Statewide pay Government data
Flooring installers in Illinois earn a statewide median of $69,880 a year, 25% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #4 of 44 states. About 1,330 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Illinois
See all states on the flooring installers nationwide.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes flooring installer pay for 2 Illinois metros: Chicago and Rockford.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChicagoILLINOIS · IL | $70,370 | $67,928 | 1,010 |
| RockfordILLINOIS · IL | $49,980 | $54,235 | 40 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for Illinois's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
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 Illinois who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 56% completed (U.S.: 34%), about 40 graduates a year. The typical program runs 7,540 hours, about 4 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.
Licensing in Illinois Official source
The main state licensing office in Illinois is the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Most trades (including general contractors and electricians) are licensed locally; plumbers are licensed by the state health department. It can point you to the right license for flooring installers.
Official Illinois licensing site ↗
Requirements for flooring installers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 13.1% of wage and salary workers in Illinois were union members, above the U.S. rate of about 10% (#12 of 51 states and D.C.), and 14.0% 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 Illinois
All trades in Illinois.