Kitchen Renovation Estimate: 2026 Pricing Guide

Last week I walked a homeowner through a kitchen renovation estimate that came in at $74,000. She about fell off her chair. Her neighbor “got it done” for $32,000 the year before. So she figured that was the number.

Here’s the thing. Her neighbor refaced cabinets, swapped in a laminate counter, and called it a day. She wanted walls moved, the gas line relocated, custom cabinets, and a quartz waterfall island. Same word, two completely different jobs.

A kitchen renovation estimate isn’t one number. It’s a stack of decisions, and the price moves with every one. After 20 years of pulling out old kitchens in the Pacific Northwest, I can usually tell you within 10% what a job will run. But the homeowner has to make the choices first. Try EstimationPro free if you’re a contractor putting these bids together by hand.

Quick Answer

A 2026 kitchen renovation estimate runs $10,000 to $200,000+, with most mid-range projects landing between $30,000 and $80,000 for a 200 sq ft kitchen. Per-square-foot pricing breaks out as $50-$150 (budget), $150-$300 (mid-range), and $250-$500 (high-end). Cabinets, counters, and labor account for roughly 60% of the total. The rest goes to appliances, plumbing, electrical, flooring, and finishes.

What a Kitchen Renovation Estimate Has to Include

Most homeowners I meet have looked at one or two estimates that left half the scope out. That’s not by accident. Some contractors leave items off so the bid looks lower, then change-order you once the walls are open. A real renovation estimate covers every line below.

• Demolition and disposal (cabinets, counters, flooring, drywall, appliances)
• Rough plumbing (move sink, gas line, dishwasher, ice maker)
• Rough electrical (new circuits, outlets per code, lighting, range hood)
• Framing changes (header for wall removal, soffit work, blocking for cabinets)
• Drywall, taping, and texture
• Cabinet supply and install (linear feet, hardware, fillers, soft-close)
• Countertop fabrication and install (template, edge profile, sink cutout)
• Backsplash tile (material, setting bed, grout, accent strip)
• Flooring (tear-out, prep, install, transitions)
• Appliance install (range, hood, dishwasher, microwave, fridge water line)
• Paint (walls, ceiling, trim)
• Permits and inspections
• Cleanup and project management
• Contingency (10-20% on older homes, you’ll need it)

If a bid is missing 3 or more of these, it’s not an estimate. It’s a sales pitch.

Renovation vs Remodel: Why It Changes the Number

People use these words like they’re the same. They’re not, and the difference matters for what you write down.

A remodel updates a space without changing its bones. New cabinets, new finishes, new appliances, but the sink stays where it is and no walls move. That’s a $20,000 to $50,000 conversation in most markets.

A renovation restores or rebuilds. Layout changes. Wall removal. Plumbing rerouted. Electrical brought up to current code. That doubles the labor budget at minimum, and on a 1980s house in the PNW, you’ll often find rot or aluminum wiring nobody planned for. Renovations land in the $50,000 to $150,000 zone for a typical 200 sq ft kitchen.

I’ve pulled up vinyl in 1987 kitchens and found subfloor that went mushy years ago. Add $1,800. I’ve opened a soffit and found a structural beam I had to engineer around. Add $4,200. Hidden work will get you. Build a contingency line into every renovation estimate.

Pricing Reference: 2026 Per-Unit Costs

Line Item	Unit	Low	Typical	High
Budget kitchen, all-in	per sq ft	$50	$100	$150
Mid-range kitchen, all-in	per sq ft	$150	$200	$300
High-end kitchen, all-in	per sq ft	$250	$350	$500
Stock cabinets	linear ft	$100	$200	$300
Custom cabinets	linear ft	$500	$800	$1,500
Laminate counters	sq ft	$10	$25	$40
Granite counters	sq ft	$40	$80	$200
Quartz counters	sq ft	$50	$100	$200
Backsplash tile (installed)	sq ft	$15	$25	$40
Sink installation	each	$350	$650	$1,200
Faucet installation	each	$150	$275	$500
Range hood install	each	$250	$550	$1,000
Garbage disposal	each	$150	$290	$500
Dishwasher install	each	$150	$250	$450
Kitchen island	project	$1,500	$5,000	$10,000

Sources: NAHB cost data, Angi 2026 kitchen remodel guides, HomeGuide 2026 installation pricing, BLS 47-2031 carpenter wages.

Pricing is national average. Adjust by region using the multipliers below.

Regional Pricing: How Your Market Shifts the Number

A $50,000 kitchen in Phoenix is a $68,000 kitchen in San Francisco. Labor and material delivery drive most of that. Use these multipliers against the per-sq-ft pricing above.

Metro	Adjustment vs National Average
San Francisco / Bay Area	+35% to +45%
New York / Long Island	+30% to +40%
Seattle / Portland (PNW)	+15% to +25%
Boston	+20% to +30%
Denver	+5% to +15%
Chicago	National average (0%)
Atlanta	-5% to -10%
Phoenix	-10% to -15%
Dallas / Fort Worth	-5% to -15%
Indianapolis / Midwest avg	-10% to -20%

Sources: BLS regional wage data for construction trades, RSMeans city cost indexes, field experience across PNW, Colorado, and South.

Worked Example #1: Mid-Range Renovation, 180 sq ft Kitchen

Homeowner wants new cabinets, quartz counters, tile backsplash, refinished hardwood, and a gas range. Sink stays in place. No walls moving. PNW market.

Line Item	Quantity	Rate	Subtotal
Demo and disposal	lump	$1,800	$1,800
Stock cabinets (semi-custom)	24 lf	$250/lf	$6,000
Cabinet install labor	24 lf	$120/lf	$2,880
Quartz countertop	38 sq ft	$95/sf	$3,610
Tile backsplash	30 sq ft	$25/sf	$750
Hardwood refinish	180 sq ft	$5/sf	$900
Sink + faucet swap	1 ea	$900	$900
Dishwasher install	1 ea	$250	$250
Range hood install	1 ea	$550	$550
Drywall patch + paint	lump	$1,400	$1,400
Permits	lump	$650	$650
Subtotal			$19,690
Overhead & profit (25%)			$4,923
Contingency (10%)			$1,969
PNW regional uplift (+18%)			$4,786
Total			$31,368

Round to $31,500. That’s a clean mid-range estimate with no surprises baked in.

Worked Example #2: Full Renovation, 240 sq ft Kitchen, Wall Removed

Same homeowner’s neighbor wants the wall between kitchen and dining room gone, custom cabinets, quartz waterfall island, induction range, and rerouted plumbing. PNW market, 1962 home.

Line Item	Quantity	Rate	Subtotal
Full demo + dumpster	lump	$3,800	$3,800
Engineering for header	lump	$1,200	$1,200
Wall removal + new header	lump	$4,500	$4,500
Custom cabinets	32 lf	$850/lf	$27,200
Cabinet install	32 lf	$180/lf	$5,760
Quartz counters + waterfall	65 sq ft	$130/sf	$8,450
Backsplash tile	42 sq ft	$35/sf	$1,470
New flooring (LVP)	240 sq ft	$9/sf	$2,160
Plumbing reroute	lump	$3,200	$3,200
Electrical (4 new circuits)	lump	$4,800	$4,800
Drywall + taping (full)	lump	$3,400	$3,400
Paint (full kitchen + dining)	lump	$2,200	$2,200
Appliance install package	lump	$1,400	$1,400
Permits + inspections	lump	$1,800	$1,800
Subtotal			$71,340
Overhead & profit (25%)			$17,835
Contingency (15%, older home)			$10,701
PNW regional uplift (+18%)			$17,978
Total			$117,854

Round to $118,000. That’s the honest number. The contractor who quotes her $72,000 either left the wall removal or the contingency off the bid.

Common Mistakes Contractors Make on Kitchen Estimates

I’ve seen these kill profit on jobs that should have made money.

1. Forgetting the dumpster fee. A 20-yard kitchen demo dumpster runs $400 to $700. Skip the line item, eat it out of profit.
2. Underestimating cabinet install hours. Custom cabinets with crown, light rail, and toe kicks take twice as long as stock. Bid 6-8 hours per linear foot for custom, not 3.
3. No appliance pickup line. If you’re delivering the range, pad the bid for the trip and the two guys to walk it in.
4. Not pulling permits. I’ve watched contractors skip the permit to look cheaper, then get red-tagged mid-job. The fine and rework wipe out the savings.
5. Cabinet linear footage off by 6 inches. Re-measure twice. A short cabinet run means a special-order filler, 3 weeks of delay, and an angry homeowner.
6. No contingency on pre-1980 homes. Old wiring, lead paint, asbestos floor tile, rotten subfloor. I plan 15% contingency minimum on anything older than I am.
7. Pricing the island as a cabinet run. An island has finished sides, end panels, and usually electrical and plumbing in the floor. It’s its own line item.
8. Skipping the sink template trip. Stone fabricators charge $150-$300 to template. Some contractors forget to add it.

For markup math on every job, the contractor markup calculator gives you a quick check before you send the estimate.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a kitchen renovation estimate take to put together?

A real estimate takes 4 to 8 hours of contractor time on a mid-range job. Site visit, measurements, scope conversation, supplier quotes, line-item buildup, markup, and review. Anyone who hands you a number in 15 minutes either knows the job inside out or skipped most of the work. I use the Kitchen Remodel Cost Calculator to ballpark before I go on-site, then build the real bid from measurements.

Should I show the customer my line-item costs?

Show categories, not vendor names. “Cabinets: $16,800” is fine. “Cabinets from Builder Supply Co. at $14,200 plus 18% markup” is not. Customers will price-shop your suppliers, cut you out, and get the wrong product installed by somebody who isn’t insured. Keep the levels of detail where they belong.

What’s a fair contingency for a kitchen renovation estimate?

10% on a newer home (post-1995). 15% on a 1970s-1990s home. 20% on anything older than that. PNW homes especially hide moisture damage. Build the contingency into the bid as a separate line and explain to the homeowner what triggers it. They’ll thank you when nothing surprises them mid-job.

How do I estimate a kitchen renovation if I don’t have all the finish selections yet?

Use allowances. “Cabinet allowance: $14,000. Counter allowance: $4,500. Appliance allowance: $6,000.” Total the allowances, mark up the rest of the labor and materials, and write into the contract that selections above the allowance trigger a change order. This protects you and lets the homeowner shop without holding up your bid.

Why are kitchen renovation estimates so different from contractor to contractor?

Three reasons. First, scope. Some contractors include drywall and paint, others quote it as an add. Second, markup and overhead. A solo guy with a truck has 15% overhead. A 12-person company has 35%. Third, quality of materials and crew. The cheapest bid usually means stock cabinets, laminate counter, and a sub-crew you’ve never met. The honest middle bid is almost always the right one.

What Really Goes Wrong on Renovation Estimates

The job I quoted at $74,000 last week ended up costing $79,500. We hit a vent stack we couldn’t legally relocate without engineering, and the homeowner upgraded her appliances mid-stream. I called her on day 8, walked through the change orders, and she signed off. No drama because we agreed on the contingency upfront.

That’s the difference. An estimate isn’t a guarantee, but it should be honest enough that surprises feel like decisions, not ambushes.

If you’re a contractor still building these bids in spreadsheets, you already know the pain. You spend two evenings per week on estimating. You forget the dumpster line. You miss the markup on one item and eat the difference. Contractors using EstimationPro report cutting bid prep from 4 hours to 25 minutes per job. The platform doesn’t just build the estimate, it sends the proposal automatically and follows up with the homeowner so you win more of the bids you already send. Try EstimationPro free and get your evenings back.