Floor Sanders and Finishers Career, Salary and Skills
Floor Sanders and Finishers have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $50,440 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 3,720. Wage data is published for 31 locations.
Occupation description
Scrape and sand wooden floors to smooth surfaces using floor scraper and floor sanding machine, and apply coats of finish.
O*NET code
47-2043.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
Less than a High School Diploma
Experience
Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$50,440
Hourly median
$24.25
Employment
3,720
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Operation and Control | 3.12 | 2.75 |
| Coordination | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Active Listening | 3.00 | 2.75 |
| Time Management | 2.88 | 2.62 |
| Monitoring | 2.88 | 2.75 |
| Operations Monitoring | 2.88 | 2.50 |
| Critical Thinking | 2.75 | 2.38 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 2.75 | 2.50 |
| Speaking | 2.75 | 2.25 |
| Reading Comprehension | 2.62 | 2.38 |
Typical tasks
- Buff and vacuum floors to ensure their cleanliness prior to the application of finish.
- Scrape and sand floor edges and areas inaccessible to floor sanders, using scrapers, disk-type sanders, and sandpaper.
- Inspect floors for smoothness.
- Attach sandpaper to rollers of sanding machines.
- Guide sanding machines over surfaces of floors until surfaces are smooth.
- Apply filler compound and coats of finish to floors to seal wood.
- Remove excess glue from joints, using knives, scrapers, or wood chisels.
Technology
- Floor planning software
- FloorCOST Estimator for Excel
- Flooring Technologies QFloors
- Measure Square
- Microsoft Excel
- Pacific Solutions FloorRight
- Vimeo
Floor Sanders and Finishers salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in FLMedian $52,060 · Employment 270
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in NYMedian $60,470 · Employment 240
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in NCMedian $39,170 · Employment 190
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in TXMedian $40,120 · Employment 140
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in COMedian $55,180 · Employment 130
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in VAMedian $46,860 · Employment 110
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in WAMedian $55,620 · Employment 90
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in SCMedian $44,310 · Employment 60
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in IAMedian $46,810 · Employment 30
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in Raleigh, NCMedian $39,920 · Employment 30
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in UTMedian $74,240 · Employment 30
- Floor Sanders and Finishers Salary in PAMedian $45,450 · Employment 30
Related careers
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and PlasticNational median $46,170
- Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersNational median $48,250
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating WorkersNational median $41,600
- Painters, Construction and MaintenanceNational median $49,400
- Construction LaborersNational median $47,120
- CarpentersNational median $60,580
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except SawingNational median $43,380
- TapersNational median $68,270
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.