Installed hardwood flooring typically costs $9 to $24 per square foot in 2026, in Sarasota and Manatee County. Standard 5 in. engineered runs $9-$12, solid 3/4 in. nail-down runs $10-$14, and wide-plank European white oak or herringbone patterns run $14-$24. Board width, wood species, pattern complexity and whether the job is a slab or plywood subfloor all move the price.
What Does Hardwood Flooring Cost Per Square Foot?
Price scales with board width and pattern more than with "solid vs. engineered" alone. Standard 5 in. engineered hardwood installs for $9-$12 per square foot. Wider 7-9 in. planks run $11-$15. European white oak in a wide plank runs $14-$19, and herringbone patterns, which take longer to lay out and cut, run $16-$24. Solid 3/4 in. nail-down hardwood runs $10-$14 on a plywood subfloor.
HomeGuide's 2026 data puts installed hardwood nationally at $9-$25 per square foot, with solid running $11-$25 and engineered $9-$20, which lines up closely with what we see on Gulf Coast jobs. Angi's 2026 analysis of nearly 11,000 projects found an average project cost of $4,723, with $6-$12 per square foot typical and $13-$25 for premium species like walnut or exotic hardwoods.
| Hardwood type | Installed price per sq ft (2026) |
|---|---|
| Engineered, 5 in. | $9-$12 |
| Solid 3/4 in. nail-down | $10-$14 |
| Engineered, 7-9 in. wide | $11-$15 |
| European white oak, wide plank | $14-$19 |
| Herringbone pattern | $16-$24 |
Solid vs. Engineered: Why the Price Isn't the Same
Solid hardwood is one piece of wood top to bottom, nailed to a wood subfloor. It can be sanded and refinished many times over its life, which is part of why it often prices at the top of the range. Engineered hardwood has a real wood wear layer over an engineered core, which makes it dimensionally more stable on a concrete slab, a real consideration in a region where most houses are built on slab rather than a raised wood subfloor.
On a slab, engineered is usually the more practical call and doesn't carry a cost penalty versus solid; in fact our 5 in. engineered hardwood starts lower per square foot than solid nail-down. The cost difference that does matter on a slab is moisture mitigation. Glue-down engineered over a slab that reads high on a moisture test can need a vapor-mitigating adhesive or coating, and that line item varies enough by product and slab condition that we price it after testing rather than quoting a flat number upfront. Solid nail-down still makes sense in an older home with a true wood subfloor, or on a second story, where slab moisture isn't a factor at all.
What a Whole-House Project Runs
HomeGuide estimates a 2,000 sq ft home lands between $14,000 and $50,000 for hardwood, depending on species and pattern. That's a wide range because a 2,000 sq ft house in standard 5 in. engineered oak prices very differently than the same square footage in herringbone white oak. Most Sarasota and Bradenton area homes we quote fall in the lower half of that range unless the job includes a feature room, like a herringbone entry or a great room with wide-plank European oak.
Stairs are almost always priced separately from the main floor, since treads take more labor per square foot than open flooring. If your project includes a staircase, see our stair treads page for tread pricing rather than assuming it's covered by the per-square-foot flooring number.
How We Put Together Your Quote
We start with a free in-home estimate and a slab moisture reading, then write a line-itemized quote: material, labor, removal of the old floor, any leveling or mitigation, and trim, each on its own line rather than folded into one number. That's the only way to compare a hardwood bid apples-to-apples against a vinyl or tile bid for the same room.
Browse species and widths on our hardwood flooring page, or see full pricing detail on the hardwood cost guide. If your project is a refinish rather than new material, our hardwood floor refinishing page covers that separately. Ready for real numbers on your square footage? Request a free estimate.
Related questions
Is engineered hardwood cheaper than solid hardwood?
Not always. Our 5 in. engineered starts at $9 per square foot, below solid nail-down at $10-$14, but wide-plank and herringbone engineered products can cost more than plain-sawn solid oak. Width and pattern move the price more than the solid-vs-engineered choice by itself.
Does the price include removing my old floor?
No, that's a separate line on the quote. Carpet, laminate or floating floor removal runs $1.75-$3.25 per square foot, and we confirm the exact scope during the in-home estimate before writing the final number.
How much does slab moisture mitigation add to a hardwood job?
It depends on what the moisture test shows, so we don't quote it as a flat add-on. A slab within normal range needs no extra treatment; a high reading can call for a mitigating adhesive or coating, which we price after the reading.