2026 local estimate · updated 2026-07-22
Cost to remodel a kitchen in Providence, RI
A typical kitchen remodel in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA area runs $71,274, with most projects landing between $10,182 and $132,366 — about 2% above the national average.
Low
$10,182
Basic materials, simple job
Typical
$71,274
What most people pay
High
$132,366
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 Providence is more expensive than average
Almost entirely labor. Carpenters in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA area earn about 5% 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 ×1.052 local labor factor to the labor portion.
Open the kitchen remodel calculator →Permits for a kitchen remodel in Providence
Issuing authority: City of Providence Department of Inspection and Standards (DIS)
Providence's Department of Inspection and Standards exempts painting, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, countertops and similar finish work from a permit, so the cosmetic layer of a kitchen remodel on its own can proceed without one. Once other work in the same job does need a permit, the fee runs $23.00 per thousand dollars of cost up to $10,000, with a $50.00 minimum; from $10,000.01 to $50,000 it becomes $230.00 plus $21.00 per thousand over $10,000.00; above $50,000.01 it's $1,070.00 plus $19.00 per thousand over $50,000.00. The city notes these fees were set by the State of Rhode Island in July 2018.
Review starts within 15 days of submittal and typically takes 5 to 15 days, longer if the office needs more information from you — a timeline worth building into your contractor's schedule before demolition starts. Plumbing work is limited to a licensed master plumber or the owner of a single-family owner-occupied home.
When a permit is needed
- “Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work.” — City of Providence Department of Inspection and Standards, Permits: Frequently Asked Questions (file dated 2020-03-02) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Fees
- “$0.00 $10,000 $23.00 per thousand of cost (minimum = $50.00)” — City of Providence Department of Inspection and Standards, Permits: Frequently Asked Questions (file dated 2020-03-02) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “$10,000.01 $50,000 $230.00 + $21.00 per thousand exceeding $10,000.00” — City of Providence Department of Inspection and Standards, Permits: Frequently Asked Questions (file dated 2020-03-02) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “More Than $50,000.01 $1070.00 + $19.00 per thousand exceeding $50,000.00” — City of Providence Department of Inspection and Standards, Permits: Frequently Asked Questions (file dated 2020-03-02) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- “The City’s building permit fee is represented in the table below. These fees were set by the State of Rhode Island in July of 2018.” — City of Providence Department of Inspection and Standards, Permits: Frequently Asked Questions (file dated 2020-03-02) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Review time
- “Starts within 15 days of submittal, typical review takes between 5 to 15 days or may be longer depending on the project and if additional information is required.” — City of Providence Department of Inspection and Standards, Permits: Frequently Asked Questions (file dated 2020-03-02) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Also published
- “Plumbing – A licensed master plumber or owner of a single-family owner- occupied home.” — City of Providence Department of Inspection and Standards, Permits: Frequently Asked Questions (file dated 2020-03-02) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Fee source fees set by the state in July 2018; still the linked version — confirm current fees.
Quoted verbatim; not recalculated.
Rules set by the state of Rhode Island
- Rhode Island requires remodeling contractors to register with the state: Rhode Island Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Nearby metros
- Kitchen remodel in Las Vegas, NV — typically $71,519
- Kitchen remodel in Milwaukee, WI — typically $70,980
- Kitchen remodel in Denver, CO — typically $70,931
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 Providence 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: ×1.052, being the mean annual wage for Carpenters in Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 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 Providence, RI?+
A typical project in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA area runs about $71,274, with most falling between $10,182 and $132,366. Of the typical figure, roughly $25,774 is labor and $45,500 is materials. That puts Providence about 2% above the national typical cost of $70,000.
Why is it more expensive to remodel a kitchen in Providence, RI than the national average?+
Almost entirely labor. Carpenters in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA area earn about 5% 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 Providence, RI 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.