Fence Erectors vs Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles: $48K vs $56K Median Pay

Fence Erectors vs Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles: what changes?

Consider Fence Erectors if you want to erect and repair fences and fence gates, using hand and power tools. Consider Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles if you would rather apply blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors. Both list no formal educational credential; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Fence Erectors and Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Fence Erectors

National median pay (2025): $47,980
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Establish the location for a fence, and gather information needed to ensure that there are no electric cables or water lines in the area.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,500

Know before you choose

Deadline pressure is a recurring condition rather than an occasional emergency.

See the full Fence Erectors brief

Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles

National median pay (2025): $56,460
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Sweep, scrape, sand, or chip dirt and irregularities to clean base surfaces, correcting imperfections that may show through the covering.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,200

Know before you choose

The work can involve real occupational hazards. Training, protective equipment, and routine safety discipline matter every day.

See the full Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles brief

How the national numbers differ

Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles has the edge on median pay

Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles is at $56,460, compared with $47,980 for Fence Erectors.

Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles has the edge on projected growth

Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles is at 9% projected growth, compared with 5.6% projected growth for Fence Erectors.

Fence Erectors has the edge on annual openings

Fence Erectors is at 2,500 annual openings, compared with 2,200 annual openings for Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles.

50.2/ 100

Fence Erectors

57.1/ 100

Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

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