What is a realistic budget for a kitchen remodel?

$15,000–$30,000 for a cosmetic refresh, $30,000–$60,000 for a mid-range remodel with new cabinets and counters, and $60,000+ for a gut with layout changes. Cabinets run about 30% of the total at every scope.

What is the most expensive part of a kitchen remodel?

Cabinets, consistently — around 30% of the budget including installation. The second-biggest cost driver is whether plumbing and appliances move, because relocating a sink drain or a range means opening floors and walls.

How much does it cost to move a kitchen sink?

The move itself can run a few thousand dollars, but the real cost is the cascade — drain slope and venting rules can force repiping, and on a slab house the drain goes through concrete. Keeping the sink on its existing rough-in is one of the biggest savings available.

Are custom cabinets worth the money?

Rarely in a standard room. Mid-range semi-custom cabinets offer dovetailed drawers, soft-close hardware and plywood boxes at a fraction of custom pricing. Custom earns its premium in odd-shaped rooms and exacting designs, not in a rectangular suburban kitchen.

Do kitchen appliances add value at resale?

The least of any major line item. Buyers price the kitchen as new or dated, not the appliance badges. A mid-range package recovers better than a prestige package costing three times as much.

How long does a kitchen remodel take?

A cosmetic refresh runs two to four weeks. A mid-range remodel runs six to ten. A full gut with layout changes runs three months and up, and cabinet lead time — often the longest pole — is set before demolition starts if the job is sequenced well.

How Much Does It Cost to Remodel a Kitchen?

A cosmetic kitchen refresh runs $15,000 to $30,000, a mid-range remodel $30,000 to $60,000, and a full gut with layout changes starts around $60,000 and passes $100,000 without trying hard. The single biggest lever you control is the cabinet tier — cabinets consistently eat about 30% of the budget.

Last reviewed 9 Sept 2026

The three scopes

Cosmetic. Painted or refaced cabinets, new counters, a backsplash, new faucet and light fixtures, appliances staying put. Nothing moves, nothing opens a wall. This is the $15k–$30k band and it is where the value-per-dollar lives.

Mid-range. New semi-custom cabinets, stone or solid-surface counters, new appliances, new flooring, maybe a window or an island added — but the sink and range stay on their existing rough-ins. $30k–$60k, and most professionally done kitchens land here.

Full gut. Down to the studs, layout changed, plumbing and electrical relocated, possibly a wall removed. $60k and up. The demolition is not what costs — it is what the demolition reveals and where the services have to go afterward.

Cabinets are the budget

Cabinets and their installation run roughly 30% of a mid-range kitchen job, year after year, survey after survey. Nothing else is close. Counters are maybe 10%, appliances 10–15%, labor across all trades another 20–25%.

That makes cabinet tier the dial that sets the whole number. Stock cabinets from a home center, semi-custom with the sizes and finishes you actually want, or full custom built to the room — the jump between each tier is thousands, and the jump from semi-custom to custom alone can move the total by $15,000 on a big kitchen.

Here is the uncomfortable part: mid-range semi-custom cabinets are genuinely good. Dovetailed drawers, soft-close hardware, plywood boxes. Custom buys you exact sizes, exotic finishes, and bragging rights. Unless the room is oddly shaped or the design demands it, semi-custom is where I'd put the money — and I'd say that to someone holding my own deposit.

Moving things is the second lever

Keep the sink where it is. Keep the range where it is. Those two sentences are worth five figures.

A sink move means opening the floor or the slab for the drain — and drains fall under code minimums for slope and venting, so the move can cascade into repiping a run you never planned to touch. A range move means gas or a 240V circuit and the hood duct, and the hood duct wants an exterior wall or a long soffit run that eats the cabinet layout you just paid for.

Islands are the sneaky version of the same cost. An island with a prep sink is a plumbing project wearing a cabinet's clothes. A slab-on-grade house makes it worse: the drain goes through concrete, and concrete work has a way of finding the post-tension cables nobody mentioned at the estimate.

Appliances are where budgets quietly inflate

The appliance package is the least recoverable money in the kitchen. A $4,000 range and a $12,000 range both cook dinner, and the appraisal does not care which one you bought. Buyers notice that the kitchen is new; almost none of them price the badge on the oven.

The inflation is quiet because it happens one decision at a time. The range is nice, so the hood has to match. The fridge should be counter-depth. The panel-ready dishwasher disappears into the cabinetry beautifully — and costs twice the standard unit plus a cabinet panel. Each step is defensible. The sum is a $20,000 appliance package in a $50,000 kitchen, and that ratio is upside down.

Set the appliance ceiling first, before cabinet selection, and hold it. The showrooms are designed to make the upgrade feel small.

Where the money is well spent

Two places. The layout — a kitchen that works beats a kitchen that gleams, and if the work triangle is broken, a gut with a modest finish package outperforms a cosmetic job with premium everything. And the counters, because you touch them every day and they dominate the room visually. Quartz at a mid-range price point is the sweet spot: durable, consistent, and nobody has ever regretted not sealing it.

The money poorly spent, in order: appliance prestige beyond the first step up, custom cabinets in a standard room, and any layout change that exists to follow a trend rather than fix a problem. A kitchen remodel should recover a solid share of its cost at resale — but only the mid-range version does. The $120,000 kitchen is a lifestyle purchase, and it should be made with open eyes.

Work out your own number

Ranges are a starting point. Put your own dimensions, materials and region into the calculator and it will show the formula it used.

Open the kitchen remodel cost calculator

Frequently asked questions

What is a realistic budget for a kitchen remodel?: $15,000–$30,000 for a cosmetic refresh, $30,000–$60,000 for a mid-range remodel with new cabinets and counters, and $60,000+ for a gut with layout changes. Cabinets run about 30% of the total at every scope.
What is the most expensive part of a kitchen remodel?: Cabinets, consistently — around 30% of the budget including installation. The second-biggest cost driver is whether plumbing and appliances move, because relocating a sink drain or a range means opening floors and walls.
How much does it cost to move a kitchen sink?: The move itself can run a few thousand dollars, but the real cost is the cascade — drain slope and venting rules can force repiping, and on a slab house the drain goes through concrete. Keeping the sink on its existing rough-in is one of the biggest savings available.
Are custom cabinets worth the money?: Rarely in a standard room. Mid-range semi-custom cabinets offer dovetailed drawers, soft-close hardware and plywood boxes at a fraction of custom pricing. Custom earns its premium in odd-shaped rooms and exacting designs, not in a rectangular suburban kitchen.
Do kitchen appliances add value at resale?: The least of any major line item. Buyers price the kitchen as new or dated, not the appliance badges. A mid-range package recovers better than a prestige package costing three times as much.
How long does a kitchen remodel take?: A cosmetic refresh runs two to four weeks. A mid-range remodel runs six to ten. A full gut with layout changes runs three months and up, and cabinet lead time — often the longest pole — is set before demolition starts if the job is sequenced well.