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Best cities to start a flooring installer business

Solo revenue, competition and local demand across 70 metros

Where a solo flooring installer business has the most room Our calculation

Dallas, TX ranks first. One-person building finishing work businesses there average $83,322 a year in revenue, with 25.8 building finishing work businesses for every 10,000 residents (typical metro: 21.8). We scored all 70 metros where the Census publishes building finishing work business counts.

  1. 1
    DallasTEXAS · TX · $83,322 avg solo revenue · 25.8 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    76
  2. 2
    CharlestonSOUTH CAROLINA · SC · $90,992 avg solo revenue · 28.6 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    75
  3. 3
    MadisonWISCONSIN · WI · $75,385 avg solo revenue · 21.8 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth and lots of new building
    74
  4. 4
    KnoxvilleTENNESSEE · TN · $82,735 avg solo revenue · 24.6 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    74
  5. 5
    NashvilleTENNESSEE · TN · $91,492 avg solo revenue · 28.6 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    74
  6. 6
    OgdenUTAH · UT · $70,215 avg solo revenue · 17.5 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fewer competitors per resident and fast population growth
    72
  7. 7
    FargoNORTH DAKOTA · ND · $76,018 avg solo revenue · 24.0 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth and lots of new building
    70
  8. 8
    Salt Lake CityUTAH · UT · $78,824 avg solo revenue · 25.2 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and lots of new building
    69
  9. 9
    SeattleWASHINGTON · WA · $78,423 avg solo revenue · 19.7 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue
    68
  10. 10
    TulsaOKLAHOMA · OK · $74,043 avg solo revenue · 23.6 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth
    67
  11. 11
    RacineWISCONSIN · WI · $74,934 avg solo revenue · 18.8 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Balanced across factors
    66
  12. 12
    AtlantaGEORGIA · GA · $80,684 avg solo revenue · 34.7 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on higher solo revenue and fast population growth
    65
  13. 13
    Bowling GreenKENTUCKY · KY · $72,685 avg solo revenue · 27.7 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Strong on fast population growth and lots of new building
    65
  14. 14
    Kansas CityMISSOURI · MO · $75,430 avg solo revenue · 22.7 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Balanced across factors
    65
  15. 15
    Green BayWISCONSIN · WI · $76,389 avg solo revenue · 21.8 building finishing work businesses per 10k residents · Balanced across factors
    64

Weights: average solo revenue 3, fewer competitors per resident 3, revenue compared with the local employee wage 2, new home permits 2, population growth 1. Each factor is a percentile among these metros.

Top 5 by each factor Government data

Highest solo revenue

  1. Boston, MA: $94,122
  2. Nashville, TN: $91,492
  3. Charleston, SC: $90,992
  4. Worcester, MA: $86,721
  5. Dallas, TX: $83,322

Least competition

  1. Bakersfield, CA: 10.2 per 10k residents
  2. Honolulu, HI: 11.4 per 10k residents
  3. San Jose, CA: 11.5 per 10k residents
  4. Stockton, CA: 11.5 per 10k residents
  5. Fresno, CA: 12.2 per 10k residents

Most new building

  1. Fayetteville, AR: 15.5 home permits per 1k
  2. Madison, WI: 10.0 home permits per 1k
  3. Nashville, TN: 9.2 home permits per 1k
  4. Charleston, SC: 8.7 home permits per 1k
  5. Houston, TX: 8.7 home permits per 1k

Fastest-growing population

  1. Fayetteville, AR: +13.1%
  2. Jacksonville, FL: +10.7%
  3. Charleston, SC: +10.7%
  4. Dallas, TX: +10.6%
  5. Naples, FL: +10.5%

Every metro Government data

Click a column to sort. “Rate to match it” is the hourly rate you'd need to bill to replace the local employee median, at our default assumptions (25% for tax and benefits, $30,000 overhead, 1,400 billable hours). Try your own numbers in the rate calculator.

#MetroScoreSolo revenueBusinesses / 10k peopleEmployee medianRate to match itPermits / 1k
1Dallas, TX76$83,32225.8$43,950$61/hr8.3
2Charleston, SC75$90,99228.6$52,000$68/hr8.7
3Madison, WI74$75,38521.8$49,310$65/hr10.0
4Knoxville, TN74$82,73524.6$51,480$67/hr8.4
5Nashville, TN74$91,49228.6$55,720$71/hr9.2
6Ogden, UT72$70,21517.5$49,860$66/hr5.5
7Fargo, ND70$76,01824.0$48,050$64/hr5.8
8Salt Lake City, UT69$78,82425.2$47,030$63/hr6.0
9Seattle, WA68$78,42319.7$57,590$73/hr3.9
10Tulsa, OK67$74,04323.6$38,240$56/hr5.0
11Racine, WI66$74,93418.8$45,960$62/hr3.4
12Atlanta, GA65$80,68434.7$46,030$63/hr5.4
13Bowling Green, KY65$72,68527.7$44,800$61/hr7.9
14Kansas City, MO65$75,43022.7$50,140$66/hr4.5
15Green Bay, WI64$76,38921.8$60,470$75/hr4.3
16Sioux Falls, SD64$81,97532.4$59,500$75/hr7.8
17Fayetteville, AR64$75,00634.9$48,830$65/hr15.5
18Sacramento, CA61$68,25115.7$63,970$79/hr4.4
19Indianapolis, IN61$73,63223.3$59,410$74/hr5.4
20Fort Wayne, IN60$70,85822.3$49,500$66/hr3.6
21Reno, NV59$64,56514.2$62,800$78/hr5.2
22Columbus, OH59$75,02724.7$65,560$80/hr7.2
23Waco, TX59$66,94321.7$48,630$65/hr4.8
24Des Moines, IA58$73,86528.3$63,200$78/hr8.5
25Minneapolis, MN57$77,19624.8$63,170$78/hr3.9
26Salem, OR57$70,05219.6$57,140$72/hr3.2
27Baltimore, MD55$67,39717.5$47,810$64/hr2.0
28Washington, DC55$75,41427.2$49,970$66/hr2.8
29Portland, OR54$67,84918.5$59,220$74/hr3.3
30Cincinnati, OH53$69,77622.0$57,800$73/hr3.2
31Houston, TX52$62,75129.0$43,020$60/hr8.7
32Grand Rapids, MI51$69,15527.7$49,930$66/hr3.7
33Riverside, CA51$61,02916.8$56,130$72/hr3.4
34Las Vegas, NV50$42,65813.6$51,640$68/hr6.2
35San Jose, CA50$67,26911.5$105,280$115/hr2.8
36Oxnard, CA50$66,10717.4$48,030$64/hr1.9
37Philadelphia, PA50$75,87220.4$73,280$87/hr2.1
38Worcester, MA49$86,72130.0$70,340$84/hr1.9
39Louisville/Jefferson County, KY49$64,37624.5$50,960$67/hr4.4
40Stockton, CA48$57,70911.5$69,610$84/hr3.2
41San Diego, CA48$62,20717.0$56,150$72/hr3.6
42San Antonio, TX48$63,23930.3$38,870$56/hr4.0
43Albuquerque, NM47$58,94513.6$54,720$70/hr3.1
44Jacksonville, FL46$63,81132.6$56,950$72/hr8.0
45Honolulu, HI46$67,04911.4$77,280$90/hr1.4
46Portland, ME46$66,64546.5$53,670$69/hr6.2
47Boston, MA42$94,12230.6$98,290$109/hr2.0
48Vallejo, CA42$59,17712.7$56,020$71/hr1.9
49Bakersfield, CA42$42,08210.2$55,690$71/hr3.5
50Naples, FL42$65,83559.5$62,570$77/hr6.9
51Modesto, CA41$50,46113.8$47,170$64/hr2.2
52Cedar Rapids, IA41$63,78322.6$59,990$75/hr3.6
53Fresno, CA40$41,50112.2$51,980$68/hr3.0
54Albany, NY40$60,69218.2$57,720$73/hr2.3
55St. Louis, MO39$63,25718.0$71,730$85/hr2.2
56Virginia Beach, VA39$57,14319.2$48,520$65/hr2.2
57Pittsburgh, PA38$64,05418.6$80,970$94/hr2.4
58Los Angeles, CA37$59,52016.0$59,090$74/hr2.1
59Anchorage, AK36$69,55321.3$92,860$104/hr0.7
60San Francisco, CA36$61,46514.2$74,970$88/hr1.7
61Davenport, IA35$59,61319.1$51,050$67/hr1.6
62Buffalo, NY34$50,62614.9$47,540$64/hr1.3
63Rockford, IL33$53,28617.2$49,980$66/hr1.1
64Springfield, MA31$63,13519.3$72,850$86/hr0.7
65Chicago, IL30$63,51722.1$70,370$84/hr1.7
66Cleveland, OH29$64,50527.9$58,950$74/hr1.9
67New York, NY27$56,26522.6$61,360$76/hr2.2
68Flint, MI27$55,08222.6$45,630$62/hr1.1
69Detroit, MI26$60,80629.3$50,730$67/hr2.0
70Toledo, OH21$51,94219.6$72,850$86/hr0.8

How to read this

Revenue is what one-person businesses take in before expenses, not take-home pay. A high figure with lots of competitors per resident usually means a busy but crowded market; a lower figure with few competitors can mean room to grow. Business counts come from the Census Nonemployer Statistics (2024) and County Business Patterns (2023), grouped as “building finishing work”, so they include some firms outside the trade itself.

For pay as an employee in any of these cities, see the flooring installer salary overview or the best cities for flooring installers to work.

Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024; County Business Patterns 2023; Census Building Permits 2025; Census population estimates; BLS OEWS May 2025. Our data

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