2026 local estimate · updated 2026-07-22
Cost to remodel a kitchen in Little Rock, AR
A typical kitchen remodel in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR area runs $64,243, with most projects landing between $9,178 and $119,308 — about 8% below the national average.
Low
$9,178
Basic materials, simple job
Typical
$64,243
What most people pay
High
$119,308
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 Little Rock is cheaper than average
Almost entirely labor. Carpenters in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR area earn about 23% less 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 ×0.765 local labor factor to the labor portion.
Open the kitchen remodel calculator →Permits for a kitchen remodel in Little Rock
Issuing authority: City of Little Rock Planning & Development Dept., Building Codes Division
Little Rock's Building Codes Division requires a permit for any work over $5,000 in materials and labor, or that requires an inspection, except residential fences under seven feet, residential roofs, painting, floor coverings and cosmetic changes. For valuations from $5,000.01 to $50,000, the building permit fee is $50 for the first $2,000 of valuation, plus $4 for each additional $1,000 or fraction, with a $25 data processing fee on top and a $50 minimum on any building permit.
Plumbing and electrical work each carry their own $50 minimum permit fee. Plumbing is billed at $6 for each fixture outlet or appliance, and the electrical schedule separately lists $6 for a dishwasher or trash compactor. A kitchen job that touches plumbing and electrical can mean stacking several of these minimums rather than paying just one, so ask your contractor how many separate permits your scope will need.
When a permit is needed
- “Permits are required for any work that exceeds Five Thousand Dollars 5,000.00), including material and labor, or that requires an inspection, except for residential fences less than seven (7) feet in height, residential roofs, painting, floor coverings and cosmetic changes” — City of Little Rock, AR, Ordinance No. 22,204 - revision of permit fee schedules, LRC § 8-31(c) (passed December 6, 2022), § I.A (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Fees
- “5,000.01 to $50,000 50.00 for the first $2,000.00, plus $4.00 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof, to and $50,000.00.” — City of Little Rock, AR, Ordinance No. 22,204 - revision of permit fee schedules, LRC § 8-31(c) (passed December 6, 2022), § I.A building permit fee table (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “Minimum Fee for any Building Permit, except as otherwise specified, shall be Fifty Dollars($50.00).” — City of Little Rock, AR, Ordinance No. 22,204 - revision of permit fee schedules, LRC § 8-31(c) (passed December 6, 2022), § I.B (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “Residential or Commercial Permits 25.00” — City of Little Rock, AR, Ordinance No. 22,204 - revision of permit fee schedules, LRC § 8-31(c) (passed December 6, 2022), § I.D Data Processing Fee (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “Unit Costs- Each Plumbing Fixture Outlet or Appliance $ 6.00” — City of Little Rock, AR, Ordinance No. 22,204 - revision of permit fee schedules, LRC § 8-31(c) (passed December 6, 2022), § III Plumbing Permit Fees (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “Minimum fee for any permit for plumbing work shall be Fifty Dollars($50.00).” — City of Little Rock, AR, Ordinance No. 22,204 - revision of permit fee schedules, LRC § 8-31(c) (passed December 6, 2022), § III.E (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “Minimum fee for permit for electrical work shall be Fifty Dollars($50.00).” — City of Little Rock, AR, Ordinance No. 22,204 - revision of permit fee schedules, LRC § 8-31(c) (passed December 6, 2022), § II.F (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “12. Dishwashers or Trash Compactor 6.00” — City of Little Rock, AR, Ordinance No. 22,204 - revision of permit fee schedules, LRC § 8-31(c) (passed December 6, 2022), § II Electrical Permit Fees (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Quoted verbatim; not recalculated.
Rules set by the state of Arkansas
- Arkansas licenses remodeling contractors at state level: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Nearby metros
- Kitchen remodel in Fayetteville, AR — typically $65,492
- Kitchen remodel in Dallas, TX — typically $64,267
- Kitchen remodel in Greensboro, NC — typically $64,316
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 Little Rock 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: ×0.765, being the mean annual wage for Carpenters in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 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 Little Rock, AR?+
A typical project in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR area runs about $64,243, with most falling between $9,178 and $119,308. Of the typical figure, roughly $18,743 is labor and $45,500 is materials. That puts Little Rock about 8% below the national typical cost of $70,000.
Why is it cheaper to remodel a kitchen in Little Rock, AR than the national average?+
Almost entirely labor. Carpenters in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR area earn about 23% less 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 Little Rock, AR 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.