Search "kitchen remodel cost" and you get a national average that means nothing in Bergen County. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free estimate.
Search "kitchen remodel cost" and you get a national average that means nothing in Bergen County. Here are the numbers we actually quote across New Jersey in 2026, what's inside each bracket, and the six things that push your price up or down.
2026 New Jersey price brackets
Those are fixed-price ranges for a licensed, insured contractor who pulls the permits. A handyman price will be lower. So will the first number from a company that forgot to include half the job. More on that below.
| Project | Typical fixed-price range |
|---|---|
| Refresh (paint or reface cabinets, new counters, backsplash, faucet, lighting) | $15K – $35K |
| Mid-range remodel, same layout (semi-custom cabinets, quartz, tile floor, new appliances) | $45K – $85K |
| Full remodel with layout changes (walls moved, plumbing and gas relocated, new island) | $85K – $150K |
| High-end custom (custom cabinetry, pro-grade appliances, structural changes) | $150K – $250K+ |
| Add: remove a load-bearing wall (beam, engineer, permit) | +$8K – $25K |
| Add: island with a sink, dishwasher or gas cooktop | +$6K – $15K |
Where the money goes in a mid-range kitchen
Percentages like these are good for one thing: catching a quote that's missing a whole category. If the cabinets are 60% of the number, something else isn't in it.
- Cabinets: 30–35%. The biggest line. Stock, semi-custom or custom is the first decision you make.
- Labor and installation: 20–25%. Demo, framing, drywall, tile, trim and finish carpentry.
- Countertops: 10–15%. Quartz and granite sit in the same range. Marble and quartzite cost more.
- Appliances: 10–15%. A package runs $5K to $25K depending on the brand.
- Plumbing and electrical: 8–12%. New circuits, GFCI outlets, under-cabinet lights, dishwasher and disposal hookups, gas line moves.
- Flooring, backsplash, lighting, paint, permits, dumpster: the rest.
The 6 things that actually move the price
Keep the sink, stove and fridge where they are and you skip most of the plumbing, gas and electrical rework. Move them and you're paying to open floors and walls. Sometimes it's worth every dollar — a kitchen with no room to stand is a daily tax. We'll tell you straight if the layout change is worth it for your house.
Stock cabinets in standard sizes are the cheapest. Semi-custom gives you more sizes and finishes and is the sweet spot for most NJ homes. Custom is built to your wall in any finish, with a long lead time. In a 12-by-14 kitchen, the gap between stock and custom can be $20K by itself.
Houses from the 50s and 60s hide galvanized water pipes, undersized wiring with no ground, and sometimes a rotted subfloor under the old dishwasher. We open up and inspect before we quote, so that work lands in your fixed price — not on a mid-job invoice.
Opening the kitchen to the dining room is the most requested change we see. If the wall carries load, you need a beam, an engineer's letter and a permit. Not the end of the world. Just a real line item that should be in the quote from day one.
Quartz at roughly $60–$100 per square foot installed is most people's pick. A slab backsplash, waterfall edges on the island or book-matched stone pushes a counter line from $5K to $15K fast.
A pro-style range wants a bigger gas line. An induction cooktop wants its own 40- or 50-amp circuit. A second oven or a beverage fridge wants its own outlet. The appliances you pick decide part of the electrical bill, so pick them before we price.
What a fair kitchen quote includes
If a quote doesn't list these, ask where they are. "We'll handle it" is not a line item.
- Demolition and haul-away, dumpster included
- Permits and inspections — building, plumbing and electrical
- Plumbing and electrical rough-in and finish
- Drywall patching, ceiling repair where the old soffit came down, and paint
- Cabinet delivery and installation, with fillers, crown and toe kick
- Countertop template, fabrication and install
- Backsplash tile, flooring and lighting
- Appliance hookups, including the gas line and the disposal
- Dust protection, floor protection and cleanup every night
- A written finish date
Why three kitchen quotes come back $30K apart
The low quote almost always leaves things out. Permits. The electrical upgrade the inspector will require. Haul-away. Patching the ceiling. A tile allowance so small you'll blow through it at the first showroom. Then the extras arrive one at a time, each one "unexpected," and a $55K estimate becomes a $70K bill. Nobody can point to the day it happened.
Our quote is itemized and fixed. Every line visible, permits included, and the number can't change unless you sign a written change order. That's the Price-Lock Guarantee, and it's printed in your contract. No franchise fees, no commissioned salesmen and no rented subcontractors is how we land typically 15–30% under national-brand quotes for the same or better spec. Bring us any written quote and we'll match the scope line by line.
How long a kitchen takes
A refresh: one to two weeks. A mid-range remodel with the same layout: four to six weeks. Layout changes: six to ten weeks. The clock starts when the cabinets are on site. We don't demo your kitchen and then wait on a delivery.
Set up a temporary kitchen before day one: microwave, coffee maker, a folding table, the fridge rolled into the dining room. You'll eat a lot of takeout. You'll live.
Questions people ask next
Can I remodel a kitchen in NJ for under $30K?
Yes, if you keep the layout and keep the cabinet boxes. Paint or reface the cabinets, then new counters, backsplash, faucet, lighting and floor. That's a real transformation inside the $15K–$35K bracket. The moment you replace the cabinets themselves, you're in the next bracket.
Do I need a permit for a kitchen remodel in NJ?
Swapping a faucet or painting cabinets: no. Moving plumbing, adding circuits, running gas or touching a wall: yes — plumbing, electrical and often a building permit. We pull them and meet the inspector. Unpermitted work surfaces when you sell, and you pay for it then.
Is a kitchen remodel worth it before selling?
A dated kitchen is the first thing buyers photograph and the first thing they use to knock the price. A clean mid-range remodel usually sells the house faster and for more. If you're staying, the math is simpler: you use this room every single day.
Do you take a deposit on a kitchen?
No. You pay as the work gets done, and you hold the final payment until we walk the finished kitchen together, item by item, and you sign off. Cabinets are ordered on your approval and their delivery date goes in the schedule before demo starts.
Need kitchen remodeling near you?
If you searched “kitchen remodeling near me” anywhere in New Jersey, that's us. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and sends its own licensed crew to all 21 counties — written price before work starts, no deposit, a real person on the phone 24/7.
Want your kitchen's exact number — not a bracket?
Free in-home consultation. Itemized fixed price on the spot. Written finish date. Zero pressure.
Or call Alex direct: (201) 676-3099