Cost guide · Updated July 2026
What a kitchen remodel costs in Madison (2026)
Real numbers from our last two years of Madison kitchens: what moves the price, what does not, and where each budget tier actually lands.
The honest ranges
Across our last twenty-four kitchens in Dane County, full remodels landed between $80,000 and $160,000. The middle of the bell curve — a gut renovation of a 150 to 220 square foot kitchen with shop-built cabinetry, new appliances, and one moved wall — runs $105,000 to $130,000.
Anyone quoting a full Madison kitchen at $40,000 is describing a different project: cabinet refacing, counters, and paint. That work is real and worth doing, but it is not what these numbers describe, and it is worth being clear about which project you are pricing.
What actually moves the number
Three decisions drive most of the spread. Moving plumbing or gas lines adds $6,000 to $15,000 depending on distance and what the floor joists allow. Opening a load-bearing wall in a typical Madison bungalow adds $9,000 to $18,000 including the engineered beam and finish repairs. And appliance packages swing wider than any other line: we have installed $8,000 packages and $38,000 packages in the same month.
Cabinetry is the line people expect to be the wildcard, but with our shop it is the most predictable: materials plus bench time, no dealer margin, no freight surprises. It typically lands between 25% and 32% of the total project.
What Madison houses add to the bill
Pre-war houses on the isthmus and near-west side bring predictable surprises: knob-and-tube wiring that must be replaced once opened ($3,500–$8,000), plaster walls that need skim coats where cabinets come down, and floors that have settled out of level — an inch and a half over nine feet is not unusual, and cabinets do not bend.
We price these risks explicitly after the site visit rather than hiding a contingency in every line. If your electrical panel is already updated, you should not pay for the possibility that it is not.
| Tier | Typical total | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh | $35k–$60k | Same layout. Shop-built cabinet fronts or refacing, counters, tile, lighting, paint. |
| Full remodel | $80k–$130k | Gut to studs, new shop-built cabinetry, new appliances, updated electrical and plumbing in place. |
| Remodel + walls | $110k–$160k | Everything above plus structural changes: opened walls, moved plumbing, relocated doorways. |
| Kitchen + addition | $200k+ | The kitchen moves into new square footage. See our addition cost guide. |
This guide is maintained by our kitchens team. When you are ready for a number specific to your house, start a conversation — the first one is honest and free.
