Kitchen remodeling costs

Kitchen prices are driven by three things: how much you keep, how much you move, and who builds the cabinets. Keeping the existing layout and reusing the plumbing and gas locations is the single biggest lever on price. Moving a sink or a range means new supply, drain, vent and circuit runs, and that work is buried in walls and floors where surprises live.

Here is the breakdown Fixr reports for a typical 2026 project. Cabinetry: about 40% of the budget, roughly $7,000 on average, at $100-$300 per linear foot for stock, $150-$650 for semi-custom, and $500-$1,200 for custom. Flooring: about 18%, roughly $5,000. Countertops: about 14%, roughly $3,000, at $15-$200 per square foot depending on material. Utilities and fixtures: about 11%. Appliances: about 6% of the budget, or $2,500-$15,000 if you are replacing the full suite. Lighting: about 5%. Backsplash: about 4%, at $15-$40 per square foot. Labor is 50-60% of the total.

Size matters less than people expect, because a small kitchen still needs a sink, a range, a dishwasher, and a licensed electrician. Fixr's per-size figures illustrate this: a 75-square-foot kitchen might run $5,625 for a minor remodel or $45,000 done to luxury spec, while a 200-square-foot kitchen runs about $15,000 minor and $120,000 luxury. The scope of the finishes moves the number far more than the floor area.

Treat every figure here as a sanity check, not a quote. Labor rates and material availability are local, and a bid that lands well outside these ranges is a prompt to ask why, not proof of a ripoff. What should worry you is a bid you cannot decompose: if a contractor will not break the number into cabinets, tops, appliances, flooring, and labor, you have no way to compare it to anyone else's.