Flooring Installers in the Salem area earn a median of $57,140 a year, 2% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #31 of 70 metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Portland.
It's one of 2 Oregon metros with published pay for this trade; see flooring installer pay in Oregon.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for flooring installers here is about average compared with other U.S. metros, and also about average once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is higher than in most metros (5.0%) and the population is growing at a typical pace (+2.7% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 479 one-person building finishing work businesses averaging $70,052 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $72/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
A summary of the numbers on this page; nothing here is estimated beyond them.
Salem scorecard for flooring installers Our calculation
Grades compare Salem 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).
Pay over time
The median pay for flooring installers in the Salem area went from $54,880 in 2020 to $57,140 in 2025, up 4.1%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -17.0% — a real pay cut. Some years are missing because BLS redrew or didn't publish this metro.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Salem Our calculation
Prices in Salem run 4% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $55,128 would in a typical place, ranking #34 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.
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.
Licensing in Oregon Official source
The main state licensing office in Oregon is the Oregon Construction Contractors Board. It can point you to the right license for flooring installers.
Official Oregon 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 OR metros for flooring installers
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| PortlandOREGON · OR | $59,220 | $56,175 | 180 |
| SalemOREGON · OR | $57,140 | $55,128 | 50 |
See every metro in Oregon.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Salem area's unemployment rate was 5.0% in 2025 (all workers, not just flooring installers), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 5.0% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Salem area is 25 minutes each way, longer than the typical metro (24 min). 13% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 71% drive alone, 1% take transit and 11% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Salem area's population grew 2.7% from 2020 to 2025 (434,267 → 445,814), ranking #188 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +9,291) account for most of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Salem
The Salem area has about 171,685 homes. 48% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is about as old as most; 13% were built in 2010 or later. 62% of households own their home, and the median home value is $447,000.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Salem are down 34% from 2021 to 2025 (2,154 → 1,426).
In 2025 the Salem area approved permits for 1,426 new homes (873 single-family), or 3.2 per 1,000 residents, ranking #210 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 479 one-person businesses (no employees) in building finishing work, averaging $70,052 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 382 building finishing work companies that have employees (about 2,163 workers in total). 70% 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 $57,140 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
How this calculator works. 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 Salem with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Pay over time: BLS OEWS May 2020–2025, local; inflation from the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).
- 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.
- Housing: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local (age of homes, ownership, home values).
- Population: Census Bureau population estimates, 2020–2025, 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.