How much do floor layers make in Tennessee in 2026?

The median floor layer in Tennessee earns $49,900 a year, which works out to roughly $23.99 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That's the midpoint — half of Tennessee floor layers earn more, half earn less. If you're just starting out or working in a slower market, the 25th percentile sits at $40,730 a year ($19.58/hr). Workers in the upper quarter of earners pull in $58,670 annually, or about $28.21 an hour. These figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025.

That $17,940 spread between the bottom and top quartiles is real money, and it doesn't appear by accident. Experience is the biggest driver. A floor layer with two or three years under their belt — someone who can set tile, install hardwood, lay LVP, and handle subfloor prep without supervision — is simply worth more per hour than someone still learning the trade. Employers know that a botched floor installation is expensive to fix, so they pay for reliability.

Specialty work pushes wages higher. Floor layers who are certified or highly experienced in epoxy systems, decorative concrete overlays, or moisture-mitigation techniques can command rates above the 75th percentile. Commercial and industrial flooring contracts, which often involve large square footage and tight deadlines, tend to pay better than residential work. A floor layer who can read specs, work with general contractors, and manage material quantities on a commercial job site is not the same as one who only does residential remodels — and the pay reflects that.

Geography matters inside Tennessee. The Nashville metro area and Knoxville have active construction pipelines with demand for experienced floor layers on both commercial and multifamily residential projects. Memphis and Chattanooga also generate consistent work, particularly on the commercial side. Rural counties generally offer less volume and lower rates, though lower cost of living can offset some of that gap.

No union scale data is available for floor layers in Tennessee. Most floor laying work in the state is performed through non-union contractors, so wages are set by employer, experience, and what the local market will bear. Workers without union protections should pay close attention to whether overtime, travel pay, and tool allowances are included in any compensation offer — those details can shift the effective hourly rate significantly.

For newer workers, hitting that $49,900 median is a realistic target once you've built solid skill across multiple flooring types and can move efficiently on a job site. Reaching the 75th percentile — $58,670 — typically requires several years of experience, proficiency in higher-end or specialty flooring systems, and a track record on commercial work. Workers who add skills in floor prep, moisture testing, and substrate repair tend to move up the pay scale faster because those tasks are bottlenecks that slow down every other part of the job.

Hours and seasonality also play into annual earnings. Tennessee's climate is mild enough to support year-round construction activity, which means floor layers here generally avoid the extended winter slowdowns common in northern states. That steady availability of work makes it easier to hit or exceed the annual figures above, assuming you're working full-time hours throughout the year.

All figures on this page are drawn from the BLS OEWS May 2025 dataset and reflect wages for floor layers (SOC 47-2042) working in Tennessee.