Kitchen Remodel Cost in Los Angeles

Kitchen remodel prices in Los Angeles

Every figure here comes from our own written quotes. Prices are turnkey: demolition, all trades, permits where required, materials at trade cost and final cleanup. Cabinetry and stone selections drive most of the range.

National figures sit lower. HomeGuide puts the average US kitchen remodel at $15,000–$50,000, or $150–$250 per square foot (HomeGuide (opens in a new tab), checked September 2026). Those are national averages. An LA kitchen with permitted electrical and semi-custom cabinetry starts at $32,000 with us, so compare LA quotes with LA quotes, line by line.

What drives the cost of a kitchen remodel

Cabinetry: 35–40% of the budget

Cabinets are usually 35–40% of a kitchen budget, so on a $40,000 kitchen that is roughly $14,000–$16,000. Semi-custom lines cover most kitchens well. Full custom makes sense for awkward dimensions, very tall ceilings or when the cabinetry is meant to be the feature of the room, as it was in Studio City, where the cabinets run to the ceiling. We price both so the decision is made on real numbers.

Countertops and backsplash

Quartz, granite and porcelain counters sit in the standard tier. Natural stone slabs, waterfall ends and a full-height backsplash belong to the custom tier. Counters are templated once the cabinets are installed and level, so their price is fixed early but their install date follows the cabinets.

Layout: plumbing, gas and walls

Keeping the sink, range and dishwasher where they are keeps the rough-in simple. Moving plumbing or gas, adding circuits or changing a wall means a permit, and most kitchen remodels do at least one of those. An island with a sink or cooktop needs supply, drain or gas brought to the middle of the floor.

Opening the kitchen to the living room depends on what the wall carries. A non-structural wall, like the one in Studio City, comes out with a permit and an inspection. A bearing wall needs a beam and structural engineering. We check which one you have at the walkthrough and price it into the quote before any demolition, not halfway through.

Electrical

New circuits, undercabinet lighting and relocated outlets are part of our standard tier. New circuits are permit work, which is one more reason most kitchens need a permit. On the Studio City job the permits covered the electrical and the wall removal, and both inspections passed first time.

Behind the walls

Demolition is when surprises show up. Anything we find is photographed and priced before we go further, so it becomes a decision for you rather than a line on the final invoice. In homes built before 1978, painted surfaces may contain lead, and work that disturbs more than six square feet of paint in a room has to be done lead-safe by a certified firm (EPA (opens in a new tab), checked September 2026). We are an EPA Lead-Safe certified firm.

What a $68,000 kitchen looked like

The Studio City kitchen is a useful marker for the custom tier. The scope: a non-structural wall between the kitchen and the living room removed, full custom cabinetry built to the ceiling, a waterfall quartz island and all new electrical. It took eight weeks and came to $68,000.

Two things kept it on schedule. Cabinetry was ordered before demolition day, so the kitchen never sat gutted waiting on a delivery. And the permits covered the electrical and the wall removal from the start, so both inspections were booked into the sequence and passed first time. You can see it with the rest of our jobs on our work page.

How long you will be without a kitchen

Five to nine weeks depending on scope. The long pole is almost always cabinetry lead time, which is why we lock selections and order the cabinets before demolition starts. Kitchens take longer than they should for one reason more than any other: the room gets torn out before anyone has ordered the cabinets, then sits empty waiting on a delivery truck.

The sequence runs: demolition, rough plumbing and electrical to the new layout, inspection, drywall and paint, cabinets, counter templating and install, backsplash, then fixtures, lighting and appliances. You get the week each phase happens before the job starts, and one person to call when something changes.

How to keep the cost of a kitchen remodel down

• Keep the footprint. Sink, range and fridge where they are now means simpler rough-in and a smaller permit scope.
• Choose semi-custom cabinets. They cover most kitchens well and keep the total in the $32,000–$50,000 range.
• Lock every selection before demolition. Cabinets, counters, tile and fixtures chosen and priced up front is how the budget stays put and the kitchen spends as little time gutted as possible.
• Choose quartz or porcelain over exotic slabs. They sit in the standard tier; natural stone slabs and waterfall ends are custom-tier choices.
• Keep appliances that still work. Installation and connection are in our scope either way; reusing a good fridge or range simply takes that purchase off the total.
• Keep the deposit small. California caps a home improvement down payment at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, and later payments cannot run ahead of the work done (CSLB (opens in a new tab), checked September 2026). A contractor asking for more upfront is telling you something.

Getting a fixed price for your kitchen

We measure, talk through how you cook and use the room, and produce a layout with a line-item fixed price. Permits and inspections are ours to handle, and the work carries our five-year workmanship warranty. See the full scope on our kitchen remodeling page and the Studio City kitchen on our work page.