Hardwood Floor Demand Calculator: How to Read Your Area's Report

Why this is the first question people ask

Most people who look at a recoat business ask the same thing first. Is there enough work near me? It is the right question to start with. Whether a market can hold a business up matters more than almost any other choice you make about it.

So FloorIt built a tool that answers it before you talk to anyone. In the video, Alex uses ZIP 98404, near Tacoma, Washington, an area he used to live in and knows well. You can do the same with any city, state or ZIP.

Step 1: your area and your radius

Type in your city, state or ZIP. Then pick a radius. Most people start with 30 miles, and a FloorIt territory is a 30-mile radius. Past that, drive times stretch to an hour, two hours or more, and the day gets eaten by the road.

If you already run a company and have people who can go out on estimates, a 40 to 50 mile radius can make sense. A bigger circle just means more homes in the count. A smaller one is worth trying too: if the numbers still hold at 15 or 20 miles, most of your jobs can be close to home.

A good test is to picture the edge of your circle. Would you happily drive there on a Saturday morning with the gear in your car? If not, pull the radius in.

Step 2: pick your jobs per month

Next, choose how many jobs a month you want. In the video, Alex picks four, one every Saturday. That is how someone would start if this is a weekend business or an extra service for a company they already run.

Two a month is the bare minimum, for someone who just wants some extra cash. Ten a month is for a company that wants to scale it up. The video calls four to ten a reasonable range for most areas. Forty a month would take a lot of pushing, and the demand has to hold in your area to support it.

The report shows how many days your number takes, at up to two jobs a day. You can also sort it by year, so you can see years one to three side by side.

Step 3: read the report, line by line

• About 614,700 homes lived in by their owners, from the U.S. Census
• Times 35% with wood floors: about 215,100 homes with wood floors
• Times one $2,500 recoat each: the potential revenue in the area
• At four jobs a month: $10,000 a month in revenue
• After about $360 to $460 a job in materials: about $8,150 to $8,550 a month kept

Here is how the example area in the video, Tacoma, works out inside a 30-mile radius on today's report. The report has been simplified since the video was made, so a few steps you see on screen are gone. These are estimates for one area, not a prediction of what any one business will book.

• The demand math, step by step

Revenue first, then what you keep

The report leads with revenue: what homeowners pay you for the jobs. Right under it is what you keep after the finish, buffer rental, supplies and gas for each job. Keep those two apart in your head. Revenue is what comes in. What you keep is what is left after the job is paid for.

Change the jobs a month and the report changes with it. It also shows what it looks like if you hire a tech to do the floors and you run the estimates and the business instead. Every figure is an example, not a promise. Your prices, your market and your follow-up move every number.

Step 4: check how the numbers are kept low

• Only homes lived in by their owners count, from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2024. Renters are left out, because the owner is the one who decides on the floor.
• About 52% of homeowners say they have wood floors. The report uses 35%, the lower figure. Not every city was built with the same amount of hardwood.
• A ZIP code only counts if its center point is inside your circle, even when part of it reaches in.
• It prices a job at $2,500 and takes out about $360 to $460 in materials.

Every step is printed on the report page, with where each number comes from, so you can check it yourself. This is not a get-rich-quick pitch, and the tool is built to show careful numbers rather than big ones.

• Why we keep our numbers conservative

The steps in the video that the report no longer shows

• An assumption that a floor gets a fresh coat about once every 5 years. In Tacoma that turns about 215,000 homes with wood into about 43,000 due in a year.
• Only 1 in 10 of those owners hiring anyone to do it. That leaves about 4,300 homes. Most owners do not know a recoat exists, which is why the marketing focuses on teaching them.
• A small share of that market, starting around 0.5% and reaching about 4% by year three. Nobody is assumed to win 40 or 50% of a market.
• A $2,000 job, from about $2 a square foot on a 1,000 square foot floor, inside the usual $1.50 to $3 range.

The version in the video went a few steps further, and every one of them pushed the number down. They are still a useful way to think about your area.

How to use your report

Run it for more than one place. Try your home ZIP, then the town next to you, then a slightly smaller radius. If the count barely moves, most of the homes are close in. If it drops a lot, the work is spread out and drive time matters more.

Think about what kind of homes you have. A city full of apartment buildings has fewer owner-occupied homes than a city of houses, and the Census count already reflects that. If your area is mostly newer houses, ask around about what floors builders put in.

Then compare the report with your goal. If you want four jobs a month, look at how small a share of the homes with wood floors that really is.

What happens after you check

If the report looks like a fit, you can book a call from the report page, or apply at joinfloorit.com. Someone from the team calls to see if FloorIt fits you, and if your area fits FloorIt.

Before that call, the team runs these numbers for your area and sends you the report as a PDF. If the demand is not there, they will tell you. The example in the video is someone far out in rural Texas. If the model will not work where you live, you hear that plainly.

• Check the demand in your area

Common questions

How do I check if there is enough hardwood floor work near me? Go to joinfloorit.com/demand and put in your city, state or ZIP. Pick a radius and how many jobs a month you want. The report shows the owner-occupied homes with wood floors near you and what that work could be worth.

What radius should I use? Most people start with 30 miles, the size of a FloorIt territory. A company with its own estimators might look at 40 to 50 miles.

Where do the numbers come from? Home counts come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2024. The share with wood floors is set at 35%, below the 52% homeowners report.

Why are the numbers so low? They are kept low on purpose. The tool counts only homes lived in by their owners, only 35% of them as having wood floors, and only ZIP codes whose center is inside your circle.

What if my area does not have enough demand? Before you talk, the team runs the numbers for your area. If the model will not work there, they will tell you.