Kitchen remodel cost in Illinois

Nobody can tell you what your kitchen will cost without seeing it. What we can do is show what two published surveys say, label each number with its source and year, and explain what the numbers are made of. Neither survey is a list of prices that Illinois companies charge.

The 2025 Cost vs. Value figures

Cost vs. Value is an annual report from Zonda and the Journal of Light Construction. The 2025 edition is the 38th. It compares average costs for 28 remodeling projects with the value those projects retain at resale in 119 U.S. markets. Three of the projects are kitchens. The 2026 report was not on the report's index page when we checked, so 2025 is the latest we can cite.

The report's East North Central region page lists three Illinois cities: Bloomington, Chicago and Peoria. Springfield and the Chicago suburbs are not listed. Outside those three, there is no Illinois row to quote.

What the three tiers include

Each tier is a model project in a 200-square-foot kitchen with 30 linear feet of cabinets. This is what the report says each one includes.

Minor kitchen remodel, midrange

The model starts with a functional but dated kitchen. The cabinet boxes stay in place. The fronts are replaced with new shaker-style wood panels and drawer fronts, with new hardware. The project also includes a new range and refrigerator, countertops, a sink, flooring and paint.

Major kitchen remodel, midrange

The model updates an outmoded kitchen with a functional layout of 30 linear feet of semi-custom wood cabinets. It includes an island, laminate countertops and a new layout.

Major kitchen remodel, upscale

The model updates an outmoded kitchen with 30 linear feet of top-of-the-line custom white cabinets. It includes stone countertops and a built-in refrigerator.

What each recoups at resale

Cost vs. Value also reports an estimated resale value for each project and the share of the job cost that this value represents, which it calls cost recouped. The resale figures come from an online survey that Zonda sent to more than 6,000 Realtors. They are Realtors' opinions of the value a project adds, not sale results for any home.

The 2025 report estimates that a minor midrange remodel recoups 94.4% of its cost in Chicago, a major midrange remodel 44.2% and a major upscale remodel 30.6%. Read these as estimates for model projects. They do not say what any one house would sell for.

What Houzz says homeowners spent

Houzz Research published its 2026 Kitchen Trends Study on January 13, 2026. The survey ran from July 6 to 30, 2025 and drew 1,780 responses from registered Houzz users who had finished, were doing or planned a kitchen remodel. The medians below are for homeowners who finished a remodel by mid-2025. The spend is national, it has not been adjusted for inflation, and it does not cover homeowners who are not Houzz users.

Houzz defines a major remodel as one in which at least all the cabinets and appliances are replaced. A minor remodel is one in which not all of the cabinets and appliances are replaced. The 2025 study, which covered homeowners who finished by mid-2024, reported a median of $60,000 for a major remodel and $20,000 for a minor one. The two studies used different samples, so do not read the change between them as a trend.

The same Houzz study found that 87% of renovating homeowners hire at least one professional. General contractors were the most commonly hired at 48%. Dedicated kitchen remodelers were hired by 9%.

Why the two surveys do not match

They measure different things. Cost vs. Value prices model projects from itemized estimates for one fixed kitchen size. Houzz reports what survey respondents say they spent on their own kitchens, in a range of sizes. Houzz's own numbers move with kitchen size, as the table shows. Neither survey is a count of what Illinois homeowners paid.

What drives the price

The Cost vs. Value authors say that small differences in the size or scope of a project, or in the quality of finishes and accessories the homeowner chooses, can dramatically affect the price. They also say the report gives an accurate snapshot of the national housing market but is less successful at predicting an individual project at a particular address. That is all the sources we use here say about what moves a price, so this page gives no other rule of thumb.

The plain fact is that a written quote from a company that has seen your kitchen is the real number.

How to get a real number

• Get more than one estimate and get them in writing. The Illinois Attorney General says so on its home repair page.
• Compare each estimate with estimates from at least two other contractors, as the Attorney General's guide advises.
• On a job over $1,000, Illinois law requires a written contract that states the total cost, with parts and materials listed, and any charge for an estimate (815 ILCS 513/15). Kitchens are named in the Act (815 ILCS 513/10).
• Ask each company to describe the work in the contract. Read how to choose a kitchen remodeler and what the contract must say before you sign.

The minor tier keeps the cabinet boxes and the major tiers do not, so cabinets are one place the tiers differ. See cabinet refacing vs replacing for what each option is. For a company near you, start with Chicago, Peoria or any town in the Illinois city list.