---
title: "Floor Sander and Finisher"
description: "Scrape and sand wooden floors to smooth surfaces using floor scraper and floor sanding machine, and apply coats of finish."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/floor-sander-and-finisher"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Floor Sander and Finisher

**Category:** Construction and Extraction · **SOC code:** 47-2043 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 47-2043.00

Scrape and sand wooden floors to smooth surfaces using floor scraper and floor sanding machine, and apply coats of finish.

Also advertised as: Finisher; Floor Finisher; Floor Mechanic; Floor Refinisher; Floor Sander; Floor Sander and Finisher; Hardwood Floor Finisher and Sander; Hardwood Floor Refinisher.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $50,440 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $24.25/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $37,070 to $70,340, with the middle half between $41,600 and $59,620
- **Total US employment:** 3,720
- **Typical entry education:** No formal credential
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +1.4% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 300 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 67/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 3,720 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $37,070 |
| 25th | $41,600 |
| 50th (median) | $50,440 |
| 75th | $59,620 |
| 90th | $70,340 |
| Mean (average) | $52,460 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| UT | $74,240 | $75,093 | 30 |
| MN | $62,940 | $63,820 | Not published by BLS |
| OR | $62,020 | $60,003 | Not published by BLS |
| NY | $60,470 | $56,032 | 240 |
| MA | $58,230 | $55,060 | Not published by BLS |
| WA | $55,620 | $51,975 | 90 |
| CO | $55,180 | $53,546 | 130 |
| KY | $54,580 | $60,537 | Not published by BLS |
| FL | $52,060 | $50,341 | 270 |
| MI | $51,400 | $53,421 | Not published by BLS |
| MD | $51,100 | $48,686 | Not published by BLS |
| MO | $48,540 | $53,448 | Not published by BLS |
| OH | $48,000 | $51,739 | Not published by BLS |
| NH | $47,310 | $45,418 | Not published by BLS |
| VA | $46,860 | $46,348 | 110 |

9 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 24 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/floor-sander-and-finisher/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/floor-sander-and-finisher.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 4,700 in the 2025–2035 base year to 4,700 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 100 jobs, or +1.4%. Slower than average: 1.4% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 300 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** No formal educational credential (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 46.6% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 34.6% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 16.4% |
| Some College Courses | 2.3% |

## What the work involves

- 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.
- Guide sanding machines over surfaces of floors until surfaces are smooth.
- Apply filler compound and coats of finish to floors to seal wood.
- Attach sandpaper to rollers of sanding machines.
- Remove excess glue from joints, using knives, scrapers, or wood chisels.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operation and Control — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Building and Construction — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Multilimb Coordination — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Trunk Strength — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Finger Dexterity — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 3.33 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.54 |
| S — Social | 1.43 |
| I — Investigative | 1.39 |
| A — Artistic | 1.37 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 83.1 |
| ISTP | 72.9 |
| ISFJ | 71.6 |
| ESTJ | 70.8 |
| ESTP | 60.4 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Floor Layer, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles](https://nuecareer.com/careers/floor-layer) — median $56,460
- [Furniture Finisher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/furniture-finisher) — median $44,540
- [Carpet Installer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/carpet-installer) — median $50,340
- [Terrazzo Worker and Finisher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/terrazzo-worker-and-finisher) — median $76,170
- [Tile and Stone Setter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tile-and-stone-setter) — median $55,690
- [Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/drywall-and-ceiling-tile-installer) — median $58,930
- [Cement Mason and Concrete Finisher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cement-mason-and-concrete-finisher) — median $57,020
- [Grinding and Polishing Worker, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/grinding-and-polishing-worker-hand) — median $42,660
- [Helpers--Brickmason, Blockmason, Stonemason, and Tile and Marble Setter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-brickmason-blockmason-stonemason-and-tile-and-marble-setter) — median $47,550
- [Insulation Worker, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall](https://nuecareer.com/careers/insulation-worker-floor-ceiling-and-wall) — median $49,120

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/floor-sander-and-finisher