Flooring Installers in the Vallejo area earn a median of $56,020 a year, 0% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #35 of 70 metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in San Francisco and Stockton, but less in Modesto.
Vallejo scorecard for flooring installers Our calculation
Grades compare Vallejo with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($55,870).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Vallejo Our calculation
Prices in Vallejo run 8% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $51,641 would in a typical place, ranking #48 of 70 on real pay.
Two different views, don't combine them. Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
What flooring installers do
Apply blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Cut covering and foundation materials, according to blueprints and sketches.
- Cut flooring material to fit around obstructions.
- Trim excess covering materials, tack edges, and join sections of covering material to form tight joint.
- Roll and press sheet wall and floor covering into cement base to smooth and finish surface, using hand roller.
- Lay out, position, and apply shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors, walls, and cabinets, following guidelines to keep courses straight and create designs.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, flooring installer jobs are projected to grow 9.0% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 2,200 openings a year. About 21% are self-employed.
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.
On-the-job safety Government data
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). The most common cause is nan.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying CA metros for flooring installers
| Metro | Median | 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 |
See every metro in California.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Vallejo area's unemployment rate was 5.3% in 2025 (all workers, not just flooring installers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 7.2% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Vallejo area is 30 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 25% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 75% drive alone, 2% take transit and 11% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
New-home permits in Vallejo are down 36% from 2021 to 2025 (1,378 → 881).
In 2025 the Vallejo area approved permits for 881 new homes (750 single-family), or 1.9 per 1,000 residents, ranking #301 of 393 metros, a slower building market than most.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 413 one-person businesses (no employees) in building finishing work, averaging $59,177 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 161 building finishing work companies that have employees (about 1,378 workers in total). 68% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the minimum you'd need to bill to match a $56,020 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get flooring installer pricing & estimate templates →Compare Vallejo with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Real pay: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, local.
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027, local (county rents weighted by population).
- Job outlook, education, training: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national.
- Duties: O*NET 31.0, national.
- Safety: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024, national.
- New construction: Census Building Permits, 2021–2025, local.
- Commute: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local, all workers.
- Unemployment: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2021–2025 annual averages, local, all workers (2025 preliminary).
- Competition: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and County Business Patterns 2023, local, reported by industry, so related trades can share one figure.
- Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions. Grades rank this metro against all others for the same trade.