, racking, nailing or gluing, and, on site-finished floors, sanding and multiple finish coats. That is also why the hardwood gap widens in high-labor metros.
Regional Cost Examples
Labor is the part of the quote that moves with geography. Applying each city’s labor adjustment factor to the national typical labor line, while materials stay flat:
| City | Labor factor | Carpet (400 sq ft) | Hardwood (400 sq ft) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | 1.23 | $2,110 | $5,205 | $3,100 |
| Seattle, WA | 1.29 | $2,160 | $5,340 | $3,175 |
| Chicago, IL | 1.33 | $2,200 | $5,425 | $3,230 |
| Atlanta, GA | 0.92 | $1,830 | $4,525 | $2,695 |
| Houston, TX | 0.93 | $1,840 | $4,545 | $2,710 |
Labor adjustment factors are derived from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025): the median ratio of local to national hourly wages across the trades that do this work. How this is calculated.
The gap between carpet and hardwood is about 24 percent wider in New York than in Houston — not because the wood costs more, but because the hardwood job carries more hours. The full method is on the methodology page.
Lifespan: Where the Ranking First Inverts
| Floor | Rated lifespan | Times installed in 30 years |
|---|---|---|
| Carpet (builder-grade olefin) | 5–10 years | 3–5 |
| Carpet (nylon or wool over quality pad) | 10–15 years | 2–3 |
| Engineered hardwood | 20–40 years | 1 |
| Solid hardwood | 50–100 years | 1 |
The number that changes the arithmetic is not the lifespan itself but the cost of each turn of the cycle. Replacing carpet is not simply buying carpet again:
- Carpet removal and disposal: $120 to $720 per room, or roughly $1 to $5 per square foot. Carpet removal is cheapest when bundled into the new installation ($0.25 to $1.00 per square foot) and most expensive when the carpet was glued down.
- New carpet installation: $800 to $4,000 again, at the prices of that year.
- Furniture moving and disruption: typically bundled, but it is a real line in a standalone job.
So the honest replacement figure is roughly $920 to $4,720 every 8 to 15 years, indefinitely. Over the life of one hardwood floor, that cycle runs three to five times.
Refinishing: Where It Inverts Again
Hardwood’s second cost advantage is that a worn floor is a surface problem, not a floor problem. Sanding removes 1/32 to 1/16 of an inch of wood and the floor is new again.
| Renewal option | Cost per sq ft | 400 sq ft project | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen and recoat (light) | $1.50–$3.50 | $600–$1,400 | Refreshes finish, no sanding |
| Full sand and refinish | $3–$8 | $1,200–$3,200 | Removes scratches, stains, dents |
| Dustless refinishing | $5–$8 | $2,000–$3,200 | Same result, contained dust |
| Replace the floor | $6–$20 | $2,500–$8,000 | New floor |
Floor refinishing restores a hardwood floor for roughly 40 to 50 percent of what replacing it costs, and a 3/4-inch solid floor tolerates 4 to 6 full sandings — realistically 40 to 70 years of renewal capacity. Engineered hardwood with a 3 mm or thicker veneer supports 1 to 3 sandings; thin 2 mm veneers support zero to one.
Carpet has no counterpart at any price. Professional cleaning delays replacement; it does not reverse matting, crushed pile, or traffic lanes. The renewal column is the entire structural difference between these two floors.
Maintenance and Cleaning Costs
| Item | Carpet | Hardwood |
|---|---|---|
| Professional cleaning | $0.20–$0.40 per sq ft per cleaning ($80–$160 per 400 sq ft room; $150–$400 per whole-house session) | Not applicable |
| Recommended cadence (aggregated) | Every 12–18 months | Not applicable |
| Annual routine cost (400 sq ft) | $55–$160 | Under $10 (cleaner, felt pads) |
| Periodic renewal | None available | $1,200–$3,200 every 7–12 years |
| Spot damage | Stain may be permanent; patching visible | Board replacement $400–$1,600, or sanded out |
Over 30 years, carpet’s cleaning line alone runs roughly $1,600 to $4,800 for a single 400-square-foot room — comparable to a full hardwood refinish, spent invisibly, and leaving the carpet exactly as old as it was.
The 30-Year Total Cost
This is the table the upfront comparison omits. One 400-square-foot room, three price tiers, all figures from the aggregated ranges above. Carpet is assumed to be replaced at years 12 and 24; hardwood is assumed to be refinished at years 10 and 20.
| Line | Carpet — budget | Carpet — typical | Carpet — premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installation (year 0) | $800 | $2,000 | $4,000 |
| Removal + replacement (year 12) | $920 | $2,300 | $4,720 |
| Removal + replacement (year 24) | $920 | $2,300 | $4,720 |
| Professional cleaning (20–30 visits) | $1,600 | $2,400 | $4,800 |
| 30-year total | ~$4,240 | ~$9,000 | ~$18,240 |
| Line | Hardwood — budget | Hardwood — typical | Hardwood — premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installation (year 0) | $2,500 | $5,000 | $8,000 |
| Refinish (year 10) | $1,000 | $2,200 | $4,000 |
| Refinish (year 20) | $1,000 | $2,200 | $4,000 |
| Routine care (30 years) | $100 | $200 | $300 |
| 30-year total | ~$4,600 | ~$9,600 | ~$16,300 |
What the numbers actually say — and it is not the usual claim. At 30 years the two floors are level, not miles apart: about $9,000 of carpet against $9,600 of hardwood at typical pricing. Hardwood does not become cheaper in year 10, and the pages that imply it does are not counting. What is true:
- At premium pricing, hardwood is already ahead by year 30 ($16,300 against $18,240) and crosses over near year 25, because expensive carpet still has to be thrown away and expensive hardwood does not.
- At typical pricing the crossover falls near year 30 to 35. After that, every additional decade adds another carpet installation ($2,300) against another refinish ($2,200), and hardwood’s lead grows.
- At 50 years the gap is decisive: carpet reaches roughly $15,200 (five installations, four tear-outs, 33 cleanings) against hardwood’s $14,100 (one installation, four refinishes) — and the two floors are in completely different condition at the end of it.
- The end state is not equal. At year 30 the carpet has six years of life left and zero resale value. The hardwood is a 30-year-old floor with two to four sandings remaining and a documented resale premium.
The finding is therefore narrower and more useful than “hardwood is cheaper long-term”: carpet is genuinely the cheaper floor for roughly the first quarter-century, and hardwood is the cheaper floor for the rest of the building’s life. The right question is not which floor is cheaper. It is how long the floor has to stay there.
Cost Per Year of Service
Total cost divided by years of service, 400 sq ft, typical tier:
| Floor | 30-year total | Cost per year | 50-year total | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carpet | ~$9,000 | ~$300 | ~$15,200 | ~$304 |
| Solid hardwood | ~$9,600 | ~$320 | ~$14,100 | ~$282 |
| Engineered hardwood | ~$5,400 | ~$180 | (at end of life) | — |
Two things fall out of this. First, carpet’s cost per year barely improves with time — it is a treadmill, and each turn resets the clock at current prices. Hardwood’s cost per year keeps falling for as long as the floor stays down, because a fixed installation cost is being amortized over an ever-longer period.
Second, on a strict 30-year horizon, engineered hardwood is the cheapest of the three per year of service: $3,200 to install plus one $2,200 refinish is about $180 per year. It is the middle option in price and, on a typical ownership horizon, the strongest one on this particular metric.
Resale and ROI: What the Market Data Shows
- Hardwood recoups roughly 70 to 80 percent of its cost at resale in reported remodeling-value data, and appears in listing copy as a named selling feature.
- Carpet in main living areas is frequently treated as a deduction — buyers price in replacing it, especially if it is stained, dated, or an unusual color.
- New neutral carpet in bedrooms reads as neutral, neither a premium nor a penalty in most markets.
- Hardwood under carpet is a found asset. Where an older home has hardwood beneath the carpet, refinishing at $1,000 to $4,000 unlocks the resale premium for far less than a $2,500 to $8,000 installation.
These are reported market behaviors from aggregated remodeling-value data, not a forecast for any individual property.
Where Carpet Is Genuinely the Better Buy
A page that only counted dollars would end here and be wrong. Carpet is not a cheap substitute for hardwood — it does four measurable things hardwood cannot.
- Warmth. Carpet plus pad has an R-value of roughly 0.7 to 2.0. Bare hardwood is near 0.5 to 0.9. In a cold-climate bedroom that is a felt difference underfoot and a small measurable difference in heat loss.
- Noise. Carpet absorbs impact sound rather than transmitting it. Hardwood on an upper floor telegraphs footsteps into the room below, which is why hardwood upstairs is frequently paired with underlayment or accepted as a known trade-off.
- Falls. Carpet is the softer landing surface, which is a routine reason it is specified in children’s bedrooms, stairs, and homes with older residents. This is stated as the reported basis for the choice, not as safety instruction.
- Cash today. A $1,700 to $4,000 saving per room is not theoretical. For an owner selling in two years, the 30-year table above is irrelevant — the holding period never reaches the crossover, and only the resale share of the hardwood premium is captured.
Hardwood’s own limits are equally concrete: it is loud, cold, hard underfoot, and cannot be installed below grade on a slab without a plywood sleeper subfloor at $2 to $5 per square foot, because solid wood moves with slab moisture. Below grade the comparison is not carpet versus hardwood at all — see best flooring for a basement.
Room by Room: What Most Houses Actually Do
| Room | What the cost data favors | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Living room, dining room, hallway | Hardwood | Highest traffic, highest resale visibility, longest hold |
| Bedrooms | Either — carpet common | Low traffic, comfort and warmth weighted higher; carpet’s short life is less punishing where wear is light |
| Stairs | Depends on the number | Carpet $12–$45 per step ($150–$600 per 13-step flight); hardwood stairs $100–$300 per step installed ($1,300–$3,900 per flight) |
| Kitchen, bath, laundry | Neither | Moisture; tile or vinyl instead |
| Basement | Neither (solid hardwood cannot go below grade) | See the basement flooring guide |
| Rentals, short holds | Carpet | Holding period never reaches the crossover |
Stairs are where the price gap is widest in percentage terms and where the comfort argument for carpet is strongest — which is why a mixed house with hardwood downstairs, carpeted stairs, and carpeted bedrooms is the most common configuration in the cost data, not an inconsistency.
Pets, Kids, and Allergens as Cost Data
- Urine. Carpet’s failure mode is structural: liquid passes through the carpet into the pad and often into the subfloor, where the odor cannot be cleaned out. The fix is replacement, at $600 to $3,000. Hardwood is also vulnerable — urine reacts with the tannins in the wood and leaves black staining that sanding often cannot reach, with board replacement plus refinishing at $400 to $1,600. Neither of these floors is the pet-durability winner; see best flooring for pets.
- Claws. Scratch resistance in wood tracks Janka hardness — hickory at 1,820 and white oak at 1,360 hold up where pine at 380 to 870 does not. A matte or wire-brushed finish scatters light and hides the scratches that a high-gloss finish highlights, at no extra cost at the point of order.
- Allergens. Carpet fibers retain dust, dander, and pollen between cleanings; hard surfaces do not hold them, though they let them circulate. The measurable cost consequence is the cleaning cadence: carpet in an allergy household is cleaned at the 12-month end of the range rather than the 18-month end, adding roughly $55 to $105 per year for a 400-square-foot room.
- Spills and kids. Carpet stains are often permanent and patching is visible. Hardwood spot damage sands out, or the board is replaced.
Engineered Hardwood: The Middle Option
Engineered hardwood costs $1,500 to $5,500 installed ($6 to $16 per square foot) — between carpet and solid hardwood, with the wood surface, the resale read, and a 20-to-40-year life.
| Carpet | Engineered hardwood | Solid hardwood | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installed (400 sq ft) | $800–$4,000 | $1,500–$5,500 | $2,500–$8,000 |
| Lifespan | 8–15 yrs | 20–40 yrs | 50–100 yrs |
| Sandings available | 0 | 1–3 (veneer-dependent) | 4–6 |
| Goes over concrete slab | Yes | Yes | Not directly |
| 30-year cost per year | ~$300 | ~$180 | ~$320 |
Its weakness is the same as its price advantage: the wear layer is a veneer. A 2 mm veneer permits zero to one refinish, so an engineered floor bought at the thin end of the range behaves more like a 20-year consumable than a renewable surface. Veneer thickness is the line item that decides whether engineered hardwood belongs in the renewable column or the consumable one.
Eight Cost Factors That Move Both Numbers
- Carpet fiber. Olefin and PET at $1 to $3 per square foot in material; nylon at $3 to $5; wool at $4.50 to $12. Fiber alone moves the carpet material line by a factor of five and is the single largest driver of the carpet’s real lifespan.
- Carpet pad. $0.30 to $1.50 per square foot — a separate line that many buyers never price, and the one that quietly decides whether the carpet lasts 8 years or 15.
- Wood species and grade. Red oak strip at $3 to $6 per square foot in material; hickory, maple and ash at $5 to $9; walnut and exotics at $10 to $20 and up. Select grade over #2 Common and wide plank over 2-1/4 inch strip together add $4 to $8 per square foot.
- Installation method. Nail-down over plywood is the baseline. Glue-down adds $2 to $5 per square foot. Solid hardwood over a concrete slab first requires a plywood sleeper subfloor at $2 to $5 per square foot.
- Site-finished vs prefinished. On-site sanding and finishing adds roughly $2 to $4 per square foot over prefinished boards, and adds days to the schedule.
- Subfloor prep. Leveling an uneven subfloor runs $1 to $3 per square foot under either floor. Carpet and pad forgive minor irregularities; hardwood does not, so the prep line is triggered more often on wood jobs.
- Tear-out. Carpet removal is $120 to $720 per room, or $1 to $5 per square foot standalone. Glued-down carpet on a slab is the case where removal alone can approach the cost of the replacement.
- Stairs and transitions. Stairs are priced per step, not per square foot: $12 to $45 per step in carpet and $100 to $300 per step in hardwood. Transitions, thresholds, and shoe molding add $1.50 to $4 per linear foot on either job.
Related Costs
- Carpet installation cost — fiber, pad, room size, stairs
- Hardwood floor installation cost — species, grade, method
- Hardwood floor refinishing cost — the renewal line in the 30-year table
- Engineered hardwood installation cost — the middle option
- Carpet removal cost — the line every replacement cycle carries
- Best flooring for pets and best flooring for a basement
- All flooring costs and the cost calculator