Flooring Cost Calculator — Installation Cost per Sq Ft 2026

Installed flooring costs $3–$16 per sq ft for luxury vinyl plank, $6–$14 for laminate, $8–$14 for ceramic or porcelain tile and $10–$25 for bamboo (Fixr), and $6–$27 for solid hardwood on Today's Homeowner's material and labor figures. Carpet averages $7.47 per sq ft installed (Fixr). Removing the old floor adds $1–$3 per sq ft. For 1,000 sq ft of hardwood, Today's Homeowner says $12,000–$18,000, Fixr says $6,000–$12,000, and this calculator's default lands at about $16,500.

The gap between the price on a store shelf and a quote is mostly labor and prep. Fixr puts the materials and supplies for a DIY laminate floor at $1.50–$6 per sq ft, or $1,800–$7,200 for 1,200 sq ft. Installed, the same floor is $6–$14 per sq ft, or $7,200–$16,800, and tearing out the old floor adds $1,200–$3,600.

How to use this calculator

The calculator prices one floor at a time: the area you enter, in the material you pick, at installed prices per square foot taken from published cost pages.

• Floor area (sq ft). Measure each room wall to wall, multiply length by width and add the rooms together. A 12 × 15 ft bedroom is 180 sq ft. Include closets if they get the same floor. Do not add a waste allowance yourself: the per-square-foot prices below are for installed floor, and the installer orders the overage.
• Flooring material. Seven options: solid hardwood, engineered hardwood, laminate, luxury vinyl plank (LVP), ceramic or porcelain tile, carpet and bamboo. The hint under the menu says which source the price comes from.
• Subfloor to replace (sq ft). Leave it at 0 if the plywood or OSB under the old floor is sound. If you already know an area is soft, rotted or water-damaged — usually around a toilet, dishwasher or exterior door — enter that area only. You often will not know until the old floor is up, which is why this is a separate line.
• Remove and haul away the old floor. Tick it when the existing covering comes out before the new one goes down.
• Your state. Adjusts the labor part of the estimate to local construction wages (see Prices by state below).

The result shows a typical figure, a low-to-high range and a line-item breakdown. The default — 1,000 sq ft of solid hardwood, nothing removed — comes to about $16,500, with a range of $6,000 to $27,000, or $16.50 per sq ft. Take the breakdown to each installer and compare it line by line.

Flooring cost in 2026

Installed prices per square foot, by material. Where the source splits material and labor, both columns are filled; where it gives only an installed price, the labor column shows the share of the job that is labor on that source's own example.

Source: Today's Homeowner, How Much Does Hardwood Flooring Cost?, March 14, 2025 (solid and engineered hardwood); Fixr, Laminate Flooring Installation Cost, Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring Installation Cost, Tile Flooring Installation Cost and How Much Does It Cost to Install New Carpeting?, all January 31, 2025; Fixr, Cost to Install Bamboo Flooring, August 19, 2022. Carpet material combines Fixr's carpet ($1.11–$12.60) and padding ($0.35–$1.14) figures.

Vinyl tile is not a separate option. Homewyse's May 2026 national estimate for installing vinyl tile flooring (4.5 mm textured vinyl tile with an aluminum oxide wear layer) is $9.16–$13.63 per sq ft, inside Fixr's $3–$16 range for vinyl plank, so the LVP option is a fair stand-in. Sheet vinyl, natural stone and cork are not priced in the sources the calculator uses; get quotes if you are considering them.

Cost to install 1,000 sq ft of hardwood floors

Hardwood is where the sources disagree most.

Fixr's hardwood page lists solid hardwood at $9 to $23 per sq ft installed and engineered at $8 to $14. The calculator uses the Today's Homeowner split — $3 to $20 per sq ft for the boards plus $3 to $7 for labor — because it is the only one that separates material from labor; its typical result sits inside Today's Homeowner's range and above Fixr's. Species, plank width and installation method decide where in the range a quote lands. Solid hardwood can be sanded and refinished several times over its life, while most LVP, laminate and carpet is replaced when it wears out, so over a long stay the day-one price is only part of the comparison.

Project-size examples from the same sources

Source: Fixr, laminate, LVP, tile and hardwood installation cost pages, January 31, 2025; Fixr, Cost to Install Bamboo Flooring, August 19, 2022.

What drives the price

1. The material grade. Within one material the spread is wider than between materials. Solid hardwood runs $3 to $20 per sq ft for the boards alone; carpet runs $1.11 to $12.60. Species, plank width, wear-layer thickness and carpet fiber decide where you land.
2. Installation method. Fixr prices laminate labor at $4 to $7 per sq ft floating, $5 to $8 glued down and $6 to $8 nailed. Floating floors click together over underlayment; glued and nailed floors take longer and need a flatter subfloor.
3. Tile size and pattern. Fixr puts tile labor at $7 to $9 per sq ft for 8- to 14-inch tile, $10 to $12 for 18- to 24-inch large-format tile, and $12 to $14 for glass and mosaic. A complex pattern needs another 10% to 20% of tile on top of the usual 10% for cuts.
4. What comes up first. Tear-out of the old floor adds $1 to $3 per sq ft (Fixr), more where there are several layers over concrete.
5. The subfloor. Replacing damaged subfloor costs $3.50 to $12 per sq ft installed (Fixr). Fixr's floor replacement page puts reinforcing or replacing joists at $10 to $25 per sq ft — a structural repair the calculator does not price.
6. Where you live. Labor is anywhere from about 11% (carpet) to 60% (laminate) of the job on the source figures, so a high-wage state moves a laminate or bamboo quote far more than a carpet quote.
7. The room layout. A rectangular room with nothing in the way is the cheapest to floor. Kitchen islands, closets, doorways and angled walls add cutting, waste and hours. Stairs are usually priced per step, so ask for them as a separate line.

Cost breakdown

Each line in the result is one priced part of the job:

• Material line (hardwood, engineered, LVP, carpet, padding, bamboo): the flooring itself at the source's per-square-foot range.
• Installation labor: the installer's per-square-foot rate for that material.
• Installed (materials + labor) for laminate and tile: Fixr gives a single installed price, so the calculator does not invent a split.
• Remove and dispose of old flooring: $1 to $3 per sq ft over the whole area.
• Replace damaged subfloor: $3.50 to $12 per sq ft over the area you enter.

What the per-square-foot price leaves out

These vary too much by house for a national figure, which is why they are the lines where quotes differ most. Ask each installer to list them separately so quotes compare like for like.

Worked example: 400 sq ft of LVP replacing carpet

Subfloor in good condition, national labor rates:

If 40 sq ft of subfloor turns out to be damaged at the bathroom doorway, replacing it adds $140–$480 at Fixr's $3.50–$12 per sq ft. If the same room got solid hardwood instead, material and labor alone would be $2,400–$10,800 on Today's Homeowner's figures. Where in each range you land depends mostly on the product grade you choose.

Prices by state and metro area

The state menu changes only the labor part of the estimate. Each state's factor is:

(1 − labor share) + labor share × state wage index

The wage index is the state's mean hourly wage for construction and extraction occupations divided by the national mean of $31.42, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025. Material prices vary much less between states, so they are left alone.

For the default 1,000 sq ft solid hardwood floor, labor is about 30% of the job:

The gap is wider for labor-heavy floors. The same 1,000 sq ft in laminate, where labor is about 60%, comes to $11,550 in Washington, $10,000 nationally and $8,450 in Arkansas. Our guide to regional cost adjustments explains the method in more detail.

Metro areas spread wider than states. With the default settings, this estimate is $16,500 at the national average, $17,500 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area and $15,700 in Birmingham, AL (BLS construction wage index 1.20 and 0.84). Pick your metro area under the state to use the local figure.

Can you install it yourself?

Floating floors are the realistic DIY jobs. Fixr estimates a DIY laminate floor at $1.50 to $6 per sq ft for materials and supplies, against $6 to $14 installed — on 500 sq ft that is the difference between roughly $750–$3,000 and $3,000–$7,000. Click-lock LVP is similar. Nail-down hardwood, glue-down bamboo and tile are harder: they need specialist tools, a flat subfloor and, for tile, mortar and grout work where mistakes show for decades. Carpet labor is so cheap ($0.74 to $1.17 per sq ft) that DIY saves little and stretching it properly takes a power stretcher most homeowners do not own. Whoever installs it, follow the manufacturer's instructions: installation that ignores them can void the product warranty.

Repair the subfloor or not?

You find out when the old floor comes up. Soft spots, squeaks that move when you step, dark staining around plumbing and edges that flex are the usual signs. Fixr's figures make the case for fixing only what is damaged: repairing 150 sq ft costs $250 to $750, while replacing the same area costs $600 to $1,800. Put a subfloor allowance in the contract as a per-square-foot rate rather than a lump sum, so you pay for the area actually replaced.

Don't economize on the prep itself. A well-installed floor on a bad subfloor can squeak, buckle or crack, and then you pay for tear-out and reinstallation on top of the original job.

How to cut the cost

• Match the floor to the room. LVP or tile in the basement and bathrooms, laminate or carpet in bedrooms, hardwood only where you want it most. At the source prices, LVP starts at $3 per sq ft installed and solid hardwood runs to $27.
• Do your own demo where it's safe. Pulling up carpet, removing baseboards and moving furniture yourself can save part of the $1–$3 per sq ft tear-out line, though Fixr notes most carpet installers already include removal. Tile removal is harder and dustier, and old vinyl tile or mastic should be tested for asbestos before anyone disturbs it.
• Ask before buying materials yourself. Some installers will lay customer-supplied flooring; others won't, or limit their labor warranty if they do. Order the overage the installer recommends.
• Keep the layout simple. Wide planks, specialty finishes and herringbone or diagonal layouts cost more in material, waste and labor than standard planks in a straight lay. Fixr puts the extra material for a patterned tile floor at 10% to 20%.
• Be flexible on timing. Collect quotes early and ask whether a different start date changes the price.

When new flooring doesn't make sense

• Hardwood that only needs refinishing. If there is solid hardwood under the carpet, get a refinishing quote before pricing new floors at $6–$27 per sq ft. Unless the boards are warped, rotted or badly damaged, sanding and refinishing is the smaller job.
• Selling soon. A deep clean and minor repairs may make more sense than a large flooring project. The exception is a floor that is visibly damaged or worn; ask a local agent how buyers in your market react to it.
• One room in a house of mismatched floors. New hardwood in the living room next to worn laminate in the hallway and kitchen can look jarring. Phasing a whole-house project can be the better answer.
• A failing subfloor. If moisture readings exceed the flooring manufacturer's limit, the subfloor is visibly rotten, or water is coming in from below, this is a waterproofing and structural repair first. Fix the cause before any new floor goes down.

How to compare flooring quotes

• Same area, same product. Check that every quote uses the same square footage and names the product line, not just "hardwood" or "LVP".
• Tear-out and disposal. Fixr notes most carpet installers include removal in the estimate; hardwood and tile installers often price it separately.
• Subfloor rate. Ask for a per-square-foot price for subfloor repair so there is no argument mid-job, and keep a contingency in your budget for what turns up under the old floor.
• Moisture test. Concrete slabs and basements should be tested before wood or wood-based flooring goes down, and the reading compared with the manufacturer's limit. Many warranties require it.
• Acclimation. Hardwood and engineered wood usually need to sit in the house before installation so they adjust to its humidity and temperature. Follow the manufacturer's instructions and plan for the material to arrive before the crew.
• Trim and transitions. Baseboards, quarter-round, thresholds and stair nosing are where quotes differ most.
• Overage. Fixr adds 10% for cuts and waste on tile and suggests buying 10% to 15% extra to cover mistakes, breakage and future repairs; ask how much extra material each installer has priced.

More on vetting installers and reading bids in how to hire a renovation contractor.

Sources

• Today's Homeowner, How Much Does Hardwood Flooring Cost? — solid hardwood $3–$20 material and $3–$7 labor per sq ft; engineered $3–$15 material and $3–$10 labor; $12,000–$18,000 for 1,000 sq ft (updated March 14, 2025). link
• Fixr, Cost to Install Hardwood Flooring — solid $9–$23 and engineered $8–$14 installed; $6,000–$12,000 for 1,000 sq ft; removal $1–$3 per sq ft; 200 sq ft average $4,017 (updated January 31, 2025). link
• Fixr, Laminate Flooring Installation Cost — $6–$14 installed, labor by method, labor $1,000–$2,000 of a $1,500–$3,500 job, 200 sq ft example with sound underlayment, DIY $1.50–$6 (updated January 31, 2025). link
• Fixr, Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring Installation Cost — material $1.50–$10, labor $1.50–$6, total $3–$16 per sq ft, most projects $5–$12, 200 sq ft average $1,600 (updated January 31, 2025). link
• Fixr, Tile Flooring Installation Cost — $8–$14 installed, labor by tile size, labor $1,400–$1,600 of $3,500, 10% for cuts, 10%–20% more for patterns, 10%–15% extra for breakage and repairs (updated January 31, 2025). link
• Fixr, How Much Does It Cost to Install New Carpeting? — $7.47 average, carpet, padding and labor per sq ft (updated January 31, 2025). link
• Fixr, Cost to Install Bamboo Flooring — material $2–$13, labor $8–$12 per sq ft, 200 sq ft average $4,000 (updated August 19, 2022). link
• Fixr, Subfloor Replacement Cost — $3.50–$12 per sq ft installed; repair versus replacement for 150 sq ft (updated January 31, 2025). link
• Fixr, Floor Replacement Cost — joist reinforcement or replacement $10–$25 per sq ft (updated January 31, 2025). link
• Homewyse, Cost to Install Vinyl Tile Flooring — national estimate $9.16–$13.63 per sq ft for 4.5 mm vinyl tile (May 2026). link
• This Old House, Flooring Installation Cost by Type — removal $1–$6 per sq ft plus disposal (updated June 5, 2026). link
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 — state wage index for construction and extraction occupations. link

Related

• Tile installation cost calculator
• Subfloor
• Underlayment
• Cost per square foot
• How to hire a renovation contractor
• When DIY actually saves money