Two rooms with the same square footage can be very different jobs. One is a clean subfloor and a straight run. The other has old tile to break out, a floor to level, three doorways and a set of stairs. This guide shows how to price both from your costs, then where national figures land.
- Price material with a waste factor, then labor per square foot by floor type, then prep, removal, stairs and trim as their own lines.
- Fixr lists laminate at $6 to $14 a square foot installed and hardwood at $14 to $32 a square foot installed.
- LVP installation runs $1.50 to $6 a square foot in Fixr's guide, on top of $1.50 to $10 for material.
- Leveling and tear-out are the lines most often left off a cheap quote. Show them.
What goes into a flooring price
- Material plus waste. Most installers add a waste factor for cuts and pattern, more for diagonal or herringbone layouts.
- Underlayment and sundries. Pad, moisture barrier, adhesive, fasteners, transitions, quarter round and thresholds.
- Removal and disposal. Carpet and pad, old laminate, glued vinyl or tile, and the dump fee.
- Prep. Leveling compound, subfloor repair, undercutting door jambs and moving furniture if you offer it.
- Install labor. By floor type, since nail-down hardwood, click laminate and glue-down vinyl run at different speeds.
- Drive, overhead and profit.
Setting your labor rate
Start with the wage. The closest group the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes is floor layers, except carpet, wood and hard tiles. In its May 2025 wage survey, that group's national mean wage was $29.69 an hour and the median was $27.15 (BLS OEWS 47-2042). For carpet installers the mean was $27.40 and for tile and stone setters $28.49.
Add your labor burden on top: payroll taxes, workers' comp and any paid time off. If burden in your state comes to 20% of wages, a $28 an hour tech costs you $33.60 an hour. That loaded number is what goes into the job cost.
Fixr's hardwood guide puts typical hardwood labor at $3 to $6 per square foot, and a carpenter installing hardwood at $60 to $80 per hour (Fixr).
Per square foot benchmarks
| Floor | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Installed, per square foot | ||
| Hardwood | $14 to $32 | Fixr |
| Engineered hardwood | $8 to $14 | Fixr |
| Laminate | $6 to $14 | Fixr |
| LVP material | $1.50 to $10 | Fixr |
| LVP installation | $1.50 to $6 | Fixr |
| Whole rooms | ||
| 200 sq ft of hardwood | $2,800 to $6,400 | Fixr |
| 200 sq ft laminate with underlayment | About $2,207 | Fixr |
| 200 sq ft of 20 mil LVP | About $1,600 | Fixr |
A worked example: 500 square feet of LVP
Every number below is an assumption for the example.
- Area: 500 square feet across a living room and hall, ordered as 550 square feet for waste.
- Material: $3.20 a square foot for mid-grade LVP.
- Old carpet to remove and haul. Subfloor in good shape.
- Crew: two people, two days of eight hours, at $33.60 an hour loaded.
- Overhead 20% of the price and profit 15%.
- Flooring material: 550 sq ft x $3.20 = $1,760
- Underlayment, transitions and trim: $380
- Labor: 2 people x 2 days x 8 hours x $33.60 = $1,075.20
- Old carpet removal and disposal: $220
- Drive: 2 trips x 30 miles x $0.76 = $45.60
- Direct cost: $1,760 + $380 + $1,075.20 + $220 + $45.60 = $3,480.80
- Overhead plus profit: 20% + 15% = 35% of the price
- Price: $3,480.80 / (1 - 0.35) = $3,480.80 / 0.65 = $5,355
Check it: 35% of $5,355 is about $1,874, and $5,355 minus $1,874 is about $3,481, the direct cost of $3,480.80. The profit and overhead are inside the price, not added on top of a cost you guessed.
That is about $10.71 a square foot all in. Fixr's figures put LVP at $1.50 to $10 for material plus $1.50 to $6 to install, so this lands inside the band with removal included.
Good, better, best for floors
- Good: the floor they picked, installed over the existing subfloor, the $5,355 job above.
- Better: a thicker wear layer or a better pad, with new baseboard instead of quarter round.
- Best: the premium line, the hallway and closets included, and furniture moved and replaced.
Koira's estimates send all three from your price list, and can draft the estimate from photos you take on the walkthrough. The customer signs and pays the deposit on the same page.
Keep material and install days straight
Flooring often needs the material on site to acclimate before you install. Put the delivery and the install on your day as separate stops, and let Today sort the week by the drive. Customers get a reminder the day before and an on-my-way text, so nobody is waiting at an empty house.
Common flooring pricing mistakes
- No waste factor. You will cut more than you think, especially on angled walls.
- Free leveling. A floor that needs compound needs it priced.
- Stairs at the room rate. Each stair is slow work. Price per stair.
- Forgetting trim and transitions. They are small parts and a lot of fitting time.
How to raise your prices
- Rerun your cost math once a year with this year's wages, fuel, insurance and materials. If it gives a higher price than you charge, the gap is coming out of your pocket.
- Raise prices for new customers first. They have no old number to compare against.
- Tell repeat customers ahead of time, in writing, with the new price and the date it starts.
Questions contractors ask
How much should I charge per square foot to install LVP?
Work it out from your labor speed and costs. Fixr lists LVP installation at $1.50 to $6 a square foot on top of $1.50 to $10 for the material.
How much does hardwood installation cost per square foot?
Fixr's guide puts hardwood at $14 to $32 a square foot installed, with labor alone at $3 to $6 a square foot.
Should I charge to remove old flooring?
Yes, as its own line. Glued vinyl and tile take far longer than carpet, so price removal by the type.
How much waste should I add?
Enough for your layout and the material. Straight lay needs less than diagonal or herringbone. Track what you actually use and set your own factor.
