2026 local estimate · updated 2026-07-22
Cost to remodel a kitchen in Memphis, TN
A typical kitchen remodel in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area runs $65,419, with most projects landing between $9,346 and $121,492 — about 7% below the national average.
Low
$9,346
Basic materials, simple job
Typical
$65,419
What most people pay
High
$121,492
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 Memphis is cheaper than average
Almost entirely labor. Carpenters in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area earn about 19% 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 ×0.813 local labor factor to the labor portion.
Open the kitchen remodel calculator →Permits for a kitchen remodel in Memphis
Issuing authority: Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning & Development - Construction Enforcement (joint city-county office)
The joint Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning & Development's Construction Enforcement office charges a $25 application fee for alteration, repair and accessory permits, with the alteration/repair fee itself figured at $5 per $1,000 of valuation, subject to a $50 minimum and a $325 maximum. A separate FAQ answer says a fee does not apply to renovations, decks, or additions of 400 square feet or less, among other exemptions, without naming in what's on file which fee it means — worth clarifying with the office before assuming how it applies to a kitchen remodel.
Plumbing work inside the remodel is billed per fixture at $7.50, and if you touch electrical circuits, existing residential wiring is $30 for one to five circuits and $45 for more than five. Every permit issued also carries a $4 data processing fee plus a $1 residential housing initiative fee added on top of the line items above.
Fees
- “APP. FEE – ALTERATIONS, REPAIRS, ACCESSORY $25.00” — Shelby County Government / Memphis and Shelby County Construction Code Enforcement, 2022 Fee Schedule - Building Section Fees (Residential Fees) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “ALTERATION/REPAIR ($5.00/1,000 VALUATION) $50.00 MIN / $325.00 MAX” — Shelby County Government / Memphis and Shelby County Construction Code Enforcement, 2022 Fee Schedule - Building Section Fees (Residential Fees) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “The fee does not apply to renovations, decks, additions 400 sq. ft. or less or detached accessory buildings 400 sq. ft. or less, pools, retaining walls or fences.” — Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning & Development, Construction Enforcement - FAQ: Does the residential plan review fee apply to projects other than new homes? (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “P-1.1 EACH PLUMBING FIXTURE OR TRAP OR SET OF FIXTURES ON ONE TRAP (INCLUDING WATER & DRAINAGE PIPING) $7.50” — Shelby County Government / Memphis and Shelby County Construction Code Enforcement, 2022 Fee Schedule - Plumbing Permit and Inspection Fees Schedule (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “E-6.2 EXISTING RESIDENTIAL 1&2 FAMILY OCCUPANCIES 1 TO 5 CIRCUITS $30.00 OVER 5 CIRCUITS $45.00” — Shelby County Government / Memphis and Shelby County Construction Code Enforcement, 2022 Fee Schedule - Electrical Permit and Inspection Fees Schedule (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “NOTE THAT A $4.00 DATA PROCESSING FEE, AND A $1.00 RESIDENTIAL/$5.00 COMMERCIAL HOUSING INITIATIVE ARE ADDED TO ALL PERMITS” — Shelby County Government / Memphis and Shelby County Construction Code Enforcement, 2022 Fee Schedule - Building Section Fees (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Fee source the 2022 schedule; still the linked version — confirm current fees.
Quoted verbatim; not recalculated.
Rules set by the state of Tennessee
- Tennessee licenses remodeling contractors at state level: Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance - Board for Licensing Contractors (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Nearby metros
- Kitchen remodel in Chattanooga, TN — typically $65,419
- Kitchen remodel in Knoxville, TN — typically $65,468
- Kitchen remodel in Nashville, TN — typically $66,668
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 Memphis 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: ×0.813, being the mean annual wage for Carpenters in Memphis, TN-MS-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 Memphis, TN?+
A typical project in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area runs about $65,419, with most falling between $9,346 and $121,492. Of the typical figure, roughly $19,919 is labor and $45,500 is materials. That puts Memphis about 7% below the national typical cost of $70,000.
Why is it cheaper to remodel a kitchen in Memphis, TN than the national average?+
Almost entirely labor. Carpenters in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area earn about 19% 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 Memphis, TN 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.