What Should I Charge for Flooring? (2026 Contractor Pricing Guide)
Short answer
Installed flooring typically runs about $4.55 to $7.60 per square foot for luxury vinyl plank and roughly $7.80 to $14.50 per square foot for tile, with subfloor prep the single most underbid line.
Flooring unit prices by work item
Enter a ZIP code to adjust every row to local cost levels. Rates start from a national baseline of 1.00 and scale by the published city cost index for that area.
Showing national baseline rates.
| Work item | Unit | Material | Labor | What to charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Luxury vinyl plank, floating Assumes a flat subfloor within tolerance. | sq ft | $2.60 | $2.10 | $4.55 to $7.58 |
Laminate, floating Underlayment included; transitions priced separately. | sq ft | $2.10 | $2.00 | $3.97 to $6.62 |
Solid hardwood, nail down Species and width swing material more than labor. | sq ft | $5.50 | $3.40 | $8.24 to $14.65 |
Ceramic or porcelain tile Large format and patterns such as herringbone cost more to set. | sq ft | $3.20 | $5.40 | $7.82 to $14.53 |
Self-leveling subfloor prep The most commonly omitted line on a flooring bid. | sq ft | $1.40 | $1.60 | $2.52 to $5.24 |
Tear out and haul existing floor Glued-down and mortar-set floors cost far more to remove. | sq ft | $0.20 | $1.50 | $1.45 to $3.01 |
Material and labor columns are bare cost per unit before markup. The charge column applies +15% materials, +20% labor, then +10% overhead and profit, and shows a realistic range rather than one false-precision number.
How this number is built
There is no proprietary data feed here and nothing is hidden. Every figure above comes from four visible steps, which is exactly how your own price book should work:
- 1Start from bare material and bare labor cost per unit, at a national baseline.
- 2Multiply both by your local cost factor, from the ZIP table below.
- 3Add markup: 15% on materials, 20% on labor. This covers waste, procurement and supervision.
- 4Add 10% overhead and profit on the marked-up subtotal, then show a range rather than one number.
Regional cost factors
A national average is close to useless on its own. The same flooring job prices very differently across markets. These are the multipliers applied above, against a 1.00 national baseline.
| Metro | Factor | Luxury vinyl plank, floating (sq ft) |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 1.38x | $6.27 to $10.46 |
| New York, NY | 1.32x | $6.00 to $10.00 |
| Boston, MA | 1.24x | $5.64 to $9.39 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 1.22x | $5.55 to $9.24 |
| Seattle, WA | 1.20x | $5.45 to $9.09 |
| Chicago, IL | 1.18x | $5.36 to $8.94 |
| Washington, DC | 1.15x | $5.23 to $8.71 |
| Denver, CO | 1.08x | $4.91 to $8.18 |
| Austin, TX | 1.04x | $4.73 to $7.88 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 1.02x | $4.64 to $7.73 |
| Atlanta, GA | 1.00x | $4.55 to $7.58 |
| Houston, TX | 0.98x | $4.45 to $7.42 |
Before you send this number to a client
Worth doing
- Walk the actual site before committing to a fixed price.
- Itemize disposal, permits and prep as their own lines.
- Write down what is excluded, not only what is included.
- Compare these rates against your own last three invoices.
Where bids go wrong
- Using a national average as if it were a local quote.
- Forgetting that overhead is a real cost, not profit.
- Absorbing prep and access problems instead of pricing them.
- Quoting from memory when material prices moved.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge per square foot to install flooring?
Labor-only install commonly runs $2.50 to $4.50 per square foot for floating floors and $5 to $9 per square foot for tile. All-in with materials, LVP typically lands at $4.55 to $7.60 and tile at $7.80 to $14.50 per square foot.
Should I include subfloor prep in my square foot price?
No. Quote it separately or as a unit rate after you can see the subfloor. Assuming a flat, sound substrate and discovering otherwise is the most common way flooring installers lose their margin.
How much waste should I add to a flooring takeoff?
Add 7% to 10% for straight lays in simple rooms, and 15% or more for diagonal, herringbone, or heavily cut-up spaces. Charge for the material you must buy, not only the square footage you cover.
Other trades
Turn these rates into a sent proposal
A table is a starting point. Describe the job in plain words and Takeoff Convert prices it from your own price book, then produces an itemized proposal your client can e-sign.
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