Hardwood floors have a beauty unmatched by other flooring choices. 
But all hardwoods are not equal in their relative “hardness”. The softer the wood species, the more susceptible it is to damage in terms of scratches and gouges. We chose birch for our wood flooring, but with four children and 2 dogs, it was a poor choice-too soft!
In the wood industry, a widely used scale is the Janka Hardness Test. Compare different wood species “hardness” with the resource link below.
Resource links