Carpet Installers
Architecture and ConstructionO*NET 47-2041.00United States
Lay and install carpet from rolls or blocks on floors. Install padding and trim flooring materials.
- Median annual earnings
- $47,536
- Projected change
- −18.7%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 19.91K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
91.6% of the workforce
Growing to 16.19K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What carpet installers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- Roll out, measure, mark, and cut carpeting to size with a carpet knife, following floor sketches and allowing extra carpet for final fitting.
- Join edges of carpet and seam edges where necessary, by sewing or by using tape with glue and heated carpet iron.
- Cut and trim carpet to fit along wall edges, openings, and projections, finishing the edges with a wall trimmer.
- Plan the layout of the carpet, allowing for expected traffic patterns and placing seams for best appearance and longest wear.
- 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.
- 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.
- Measure, cut and install tackless strips along the baseboard or wall.
- Cut carpet padding to size and install padding, following prescribed method.
- Nail tack strips around area to be carpeted or use old strips to attach edges of new carpet.
- Fasten metal treads across door openings or where carpet meets flooring to hold carpet in place.
- Draw building diagrams and record dimensions.
- Move furniture from area to be carpeted and remove old carpet and padding.
- Cut and bind material.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $30,276
- 25th percentile
- $37,781
- 50th percentile
- $47,536
- 75th percentile
- $66,004
- 90th percentile
- $90,105
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $47,536 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
−18.7%projected to decline
202519,913 jobs
2035 projected16,194 jobs
3,719 fewer positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 91.6%
- Some college
- 7.2%
- Certificate
- 1.3%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Carpet Installers609 postings
- 02Flooring Installers82 postings
- 03Subcontractor Installers58 postings
- 04Carpet Technicians41 postings
- 05Subcontractors11 postings
- 06Carpet Cleaning Technicians7 postings
- 07Installer Helpers3 postings
- 08Carpenter Helpers2 postings
- 09Carpenters/Handymen2 postings
- 10Installers2 postings
- 11Interior Installers2 postings
- 12AS/400 Developers1 postings
- 13Employee Experience Managers1 postings
- 14Experience Coordinators1 postings
- 15Experienced Tilers1 postings
- 16Floor Layers1 postings
- 17Neighborhood Managers1 postings
Top employers
- 01Service Pros Installation Group64 postings
- 02Empire Today58 postings
- 03Service Pros15 postings
- 04Ultimate Home Services15 postings
- 05Keller Interiors13 postings
- 06Premier Services Group8 postings
- 07Ati Restoration5 postings
- 08Erskine Interiors5 postings
- 09Personnel People5 postings
- 10Creative Multicare4 postings
- 11G.S. Floor Designs4 postings
- 12Western States Flooring4 postings
- 13Go Flooring3 postings
- 14Kluge Bros Flooring3 postings
- 15Marc's Flooring Service3 postings
- 16Romanoff Renovations3 postings
- 17Thunder Jet Boats3 postings
- 18123970 Canada2 postings
- 191st Choice Floors2 postings
- 20A Quality Facility Services2 postings
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