How much does flooring cost per square foot installed?

Flooring installation costs range from around $3.50 per square foot for basic carpet to $19 or more per square foot for premium tile, installed. Luxury vinyl plank (LVP), currently one of the most popular residential flooring choices, typically costs $4 to $9 per square foot installed including labor.

How much does it cost to replace flooring in a 2000 sq ft house?

Replacing flooring in a 2,000 sq ft house typically costs around $9,100 to $23,600 for LVP or laminate, $14,500 to $34,400 for engineered hardwood, or $18,800 to $38,700 for solid hardwood, installed by a contractor. Costs include removal of the existing floor, subfloor prep, and installation, and vary with material grade, subfloor condition, and region.

How much does LVP flooring cost per square foot installed?

Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring typically costs $4 to $9 per square foot installed, including material and professional installation. A 400 sq ft room typically runs around $2,000 to $4,900 including removal of an existing floor and standard subfloor prep. Thicker planks run toward the high end; thinner budget LVP runs toward the low end.

How much does carpet removal cost?

Professional carpet removal typically costs $0.50 to $1.50 per square foot, or roughly $200 to $600 for a 400 sq ft room. DIY carpet removal is possible and eliminates this cost, though you will still need to arrange disposal of the removed carpet.

Is LVP or laminate flooring cheaper?

LVP and laminate are similarly priced, both typically running $3.50 to $9.00 per square foot installed. LVP is waterproof, making it better suited for bathrooms, kitchens, and basements. Laminate is not waterproof but may offer a more realistic wood-look at some price points.

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By the FigureNerd team · Last reviewed: September 2026 · Methodology

Flooring Cost CalculatorBy room size, material, and what you're removing

Flooring Cost Calculator

Enter your room size, flooring material, and region to see a realistic cost range, with or without removing your existing floor.

Your room

Room size (sq ft) 400 sq ft covers a typical living room plus dining area, or a 2-bedroom apartment's worth of flooring.

New flooring material

Current floor (to be removed)

Subfloor condition

Install method

Region

Advanced inputs

Layout pattern

Waste factor override (%) Leave blank to auto-calculate from layout. Standard: 8% straight, 12% diagonal, 18% herringbone.

Transition strips Number of doorway transitions needed. Each adds roughly $20 to $60 installed.

Stair nosing (steps) Number of stair steps needing flooring. Adds roughly $8 to $25 per step.

Low, mid, and high estimate
Removal and subfloor prep included
7 materials compared side by side
No login needed

Flooring cost spreads wide depending on what you pick. Luxury vinyl plank runs about $4 to $9 per square foot installed. Solid hardwood can run $8 to $16 or more. Enter your room size, material, and region to see what it costs to install, with or without removing your existing floor.

Last reviewed September 2026

Reviewed by the FigureNerd construction team. Cost benchmarks are FigureNerd planning estimates pending verification against RSMeans and Angi/HomeAdvisor 2026 data. Verify current pricing with a licensed flooring contractor before finalizing your budget.

Flooring cost estimate

$3,100

400 sq ft, LVP, Carpet Removal, National Average

Low

$2,100

$5.17/sq ft

Mid

$3,100

$7.78/sq ft

High

$4,800

$12.02/sq ft

Materials, removal, and labor shown separately below. Subfloor condition is the #1 hidden cost in flooring replacement; opening up your existing floor can reveal soft spots or leveling issues this estimate cannot see in advance.

Cost breakdown by category

Low, mid, and high estimate, stacked by category.

Line item	Low	Mid	High

Material comparison

All 7 materials at your current room size, installed cost including removal, subfloor prep, and labor.

Material	Low	Mid	High	Lifespan	Maintenance

What this estimate does not include. This tool assumes residential flooring only; commercial flooring has different durability requirements and cost structures not modeled here. It does not model California CARB formaldehyde-emission compliance costs for laminate, radiant-heat compatibility surcharges, mobile-home subfloor adjustments (which can run 15 to 25 percent higher), or asbestos testing/abatement for pre-1980 glue-down flooring. If this is a rental property, the tax treatment of flooring replacement depends on cost, project scope, and IRS safe-harbor elections; consult a CPA. Material prices shown are national-average estimates as of Q3 2026 and are pending verification against RSMeans and Angi/HomeAdvisor 2026 data.

Home Improvement Cost Toolkit

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House Material Cost Calculator : whole-home materials by category, foundation through trim
Building Permit Cost Calculator : what your permit fee will run before you break ground
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Shopping for the flooring in your estimate? Home Depot and Lowe's carry LVP, laminate, hardwood, and carpet with in-store pickup and professional install scheduling.

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How this calculator works

This calculator starts with an installed cost-per-square-foot range for your chosen flooring material, applies a waste factor based on your layout pattern, then adds separate line items for removing your existing floor, subfloor prep, underlayment, transition strips, and stair nosing. Materials run roughly 65 percent of the installed rate and labor roughly 35 percent, a FigureNerd planning estimate. Region adjusts labor, removal, subfloor, and underlayment costs; material pricing assumes national-average retail pricing regardless of region.

The DIY question: switch Install Method to "DIY, Labor Only" and every labor line drops out, leaving materials, removal (at a lower DIY rate), subfloor prep, underlayment, and transitions only. Glue-down removal and tile removal are the most labor-intensive; if your existing floor is one of those, professional removal alone may be worth the cost even if you install the new floor yourself.

What drives flooring cost the most

Material choice

Material is the biggest lever on total cost. Carpet and vinyl sheet sit at the low end. LVP and laminate run in the middle and currently make up the largest share of residential replacement projects. Engineered hardwood, tile, and solid hardwood sit at the top, both in material cost and in typical lifespan.

What you're removing

Carpet is the fastest and cheapest floor to remove. Glue-down VCT is the most labor-intensive; some glue-down installations from before 1980 may contain asbestos, which requires testing and possibly abatement before removal, not modeled in this estimate. Tile removal requires grinding and patching the subfloor afterward, which this calculator prices in as part of the removal line.

Subfloor condition

Subfloor condition is the number one hidden cost in flooring replacement. Opening up an old floor often reveals soft spots, squeaks, or areas that are not level within the tolerance most flooring materials require. If you select "Good" and your contractor finds a problem once your old floor comes up, expect the estimate to move.

Bottom line: use this calculator to get the right order of magnitude for your flooring budget and to compare materials at your actual room size, then get two or three contractor quotes once your old floor is up and your subfloor condition is confirmed.

Estimates are designed for planning purposes based on 2026 national-average cost data. Actual costs may vary based on subfloor condition, material availability, local contractor rates, and project complexity. Consult a licensed flooring contractor for a binding quote. This tool is provided for educational and planning use only and does not constitute professional construction, engineering, or financial advice.