The quick answer#
Most homeowners pay $2 to $8 per square foot to have carpet installed in 2026. Of that, the carpet itself is $1 to $5 per square foot and the installer's labor is $0.50 to $1.50, with the pad and any removal on top.
Installed
$2–$8per sq ftInstalled
$18–$72per sq ydCarpet only
$1–$5per sq ftLabor
$0.50–$1.50per sq ftThese are HomeGuide's ranges, and they match the carpet line in our flooring cost guide. A square yard is 9 square feet, so the same job reads $18 to $72 when it is quoted by the yard. Before you compare anything, find out how much carpet your room actually takes, because that is rarely the floor area. The carpet calculator works it out from the room and the roll width.
Before you price anything
Square yards off the roll, not off the floor
Enter the room and the roll width to get the square yards you order, the seams, and the padding.
Cost by carpet grade#
The grade of the carpet moves the price more than anything else on the job, because labor barely changes between a cheap carpet and a dear one.
| Carpet | Per sq ft |
|---|---|
| Builder grade | $0.50–$1.50 |
| Mid-grade | $1.50–$6.00 |
| High quality | $6.00–$21.00 |
| Synthetic fibers: nylon, polyester, olefin, Triexta | $0.50–$9.00 |
| Natural fibers: wool and sisal | $3.00–$21.00 |
HomeGuide's figures for the carpet alone, before pad and labor. Glue-down carpet, usually laid without a pad over concrete, runs $3 to $7 per square foot installed, and carpet tile $2 to $8.
Cost by room size#
HomeGuide prices rooms on the same per square foot range, so room totals carry the same spread.
| Room | Installed |
|---|---|
| 10 x 12 room | $200–$900 |
| 12 x 12 room | $250–$1,100 |
| 12 x 15 room | $300–$1,400 |
| 15 x 15 room | $400–$1,700 |
| 20 x 20 room | $700–$3,000 |
| Flight of 13 stairs | $150–$600 |
HomeGuide's room figures. Stairs are priced per flight.
For a whole floor, HomeGuide puts carpeting 1,000 square feet at $1,700 to $7,500, 1,500 square feet at $2,600 to $11,200, and 2,000 square feet at $3,500 to $15,000.
Square yards and roll width#
Carpet comes off a roll, usually 12 or 15 feet wide, and every drop has to run the full length of the room. So the carpet you buy is set by how many drops the room needs times the roll width, not by the floor area. That is the number to check on any quote.
A 13 by 16 foot room is 23.11 square yards of floor. On a 12 foot roll it takes two drops and 38.13 square yards of carpet, 65 percent more than the floor. The same room off a 15 foot roll is one drop, 29.33 square yards and no seam. At the carpet-only $9 to $45 per square yard, that gap is real money, and the carpet calculator tries the layout both ways round and keeps whichever buys less.
Ask which square yards a quote means
A quote priced per square yard of floor and a quote priced per square yard of carpet off the roll can differ by half again on the same room. Ask the installer how many square yards they are ordering, and hold it against your own number.
Pad, removal and extras#
These are the lines that turn a showroom price into a job price.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Carpet pad | $0.25–$1.00 per sq ft |
| Old carpet and pad removal | $0.70–$1.60 per sq ft |
| Thresholds and transitions | $25–$100 each |
| Moving furniture | $25–$75 per room |
| Trim removal and reinstall | $1.85–$4.15 per linear ft |
| Measuring | $35–$55, or free with install |
HomeGuide's figures. Extra labor and prep is billed at $35 to $80 an hour, and most installers carry a $75 to $150 minimum, which is what makes a single small room expensive per square foot.
If the trim comes off for the carpet, the baseboard and trim calculator gives the linear feet and pieces in case it has to be replaced rather than reinstalled. Running carpet into another room's floor is a threshold, and the flooring calculator covers the hard floor on the other side of it.
DIY versus installed#
Labor is a small share of a carpet job: $0.50 to $1.50 per square foot. On a 12 by 15 room, 180 square feet, laying it yourself keeps $90 to $270, and the installer's minimum of $75 to $150 sets a floor under that.
Carpet tile works differently: HomeGuide puts its labor at $1 to $3 per square foot, against $0.50 to $1.50 for wall-to-wall carpet, and the tiles themselves at $1 to $5.
Checking a quote#
Work out the square yards you need from the roll, not the floor, then price it. HomeGuide lists Home Depot installation at $1.60 to $5.00 per square foot including old carpet removal, new carpet and labor, with free installation on purchases of $499 or more on carpets from $0.99 per square foot, and Lowe's at $4 to $6 per square foot including pad and removal.
Then ask three things: how many square yards they are ordering, whether the pad and removal are in the price, and how many seams there are and where. A quote that is cheap on the carpet and long on extras is the same price as one that is not, so compare the total for the same scope. If the baseboard is coming off and may not survive it, count it with the baseboard and trim calculator before you sign.
Save the carpet cost chart#
Installed carpet cost for five room sizes and a flight of stairs, with the per square foot and per square yard rates. Save it before you visit the store.
Save to PinterestOpens Pinterest with the chart and link ready to go.
Common questions#
How much does carpet cost per square foot installed?#
$2 to $8 per square foot installed in 2026, which is $18 to $72 per square yard. The carpet itself is $1 to $5 per square foot and labor is $0.50 to $1.50, with the pad at $0.25 to $1.00 and removal of old carpet at $0.70 to $1.60 on top where needed.
How much does it cost to carpet a 12 by 12 room?#
$250 to $1,100 installed on HomeGuide's figures. A 10 by 12 room is $200 to $900 and a 12 by 15 room $300 to $1,400. The carpet you buy is often more than the room measures, because it comes off a 12 or 15 foot roll.
Why is carpet sold by the square yard?#
Carpet is often quoted that way, and a square yard is 9 square feet, so $2 to $8 per square foot is $18 to $72 per square yard. Check whether a quote means square yards of floor or square yards off the roll, because on some rooms the second is 65 percent more.
Is carpet pad included in the price?#
Not in the carpet price itself. Pad runs $0.25 to $1.00 per square foot on HomeGuide's figures, which build the $2 to $8 installed range from carpet, pad and labor. Ask whether a quote lists it, because leaving it out is one way a low quote gets low.