2026 local estimate · updated 2026-07-22
Cost to remodel a kitchen in Phoenix, AZ
A typical kitchen remodel in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ area runs $68,040, with most projects landing between $9,720 and $126,360 — about 3% below the national average.
Low
$9,720
Basic materials, simple job
Typical
$68,040
What most people pay
High
$126,360
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 Phoenix is cheaper than average
Almost entirely labor. Carpenters in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ area earn about 8% 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 ×0.92 local labor factor to the labor portion.
Open the kitchen remodel calculator →Permits for a kitchen remodel in Phoenix
Issuing authority: City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department (PDD)
Phoenix's Planning & Development Department treats removing and replacing interior finishes such as drywall as work that requires a permit rather than qualifying as simple patching, and even for items exempt from a building permit, separate plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits are required unless otherwise exempted. The building permit fee is based on valuation: $195 on the first $1,000 plus $12 for each additional $1,000 up to $10,000, then $303 on the first $10,000 plus $10 per additional $1,000 up to $50,000, and $703 on the first $50,000 plus $9 per additional $1,000 up to $200,000.
Plan review adds to that: for residential valuations of $50,000 or less, it's 100 percent of the permit fee with a $195 minimum, and above $50,000 it drops to 80 percent of the permit fee, still with the same $195 minimum. Ask PDD which building and trade permits your kitchen scope needs.
When a permit is needed
- “Commentary: Removing and replacing interior finishes such as drywall do not constitute patching walls and therefore require a permit.” — City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, Work Exempt from Permit (TRT/DOC/00618, Rev. 07/14) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “Unless otherwise exempted, separate plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits will be required for the above-exempted items.” — City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, Work Exempt from Permit (TRT/DOC/00618, Rev. 07/14) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Fees
- “Permit fees are based on the valuation (building square footage times standard rate for occupancy) of each building or building addition.” — City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, PDD Fee Schedule (Approved 12/17/2025, Effective 1/20/2026) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “$1,001 - $10,000 $195 on first $1,000, plus $12 for each additional $1,000, or fraction thereof, to and including $10,000” — City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, PDD Fee Schedule (Approved 12/17/2025, Effective 1/20/2026) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “$10,001 - $50,000 $303 on first $10,000 plus $10 for each additional $1,000, or fraction thereof, to and including $50,000” — City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, PDD Fee Schedule (Approved 12/17/2025, Effective 1/20/2026) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “$50,001 - $200,000 $703 on first $50,000 plus $9 for each additional $1,000, or fraction thereof, to and including $200,000” — City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, PDD Fee Schedule (Approved 12/17/2025, Effective 1/20/2026) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “Residential with project valuations of $50K or less … 100% of the permit fee, minimum $195 (1-hour)” — City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, PDD Fee Schedule (Approved 12/17/2025, Effective 1/20/2026) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “Residential with project valuations of over $50K …… 80% of the permit fee, minimum $195 (1-hour)” — City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, PDD Fee Schedule (Approved 12/17/2025, Effective 1/20/2026) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Quoted verbatim; not recalculated.
Rules set by the state of Arizona
- Arizona licenses remodeling contractors at state level: Arizona State Legislature (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Nearby metros
- Kitchen remodel in Tucson, AZ — typically $65,639
- Kitchen remodel in Harrisburg, PA — typically $68,334
- Kitchen remodel in Colorado Springs, CO — typically $68,359
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 Phoenix alone.
Or step up one level: kitchen remodel cost across Arizona — the average of all 2 Arizona metro areas we publish, which is a coarser figure than Phoenix and is meant for comparing states rather than budgeting a job.
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: ×0.92, being the mean annual wage for Carpenters in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 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 Phoenix, AZ?+
A typical project in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ area runs about $68,040, with most falling between $9,720 and $126,360. Of the typical figure, roughly $22,540 is labor and $45,500 is materials. That puts Phoenix about 3% below the national typical cost of $70,000.
Why is it cheaper to remodel a kitchen in Phoenix, AZ than the national average?+
Almost entirely labor. Carpenters in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ area earn about 8% 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 Phoenix, AZ 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.