2026 local estimate · updated 2026-07-22
Cost to remodel a kitchen in Boston, MA
A typical kitchen remodel in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area runs $75,831, with most projects landing between $10,833 and $140,829 — about 8% above the national average.
Low
$10,833
Basic materials, simple job
Typical
$75,831
What most people pay
High
$140,829
Premium materials or complex job
What's priced: Mid-range remodel of a typical kitchen — new cabinets, countertops, sink and fixtures — without moving walls or relocating plumbing. Excludes permits, structural repairs found mid-job, and premium upgrades.
Why Boston is more expensive than average
Almost entirely labor. Carpenters in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area earn about 24% more than the national mean for the same occupation, per Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data. Because kitchen remodel is roughly 35% labor, that difference flows straight into the total.
Cabinets and countertops are the largest line items in a kitchen remodel and are bought rather than built on site, so materials carry most of the cost. Labor share rises on gut renovations that move plumbing or electrical, and falls on cabinet-and-counter refreshes.
Get a number for your own job
The figures above are for a standard project. Your size, materials, and access will move them. Run your own specification through the calculator, then apply the ×1.238 local labor factor to the labor portion.
Open the kitchen remodel calculator →Permits for a kitchen remodel in Boston
Issuing authority: City of Boston Inspectional Services Department (ISD)
New kitchen cabinets, and replacements of existing ones, don't need a permit from Boston's ISD at all. For work that does need a building permit, the Short-Form Permit is priced at $20 plus $10 per $1,000 of the estimated cost of work, and the Long-Form building permit at $50 plus the same $10 per $1,000.
Plumbing work tied to the remodel, like a new sink, is billed separately at $20 plus $5 per fixture, and electrical work with no change in service runs $20 plus $1 for each fixture, plug, or outlet. ISD states that an inspector will contact you within 48 hours to schedule and confirm your inspection.
Starting the job before the permit is issued, or underreporting its value, doubles whatever fee would otherwise apply — so getting the paperwork filed first is cheaper than catching up on it later.
When a permit is needed
- “If you are planning on installing new kitchen cabinets, or replacing existing cabinets, you do not need a permit.” — City of Boston, Install or Replace Kitchen Cabinets (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “Short-Form Permit” — City of Boston, Renovate a Bathroom or Kitchen (lists Short-Form for non-structural; Long-Form when moving walls; Plumbing, Electrical, Sheet Metal permits) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Fees
- “SHORT FORM BUILDING $20.00 Primary fee plus $10.00 per $1,000 of the estimated cost of work.” — City of Boston Inspectional Services Department, Inspectional Services Building Division Fees (5/15/23) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “LONG FORM BUILDING $50.00 Primary fee plus $10.00 per $1,000.00 of the estimated cost of work.” — City of Boston Inspectional Services Department, Inspectional Services Building Division Fees (5/15/23) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “PLUMBING $20.00 Primary fee plus $5.00 each fixture.” — City of Boston Inspectional Services Department, Inspectional Services Building Division Fees (5/15/23) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “When there is no change in service; $20.00 Application fee plus $1.00 each fixture, plug or outlet,” — City of Boston Inspectional Services Department, Inspectional Services Building Division Fees (5/15/23) (Electrical) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Review time
- “An inspector will contact you within 48 hours to schedule and confirm your inspection.” — City of Boston, Short-Form Permits (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Also published
- “DOUBLE FEE When work has been started without required permit or undervalue in the estimated cost.” — City of Boston Inspectional Services Department, Inspectional Services Building Division Fees (5/15/23) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Quoted verbatim; not recalculated.
Rules set by the state of Massachusetts
- Massachusetts requires remodeling contractors to register with the state: Commonwealth of Massachusetts (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Nearby metros
- Kitchen remodel in Worcester, MA — typically $73,136
- Kitchen remodel in New York, NY — typically $75,562
- Kitchen remodel in Chicago, IL — typically $76,517
Compare kitchen remodel cost across every US metro we cover — the same labor-adjusted model as this page, ranked from most to least expensive, if you want the national picture rather than Boston alone.
How we calculate this
We take a national installed-cost range, split it into labor and materials, and scale only the labor half by this metro's actual wage data. That is the whole model — no black box, and reproducible from the figures on this page.
- National range: $10,000–$130,000, from our kitchen remodel cost data (last verified 2026-07-13).
- Labor share: 35%. An industry rule of thumb, not a measured value — the softest assumption here, which is why we state it rather than bury it.
- Metro labor factor: ×1.238, being the mean annual wage for Carpenters in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH divided by the national mean for the same occupation.
- Materials: held at the national level. We vary labor by metro and hold materials at the national level. That is deliberate: shingles, copper, HVAC equipment, and cabinets are nationally traded and priced, and what actually varies locally is freight and sales tax — both small next to the labor spread. We have no metro-level materials index we can defend, so rather than invent one, we vary only what we can source.
Wage source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), metropolitan area estimates, May 2025. A U.S. Government work, in the public domain and free to reuse. Where BLS suppresses wage data for a metro, we publish no page for it rather than fill the gap with an estimate.
Educational estimate only. A real quote for your specific property beats any model, including ours — get at least three.
Related
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to remodel a kitchen in Boston, MA?+
A typical project in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area runs about $75,831, with most falling between $10,833 and $140,829. Of the typical figure, roughly $30,331 is labor and $45,500 is materials. That puts Boston about 8% above the national typical cost of $70,000.
Why is it more expensive to remodel a kitchen in Boston, MA than the national average?+
Almost entirely labor. Carpenters in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area earn about 24% more than the national average for the same occupation, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data. Because kitchen remodel is roughly 35% labor, that wage difference flows through to the total. Materials are priced nationally and barely move between metros.
What's included in these Boston, MA estimates?+
Installed cost — materials plus labor for a standard project of this type. It does not include permits, which vary by municipality, structural repairs discovered mid-job, or premium upgrades. The range reflects genuine variation in scope and material grade, not uncertainty about the metro. Always get at least three local quotes before budgeting; a real quote for your specific property will beat any estimate, including ours.
How is this different from a national average with the city name swapped in?+
We split the national installed cost into labor and materials, then scale only the labor half using the actual mean wage for Carpenters in this specific metro area, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Materials stay at the national level because we have no defensible metro-level materials index — shingles and HVAC equipment are nationally traded, and only freight and sales tax really vary. Where BLS suppresses wage data for a metro, we do not publish a page for it at all rather than fill the gap with a guess.