If you're in the USA, species like White Oak, Maple and White Ash can be great cost-effective options for a real hardwood floor as they are domestic trees and don't have to be imported.

Oak is by far the most popular type of wood flooring because it provides a good balance of durability, color range and reasonable costs.

The hardest wood used for flooring is Ipe, also known as Lapacho, but it is very rare and expensive. The hardest wood commonly used for flooring is Hickory, which has a rating of 1820 on the Janka wood hardness chart.

Among domestic hardwood species, hickory tops the charts with an 1820 rating. Maple and white oak follow at 1450 and 1360. Not surprisingly, Dogwood uses hickory and white oak for the majority of its offering. You can also select from walnut and red oak, two other durable types of hardwood flooring.