Carpet Installers
Also called: Carpet Flooring Installer, Carpet Installation Specialist, Carpet Layer, Carpet Mechanic, Carpet Technician (Carpet Tech), Carpet Tile Layer, Commercial Carpet Installer, Commercial Floor Covering Installer
Lay and install carpet from rolls or blocks on floors.
What carpet installers do
Typical tasks
- Plan the layout of the carpet, allowing for expected traffic patterns and placing seams for best appearance and longest wear.
- Join edges of carpet and seam edges where necessary, by sewing or by using tape with glue and heated carpet iron.
- Cut carpet padding to size and install padding, following prescribed method.
- Cut and trim carpet to fit along wall edges, openings, and projections, finishing the edges with a wall trimmer.
- Stretch carpet to align with walls and ensure a smooth surface, and press carpet in place over tack strips or use staples, tape, tacks or glue to hold carpet in place.
- Roll out, measure, mark, and cut carpeting to size with a carpet knife, following floor sketches and allowing extra carpet for final fitting.
- Nail tack strips around area to be carpeted or use old strips to attach edges of new carpet.
- Inspect the surface to be covered to determine its condition, and correct any imperfections that might show through carpet or cause carpet to wear unevenly.
- Take measurements and study floor sketches to calculate the area to be carpeted and the amount of material needed.
- Install carpet on some floors using adhesive, following prescribed method.
- Clean up before and after installation, including vacuuming carpet and discarding remnant pieces.
- Draw building diagrams and record dimensions.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Carpet Installers salary
The median annual wage for carpet installers is $50,340 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $35,450 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $82,140. The mean annual wage is $56,990.
The mean hourly wage of $27.00 is 3.7× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Carpet Installers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $50,340 → in 3 years $54,200 → in 5 years $57,000 → in 10 years $64,600 (10-year range $55,500–$75,000). The model assumes pay growth of +2.5% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Carpet Installers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Carpet Installers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Carpet Installers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Carpet Installers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★☆☆☆ Fairly easy (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become carpet installers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as carpet installers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.