Statewide pay Government data
Flooring installers in California earn a statewide median of $61,210 a year, 10% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #6 of 44 states. About 4,330 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near California
See all states on the flooring installer overview.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes flooring installer pay for 12 California metros: Bakersfield, Fresno, Los Angeles, Modesto, Oxnard, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Stockton and Vallejo.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San JoseCALIFORNIA · CA | $105,280 | $95,342 | 340 |
| San FranciscoCALIFORNIA · CA | $74,970 | $64,846 | 600 |
| StocktonCALIFORNIA · CA | $69,610 | $66,239 | 120 |
| SacramentoCALIFORNIA · CA | $63,970 | $59,970 | 310 |
| Los AngelesCALIFORNIA · CA | $59,090 | $52,031 | 1,350 |
| San DiegoCALIFORNIA · CA | $56,150 | $50,185 | 450 |
| RiversideCALIFORNIA · CA | $56,130 | $52,733 | 440 |
| VallejoCALIFORNIA · CA | $56,020 | $51,641 | 40 |
| BakersfieldCALIFORNIA · CA | $55,690 | $55,201 | 50 |
| FresnoCALIFORNIA · CA | $51,980 | $50,882 | 120 |
| OxnardCALIFORNIA · CA | $48,030 | $43,453 | 70 |
| ModestoCALIFORNIA · CA | $47,170 | $45,309 | 60 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
The job (national)
Apply blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,200 openings a year. Typical training: moderate-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, flooring installers have 73 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 16% below the rate for all jobs (87).
What the work is like Government data
How often flooring installers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Registered apprenticeships Government data
Of flooring installer apprentices in California who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 26% completed (U.S.: 34%), about 50 graduates a year. The typical program runs 6,032 hours, about 3 years of full-time work. Search open registered programs near you on the official Apprenticeship Finder.
U.S. Department of Labor, RAPIDS apprentice records (Completion Rate Analysis), FY2020–2024 exits.
Licensed contractors Government data
California had 6,542 active C-15 Flooring contractor licenses in October 2026. A California contractor license is required to bid jobs of $1,000 or more in labor and materials; working as an employee doesn't need one.
California Contractors State License Board, License Master file, October 2026 (active licenses only).
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
California runs its own workplace-safety program (an OSHA State Plan), so its injury reports aren't in the federal dataset. Nationally, in states federal OSHA covers, flooring contractors filed 69 severe injury reports from 2015 to 2024; the most common cause was contact with objects and equipment (52%). OSHA also opened 5 fatality investigations at flooring contractors in California over the same years (federal and state programs).
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Fatality investigations: OSHA Fatality Inspection Data, events 2015–2024, all states.
Licensing in California Official source
The main state licensing office in California is the Contractors State License Board. Licenses all trades by classification (e.g. C-10 electrical; C-36 plumbing). It can point you to the right license for flooring installers.
Official California licensing site ↗
Requirements for flooring installers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 14.9% of wage and salary workers in California were union members, above the U.S. rate of about 10% (#8 of 51 states and D.C.), and 16.7% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only flooring installers.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in California
All trades in California.