Kitchen Remodel Cost Calculator
Kitchen Remodel costs $30,600 to $46,275 for a typical 180 sq ft job in 2026, against a national benchmark of $37,325. Labor runs 171 crew hours at $38.25 an hour. Enter a ZIP code to apply that area's measured wages for this work and its regional price level.
What makes up the price
Cost by size
National averages, before any local adjustment. Computed from the same model as the calculator above, so the two always agree.
| Kitchen size | Sq ft of kitchen | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 sq ft | 100 | $24,075 | $19,750 to $29,850 |
| 140 sq ft | 140 | $30,700 | $25,175 to $38,075 |
| 180 sq ft | 180 | $37,325 | $30,600 to $46,275 |
| 240 sq ft | 240 | $47,275 | $38,750 to $58,600 |
| 310 sq ft | 310 | $58,850 | $48,275 to $72,975 |
The refresh is a fifth of the price, and it is all about the boxes
| 180 sq ft kitchen | Per sq ft | |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | $15,400 | $86 |
| Full gut, mid-range | $37,325 | $207 |
| Full gut, high end | $68,450 | $380 |
The gap between the first two is the largest on this site, and it is almost entirely cabinetry. Cabinets and counters are 25 to 40% of a kitchen budget — the single biggest line anywhere on the site — and a refresh does not buy them.
What a refresh does buy is everything you touch and look at: new doors and drawer fronts, new hardware, a new counter, a new sink and faucet, a new backsplash, and paint. The boxes stay, the appliances stay, the walls stay closed.
So the question is only about the boxes. Open a door and look at the carcass:
- Plywood or solid sides, square, doors closing true, drawers running straight — the boxes are fine and a refresh will get you most of the visual result for a fifth of the money.
- Particle board that is swelling at the sink base, sagging shelves, a frame out of square — replace them. No front hung on a failing box fixes it.
The other reason to gut rather than refresh is layout. New doors do not move a sink.
Find out if the wall is load-bearing before you budget
Almost every kitchen project involves somebody saying "and we take this wall out". It changes the number by more than the cabinets do, and whether it is a $4,000 change or a $20,000 one depends on a fact nobody checks early.
If the wall carries load — and in a single-story house an interior wall running across the direction of the joists very often does — then removing it needs:
- A structural engineer to size the beam, $500 to $1,500.
- A beam, which may be steel, and columns carrying down to a footing that may need pouring.
- A permit and an inspection for the structural work.
- Temporary shoring while it is done.
That is a job of its own inside the kitchen job. The figure here allows 30% for taking a wall out, which covers a typical bearing wall in a one-story house; a two-story bearing wall with a point load above can run well past it.
How to get the answer cheaply: look in the basement or crawl space at which way the joists run. A wall perpendicular to the joists, or one sitting over a beam or a line of posts below, is probably bearing. Then pay an engineer for an hour before you pay anybody for a design.
What a kitchen needs from the house
A modern kitchen needs more electrical than a house built before about 1970 has anywhere:
- Two 20-amp countertop circuits, minimum.
- Dedicated circuits for the dishwasher, the disposal, the microwave and the range.
- GFCI protection on everything serving a countertop, and arc-fault protection in most jurisdictions.
So "new circuits needed" is the normal case rather than the exception, and it is about 10%. What is not normal and is much worse is finding knob-and-tube wiring or a cast iron drain stack — around 25% on this job, and a sign of a larger problem that the kitchen is simply the first room to reveal.
Worth checking the panel before you start, because a kitchen full of new circuits can be the thing that fills it.
Where the money goes
For a mid-range 180 sq ft gut at $37,325:
| Cabinetry and quartz counters | around $9,360 |
| Appliances, sink, faucet, lighting | around $3,200 |
| Flooring, drywall, backsplash, rough plumbing and wiring | around $2,520 |
| Labor, about 171 crew hours | around $9,157 |
| Permit, inspections and the dumpster | around $900 |
| New circuits | around $3,400 |
| Overhead and margin | the balance |
The cabinetry figure is what a remodeler pays rather than the retail price — they buy at a dealer discount and the markup goes on afterwards, which is why a cabinet quote from a showroom and the cabinet line in a contractor's bid are different numbers for the same boxes.
Cabinetry also scales with linear feet of run, not floor area. A 180 sq ft kitchen holds roughly 36 linear feet of cabinetry; that conversion is what the per-square-foot figure here is built on, and it is why an oddly shaped kitchen can cost more than its area suggests.
Stock, semi-custom or custom
This is the decision that sets the budget.
- Stock — in-stock sizes, limited finishes, particle board or plywood boxes. $180 to $320 a linear foot at trade. Fine, and the right choice far more often than showrooms suggest.
- Semi-custom — stock construction with real choice of door style, finish, and modifications in one-inch increments. Where most mid-range kitchens land.
- Custom — made to the room, inset doors, any size, plywood throughout. $450 to $800 a linear foot at trade, and it is where a high-end kitchen's money goes.
Two things worth more than the tier: plywood boxes over particle board, which decides whether the sink base survives a leak; and soft-close full-extension drawers, which you use thirty times a day. Both are available in semi-custom and both are worth more than an upgraded door profile.
The timeline, and living without a kitchen
- Cosmetic refresh: one to two weeks.
- Mid-range gut: four to eight weeks.
- High-end gut: eight to sixteen weeks.
The schedule is not set by the work. It is set by the counter template: the counters cannot be measured until the cabinets are set, then they take one to three weeks to fabricate, and nothing finishes until they are in. Which means a gap in the middle of the job that is normal and looks like abandonment.
The other schedule-killer is cabinet lead time — six to twelve weeks for semi-custom and longer for custom. Order the cabinets before demolition, not after. Any contractor who starts demolition before the cabinets are ordered is managing your project badly.
Plan for the household: a fridge somewhere, a microwave, a kettle, and paper plates for a month or two. It is the single most disruptive remodel in a house and people underestimate it every time.
Questions worth asking
- Is this a fixed price or allowance-based? And what are the allowances for cabinets, counters and appliances? That is where competing quotes actually differ.
- Which cabinet line, and plywood or particle board boxes?
- What is the cabinet lead time, and when are they being ordered?
- Is the wall load-bearing, and who has confirmed it?
- How many new circuits, and does the panel have room?
- Who templates and fits the counters, and how long between cabinet set and counter fit?
- Is the hood vented outside? A recirculating hood over a serious range is a waste of a hood.
Common questions
How much does a kitchen remodel cost?
Around $37,325 to gut and rebuild a 180 sq ft kitchen to a mid-range specification, with most jobs that size falling between $30,600 and $46,275 — about $207 per square foot. A cosmetic refresh that keeps the cabinet boxes is around $15,400 and a high-end gut about $68,450. A smaller 120 sq ft kitchen at mid-range comes to roughly $27,400.
Is it worth refacing cabinets instead of replacing them?
Often, and it is the difference between $15,400 and $37,325 on a 180 sq ft kitchen. A refresh replaces everything you touch and look at — doors, drawer fronts, hardware, counter, sink, backsplash, paint — and keeps the boxes and appliances. The test is the boxes: open a door and look at the carcass. Plywood or solid sides, square, doors closing true means a refresh will get most of the visual result for a fifth of the money. Swelling particle board at the sink base means replace.
Why are cabinets such a large part of a kitchen remodel?
Because they are 25 to 40% of the budget — the single largest line in any job on this site. A 180 sq ft kitchen holds roughly 36 linear feet of cabinetry, and cabinetry is priced by the linear foot: $180 to $320 at trade for stock, $450 to $800 for custom. That range alone is a $10,000 swing on the same kitchen, which is why the cabinet decision sets the budget rather than following from it.
How much does it cost to remove a kitchen wall?
About 30% on the whole job if it carries load, which on a 180 sq ft mid-range kitchen is roughly $11,000. A bearing wall needs a structural engineer to size the beam at $500 to $1,500, the beam itself, columns carrying down to a footing that may need pouring, temporary shoring, and a permit and inspection. A non-bearing wall is a fraction of that. Find out which it is before you budget: look in the basement at which way the joists run, and pay an engineer for an hour before you pay anybody for a design.
What electrical work does a kitchen remodel need?
More than a house built before about 1970 has anywhere: two 20-amp countertop circuits minimum, dedicated circuits for the dishwasher, disposal, microwave and range, and GFCI protection on everything serving a counter. So new circuits are the normal case rather than an extra, at about 10% of the job. Finding knob-and-tube wiring or a cast iron drain stack is a different matter — around 25% here, and a sign of a larger problem the kitchen has simply revealed first.
Stock, semi-custom or custom cabinets?
Semi-custom is where most mid-range kitchens land, and it is the right answer for most people: stock construction with real choice of door style and finish, and modifications in one-inch increments. Stock is fine and chosen less often than it should be. Custom is for a room that needs made-to-fit cabinetry or inset doors. Two things matter more than the tier: plywood boxes rather than particle board, which decides whether the sink base survives a leak, and soft-close full-extension drawers, which you use thirty times a day.
How long does a kitchen remodel take?
One to two weeks for a cosmetic refresh, four to eight for a mid-range gut, eight to sixteen for a high-end one. The schedule is set by the counter template rather than the work: counters cannot be measured until the cabinets are set, then take one to three weeks to fabricate, and nothing finishes until they are in — so there is a gap in the middle of the job that is normal and looks like abandonment. The other delay is cabinet lead time, six to twelve weeks for semi-custom.
When should kitchen cabinets be ordered?
Before demolition, not after. Semi-custom cabinets are six to twelve weeks out and custom longer, so a kitchen demolished before the cabinets are ordered is a kitchen you live without for an extra two months. Any contractor who starts demolition before the cabinets are on order is managing the project badly, and it is a fair thing to ask about directly.
Why is the contractor cabinet price different from the showroom price?
Because a remodeler buys cabinetry at a dealer discount and then marks it up, where a showroom quotes you retail. They are different numbers for the same boxes and both are legitimate. What it means practically is that comparing a contractor's cabinet allowance against a showroom quote is comparing two different things — ask the contractor what line and what door style the allowance buys, and price that specification.
Does a kitchen remodel add value to a house?
A mid-range kitchen remodel recoups roughly 70 to 80% of its cost at resale, which is among the best figures in remodeling, and a high-end one recoups materially less in percentage terms. The more useful framing is the same as for a bathroom: a dated kitchen depresses offers out of proportion to what fixing it costs, so what you are buying is mostly the removal of an objection rather than a premium.
Can I live in the house during a kitchen remodel?
Yes, and it is the most disruptive remodel in a house — people underestimate it every time. Plan for a refrigerator somewhere else, a microwave, a kettle and paper plates for four to eight weeks, and expect dust everywhere regardless of how well the openings are sealed. If there is a basement or garage with a sink and an outlet, setting up a temporary kitchen there before demolition starts is worth an afternoon.
Why is this estimate a range?
Because a kitchen is more decisions than any other job on this site, and the cabinetry alone has a $10,000 spread on the same room. The figure here is the middle of a sensible range for the grade selected, built from the material list at trade prices and the residential remodeler wage — it is for planning rather than a quote. Compare real quotes on their allowances for cabinets, counters and appliances, because that is where competing bids actually differ.
Where these numbers come from
Nothing here is copied from a contractor directory. Labor is priced from what the trades are actually paid, materials from published producer prices, and both are adjusted to your area using federal cost-of-living data.
- Residential remodelers, United States: $38.25/hour, August 2026 (BLS CES CES2023611803)
- Semi-custom cabinetry and quartz counters: $52.00 per sq ft of kitchen (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)
- Appliance package, sink, faucet and lighting: $3,200.00 per kitchen (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)
- Drywall, flooring, rough plumbing and wiring: $14.00 per sq ft of kitchen (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)