What a kitchen remodel actually costs
The most searched question in remodeling, answered with ranges and the five things that move them.
Parker Scherer · · 7 min read
How much does a kitchen remodel cost?
A mid to high specification kitchen remodel typically runs $45,000 to $110,000 installed. A cosmetic refresh that keeps the existing layout lands nearer $25,000 to $45,000. Moving plumbing, taking down a wall, or going to custom cabinetry pushes past $110,000. The single biggest driver is whether the layout changes, because that is what turns a finish job into a trades job.
Why nobody will tell you
Open the first ten results for a kitchen remodel in any town in America. Nine of them will show you a gallery, a contact form and the words quality craftsmanship. None of them will give you a number, because the industry decided a long time ago that price is a conversation to be had in your kitchen after a free consultation.
The reasoning is not dishonest. Two kitchens of identical square footage can differ by sixty thousand dollars depending on what is behind the walls and what you pick off the shelf. But refusing to give a range at all leaves a homeowner with no way to tell whether they are planning a project they can afford, and they fill that gap with whatever they find on a forum.
The ranges
These are typical installed costs, not quotes, and they move with your market. A kitchen in coastal New Jersey and the same kitchen in rural Pennsylvania are not the same number.
- Cosmetic refresh, layout unchanged
- $25,000 to $45,000. New doors or refaced cabinets, counters, backsplash, sink, fixtures, paint. Nothing moves.
- Full replacement, layout unchanged
- $45,000 to $75,000. New cabinetry, counters, appliances, flooring and lighting, same footprint.
- Full remodel with layout changes
- $70,000 to $110,000. Plumbing or electrical moves, an island goes in, a wall opens up.
- High specification or custom
- $110,000 and up. Custom cabinetry, stone, integrated appliances, structural work.
The five things that move the number
In rough order of how much they matter.
- Does the layout change. Moving a sink or a range means plumbing, electrical, and often a permit. This is the line between a finish job and a trades job, and it is the biggest single jump in the whole range.
- Cabinetry. Stock, semi-custom and custom is a three to four times spread on its own, and cabinetry is usually the largest single line on the estimate.
- Countertops. Laminate to quartz to natural stone, with the stone fabrication and template adding time as well as money.
- Appliances. Homeowner-supplied appliances are common and change the contract substantially. Integrated or professional-grade changes the cabinetry too.
- What is behind the walls. Knob and tube, galvanised supply, no subfloor, or a surprise load-bearing condition. This is the one nobody can price before demolition, which is what the contingency is for.
The thing that turns a $50,000 kitchen into a $90,000 kitchen is almost never the tile. It is moving the sink.
What a fair estimate should show you
An estimate that is one number on one page is not an estimate, it is a guess with confidence. What you want is the scope broken into trades, an allowance stated for every item you have not yet picked, a contingency line with a percentage on it, and a payment schedule tied to stages rather than dates.
If a contractor will not show you the allowances, you cannot compare their number to anyone else's, because the whole difference between two bids is usually hiding in them.
Questions people ask
- How much does a kitchen remodel cost?
- A mid to high specification kitchen typically runs $45,000 to $110,000 installed. A cosmetic refresh keeping the existing layout is nearer $25,000 to $45,000. Custom work runs past $110,000.
- Is it cheaper to reface cabinets or replace them?
- Refacing is usually 40 to 60 percent of the cost of replacement and takes a fraction of the time, but it only makes sense if the existing boxes are sound and the layout is staying. If you are changing the layout the saving disappears.
- How long does a kitchen remodel take?
- Six to ten weeks on site for a full remodel with no layout change, and ten to sixteen when plumbing or electrical moves. Cabinetry lead times frequently set the schedule rather than the labour.
- What percentage should I hold as a contingency?
- Ten to fifteen percent on a kitchen in a house built before 1980, where what is behind the walls is genuinely unknown until demolition. Less on newer construction.
Keep reading
- Angi, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor and what a lead really costsShared marketplace leads look cheap per lead and are rarely cheap per job. Here is the arithmetic.
- Why the contractor who answers first usually gets the jobThe cheapest fix in contractor marketing, and the one almost nobody has actually made.
$200,000 in signed work in 90 days, or you do not pay us. One remodeler per market.
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