Kitchen

Updated August 2026 · Written by Hussnain Mustafa

A kitchen remodel costs anywhere from $5,000 for a weekend cosmetic refresh to well over $150,000 for a full gut renovation. The national average lands around $27,000 in 2026, per Angi and HomeAdvisor project data. That single number won’t tell you much about your specific kitchen, though. Punch your size, scope, and finish level into the calculator below and you’ll get a range built for your project instead of a national blend that lumps a 70-square-foot galley kitchen in with a 400-square-foot chef’s kitchen.

Here’s what actually drives that number, and where the real surprises tend to hide.

How Much Does a Kitchen Remodel Cost in 2026?

Most homeowners pay between $14,500 and $41,500 for a kitchen remodel, with a national average of roughly $27,000 in 2026, per Angi and HomeAdvisor data. Costs run from about $5,000 for a cosmetic refresh up to $150,000+ for a full gut renovation.

That’s the paragraph version. The table version hides less:

Scope	Typical Cost	Timeline
Cosmetic refresh	$5,000 – $15,000	1–2 weeks
Partial remodel	$20,000 – $50,000	3–6 weeks
Full remodel (same layout)	$35,000 – $80,000	6–12 weeks
Gut renovation (new layout)	$65,000 – $150,000+	3–6 months

Two decisions pull that range wider than anything else: cabinet grade, and whether you move plumbing. Everything else is close to a rounding error by comparison.

Cost by Kitchen Size

Square footage sets your floor, not your ceiling. A 300-square-foot open-concept kitchen with builder-grade finishes can cost less than a 90-square-foot galley kitchen with custom cabinetry and a waterfall quartz island. Size is still a reasonable starting multiplier once you’ve picked a scope:

Kitchen Size	Sq Ft	Cosmetic	Partial	Full Remodel
Small	Under 100	$3,000–$8,000	$10,000–$25,000	$20,000–$45,000
Medium	100–200	$5,000–$15,000	$20,000–$50,000	$35,000–$80,000
Large	200–300	$8,000–$20,000	$35,000–$75,000	$60,000–$130,000
Open-Concept	300+	$10,000–$25,000+	$45,000–$100,000+	$85,000+

Small kitchens actually run higher per square foot than large ones. You’re paying for the same sink, the same range hood duct run, and the same permit fee whether your kitchen measures 70 square feet or 250.

What Actually Drives the Cost: Category Breakdown

Ask ten contractors where the money goes on a kitchen remodel and you’ll get roughly the same answer ten times. Cabinets eat the biggest share, and it isn’t close.

Category	% of Budget	Typical Range (medium kitchen)
Cabinets & hardware	30–40%	$8,000–$20,000
Labor & installation	20–35%	$5,000–$18,000
Appliances	10–15%	$3,000–$8,000
Countertops	10–15%	$2,500–$6,000
Flooring	5–7%	$1,500–$4,000
Plumbing & fixtures	4–6%	$1,000–$3,500
Electrical & lighting	3–5%	$800–$3,000
Backsplash & tile	2–5%	$600–$2,500
Permits & design	1–4%	$500–$3,000

Labor cost, specifically

This deserves its own line because it’s the number people underestimate hardest. On a full remodel that keeps the existing layout, labor typically runs 20–35% of the budget. Move a sink or a gas line and that share can climb past 40%, since you’re now paying multiple trades to sequence around each other instead of working in parallel. A general contractor coordinating everyone adds another 10–20% on top of the trade costs themselves. On a $27,000 project, that’s $2,700 to $5,400 just for coordination.

Cabinet, Countertop & Appliance Quick Reference

Three decisions do more to move your final number than everything else on this page combined.

Cabinet grade

Grade	Cost Installed	Lead Time
Stock / RTA	$60–$200/LF	1–2 weeks
Semi-custom	$150–$650/LF	4–8 weeks
Custom	$500–$1,500/LF	8–16 weeks
Reface existing	$4,000–$14,000 total	1–2 weeks
Paint existing	$1,200–$7,000 total	3–5 days

Countertop material

Material	Installed / Sq Ft	Maintenance
Laminate	$15–$40	None
Granite	$50–$150	Seal annually
Quartz	$60–$160	None
Marble	$80–$250	Seals easily, stains easily

Appliance package

Tier	Total Cost	Brands (examples)
Budget	$1,500–$3,500	GE, Whirlpool entry lines
Mid-range	$3,500–$8,000	GE Profile, KitchenAid, Bosch 500
Premium	$8,000–$18,000	Samsung, LG, Bosch 800
Luxury	$20,000–$60,000+	Sub-Zero, Wolf, Miele

Semi-custom cabinets are the sweet spot for most homeowners. You’re getting most of the finish and size flexibility of full custom at 30–60% less cost, and the lead time is roughly half. Custom only earns its price tag when your kitchen has genuinely unusual dimensions or you’re already deep into luxury-tier finishes elsewhere.

Real Kitchen Remodel Cost Examples

National averages are honest, but not especially useful on their own. Here’s what three different scopes look like broken into line items.

Cosmetic refresh, small kitchen (65 sq ft)

Cabinet boxes structurally sound, dated finish, no layout change.

Item	Cost Range
Cabinet painting (professional)	$1,200–$3,500
New hardware	$200–$600
Laminate countertops	$400–$1,000
Subway tile backsplash	$400–$1,200
New faucet + sink	$300–$800
Under-cabinet lighting	$200–$600
Total	$2,700–$7,700

Cabinet painting is the biggest bang-for-buck line on this list, but only on solid wood doors. MDF and thermofoil doors don’t hold a sprayed finish reliably, and a professional will tell you that before quoting the job. A good spray finish on solid wood gets you most of the visual impact of new cabinets for under a fifth of the cost.

Partial remodel, medium kitchen (110 sq ft)

New cabinets, counters, and appliances. Same layout, same plumbing locations.

Item	Cost Range
Semi-custom cabinets (22 LF)	$6,600–$14,300
Quartz countertops (35 sq ft)	$2,100–$5,600
Mid-range appliance package	$3,500–$8,000
Tile flooring	$1,100–$2,750
Backsplash	$600–$1,800
Sink + faucet	$500–$1,500
Electrical work	$800–$2,500
Labor + GC coordination	$3,500–$8,000
Permits	$300–$800
Total	$19,000–$45,250

Most homeowners land here. It’s also close to the tier where resale return works hardest in your favor, which we’ll get to below.

Full gut renovation, large kitchen (200 sq ft)

Wall removed to open to the dining room, layout change, custom cabinets.

Item	Cost Range
Demo + wall removal	$3,000–$12,000
Custom cabinets (32 LF)	$22,000–$55,000
Quartzite countertops	$5,400–$14,400
Premium appliances	$8,000–$18,000
Custom island	$4,000–$12,000
Plumbing relocation	$3,500–$9,000
Hardwood flooring	$3,000–$8,000
Electrical (new circuits)	$3,000–$8,000
Custom backsplash	$1,500–$5,000
Permits + design fee	$1,000–$4,000
Total	$55,400–$145,400

Before anyone removes a wall to open up a kitchen, pay for a structural engineer to confirm whether it’s load-bearing. That’s a $500–$1,500 assessment that can save you from an $8,000–$25,000 surprise if the wall needs a structural beam and new foundation support. A contractor who’ll tell you definitively that a wall isn’t load-bearing without that assessment is guessing, not diagnosing.

Kitchen Remodel Cost by State

Labor rates alone swing kitchen remodel costs 40–60% between states. A $25,000 mid-range remodel in Tennessee runs closer to $37,000 for the identical scope in California: same cabinets, same countertops, same appliance package.

State	Mid-Range Remodel
California	$34,000–$40,000
New York	$33,000–$39,000
Texas	$24,000–$28,000
Georgia	$22,000–$26,000
Tennessee	$21,000–$25,000
Ohio	$25,000–$29,000

Material costs stay fairly flat nationwide. A sheet of quartz costs about the same in Ohio as it does in California. Labor is what actually moves the needle, and it’s driven by union versus non-union markets, local cost of living, and how much competition exists among contractors in your metro area.

Is a Kitchen Remodel Worth It? ROI and Resale Value

Short answer: yes, if you keep the scope in check.

The National Association of Realtors’ Remodeling Impact Report puts recovery at around 75% of cost for a complete kitchen renovation and 67% for a lighter kitchen upgrade, both well above most other home improvement categories.

Zonda’s Cost vs. Value Report, the industry benchmark most contractors reference, tells a more dramatic version of the same story. Minor kitchen remodels consistently rank among the highest-ROI projects in the entire report, while major upscale remodels in the $100K+ range land closer to 40–55%. The specific minor-remodel percentage swings noticeably by report year — we’ve seen it cited anywhere from roughly 75% to over 100%, depending on the year and exactly what counts as “minor” — so treat any single figure as directional and check the current year’s report if you need precision.

The pattern underneath both data sets holds regardless: going from a dated kitchen to a clean, updated one moves the needle hard on what a buyer will pay. Going from “clean and updated” to “magazine cover” barely moves it further, because you’ve already cleared the bar buyers are actually judging against. If resale is the goal, the $20,000–$50,000 partial remodel tier is where the math works best.

DIY vs. Hiring a Contractor

Doing the work yourself typically saves 15–30% versus hiring pros for everything, since labor makes up such a large share of the total. That savings comes with real trade-offs. DIY kitchen remodels commonly run 2–4 times longer than a contracted timeline, and mistakes on plumbing or electrical work aren’t just expensive to redo. Past a certain point, most jurisdictions won’t let you legally do that work yourself without a licensed tradesperson signing off.

The middle path a lot of homeowners land on: DIY the demolition, painting, and tile work, where a mistake costs time rather than money, and hire licensed pros for cabinets, countertops, electrical, and plumbing. That hybrid approach captures most of the savings percentage without the risk of ending up with a kitchen you can’t legally or safely finish yourself.

How to Calculate Your Kitchen Remodel Cost Yourself

Prefer to work the math by hand instead of using the calculator above? Here’s the formula behind it:

Total cost = (base scope cost × size multiplier) + cabinets + countertops + appliances + flooring + layout upcharge, all × location multiplier

• Base scope cost (medium kitchen): Cosmetic $5,000–$15,000 · Partial $20,000–$50,000 · Full $35,000–$80,000 · Gut $65,000–$150,000
• Size multiplier: Small 0.65× · Medium 1.0× · Large 1.55× · Extra-large 2.1×
• Location multiplier: Rural/Midwest 0.85× · Average US metro 1.0× · High-cost metro 1.25× · Very high-cost (NYC, SF, Boston) 1.5×
• Layout change upcharge: Add $5,000–$25,000 for moving a sink, gas line, or load-bearing wall

Want to run your own numbers in a spreadsheet instead of a web form? [Download the free kitchen remodel cost spreadsheet] — same formula, editable line by line.

Hidden Costs Most Estimates Miss

A few line items that don’t show up until demolition starts, or until you’re already committed to the project.

Structural surprises. Water damage behind the sink wall, outdated wiring from a previous owner’s DIY work, or asbestos in older flooring and pipe insulation. Budget $2,000–$5,000 as contingency, and ask your contractor upfront what happens if something turns up.

Range hood venting. A high-CFM range hood needs ductwork running to the exterior. Plenty of older homes only have a recirculating hood or an undersized duct — running new venting through a wall or ceiling adds $500–$2,500 that rarely makes it into the initial quote.

Countertop lead time. Stone counters need a templating visit after cabinets go in, then 1–3 weeks of fabrication before installation. That’s a 2–4 week gap where your sink is disconnected. Plan for it, and don’t schedule a dinner party for week three.

Electrical panel capacity. Homes built before 1990 with 100-amp panels often can’t handle a fully loaded modern kitchen: induction range, double oven, ice maker, wine fridge. A panel upgrade runs $1,500–$4,000 and almost never shows up in an initial estimate.

Do I Need a Permit for a Kitchen Remodel?

Cosmetic work like paint, hardware, a new faucet, or cabinet refacing usually doesn’t require one. Anything touching electrical circuits, plumbing relocation, gas lines, or structural changes does. Permit costs run $500–$3,000 depending on your municipality.

Skipping a required permit isn’t just a fine risk. Unpermitted work is a standard home-inspection red flag and can complicate insurance claims down the line, sometimes years after the work was done. Check with your local building department before work starts, not after.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most expensive part of a kitchen remodel?

Cabinets, by a wide margin. They typically run 30–40% of the total budget. On a $27,000 mid-range remodel, that’s $8,000–$11,000 on cabinets alone. Labor is the second-largest line at 20–35%.

How long does a kitchen remodel take?

A cosmetic refresh takes 1–2 weeks. A partial remodel runs 3–6 weeks. A full remodel that keeps the existing layout takes 6–12 weeks. A gut renovation with a layout change typically runs 3–6 months once permit approval and cabinet lead time are factored in.

What is the best countertop for a kitchen remodel?

Quartz, for most homeowners. It’s non-porous, needs no sealing, and holds the highest buyer appeal in surveys year over year. Granite runs slightly cheaper but needs annual sealing. Laminate is the budget option, and modern versions convincingly mimic stone at a fraction of the price.

Should I reface or replace my kitchen cabinets?

Replace if the boxes are water-damaged, warped, or you want a different layout. Reface if the boxes are structurally sound and you just want a new look. Refacing runs $4,000–$14,000 versus $8,000–$20,000 for semi-custom replacement, at the cost of not getting new interiors or added storage.

Is a kitchen remodel worth it?

Yes, especially at the minor-to-mid-range tier. Recovery rates run 67–75% of cost per NAR data, and higher by some Cost vs. Value estimates, well above most other home improvements. The math gets worse the higher you spend past what your neighborhood’s home values actually support.