Kitchen remodel cost in Chicago (2026)

Read this first: The figures come from 190 City of Chicago renovation/alteration permits issued 2025-10-16 to 2026-10-14, picked because the work description mentions a kitchen or bath and residential use. Reported cost is what the applicant wrote on the permit, which may not be what the job cost. These permits lean toward large or structural jobs: many small kitchen and bath updates use express permits or need none, so they are under-represented. Treat the numbers as context, not a quote.

Group	Permits	Median days to issue	Middle 50% (days)	Median reported cost	Middle 50% (cost)
Kitchen permits	129	62 days	34 days–108 days	$110,000	$60,000–$192,706

Among 129 residential renovation permits that mention a kitchen, the median reported cost was $110,000, and the middle half fell between $60,000 and $192,706. Many of these permits cover more than a kitchen (whole-unit rehabs, additions), so they overstate what a kitchen-only update costs.

Labor and install only. These are labor and install prices only. Finish materials the homeowner bought (cabinets, countertops, tile, fixtures, flooring, appliances) are not included, and they often add as much as or more than the labor.

Real projects (contractor-sold prices from one Chicago-area GC, 2025-2026): 7 kitchen jobs, final sold price median $23,000, range $18,500–$49,000. These are labor/install prices sold to homeowners (including the GC's overhead and profit), not subcontractor costs, from mostly north-suburban jobs. See every project.

The gap between the two sources is expected: permits skew toward big rehabs, while these real jobs are kitchen-focused, and several left cabinets or paint to others. On the median kitchen job, change orders added about 8% to the original contract.

Typical finish materials (client-paid)

These are the contractor's typical averages across recent projects, not per-job receipts. Homeowners usually buy these directly, so they are on top of the labor/install prices shown here.

Kitchen: about $55,000 (cabinetry, appliances, countertops, light fixtures, cabinet pulls).
Bathroom: about $12,000 per bathroom (tile, vanity, mirrors, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, accessories).

All-in estimate, kitchen: about $78,000 (labor/install median $23,000 + typical finishes $55,000). Bath: no bath-only labor median is published, so only the typical $12,000 per bath finish figure is shown. All-in figures are estimates, not quotes.

What drives the cost

Moving plumbing, gas, or walls (this usually triggers a standard permit)
Electrical upgrades to meet Chicago code (Chicago requires conduit wiring)
Cabinet and counter grade
Building type: condo rules and freight-elevator scheduling, or older two-flats with surprises behind the plaster

Line-item breakdowns from real projects will be added here as verified submissions arrive.

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