What a kitchen remodel costs in Santa Clarita, and what nobody publishes

No survey publishes a price for this city. Three publish prices for Los Angeles and for the country, and they disagree with each other. The City permit fees are the one figure here that is exact.

Updated September 2026. Every figure checked at its own source, listed at the end.

Disclosure: this site makes introductions. It holds no contractor license and sets no prices. How this works

Short answer

No industry survey publishes a kitchen remodel price for Santa Clarita. The nearest published figures cover Los Angeles and the United States, and they run from the $48,010 that homeowners reporting a major kitchen remodel told the federal housing survey they spent, to $86,214 modeled for one defined Los Angeles scope. City of Santa Clarita permit fees are a separate line, and those can be worked out to the dollar (Harvard Joint Center, Improving America's Housing, Cost vs Value Report, Los Angeles).

Stage 02 of 06, where this sits

Nobody publishes a Santa Clarita price

Four organizations publish kitchen remodel figures and not one of them publishes a figure for Santa Clarita. The Cost vs Value Report goes down to the city, and its California cities are Fresno, Los Angeles, Modesto, Sacramento and San Francisco. The federal American Housing Survey goes down to the Los Angeles metro, which takes in Santa Clarita along with the rest of the county. Houzz and the Remodeling Impact Report publish nationally.

So this page gives you the Los Angeles figures and the national figures, labels which is which, and leaves the Santa Clarita range where the research left it, unpublished. A figure on a contractor website that names a Santa Clarita price traces to that contractor and to nothing else (Harvard Joint Center, Improving America's Housing).

For a price on your own kitchen, the free estimate page takes the details.

Render of a blank form on a clipboard with a pencil across its corner, on a dark wooden table. — **Render** · A blank sheet waiting for a real number.

Render of hands with a tape measure across a kitchen counter, a notepad and a pencil beside them. — **Render** · Measuring the counters before the written price.

What the published numbers say

A major midrange kitchen in Los Angeles is modeled at a job cost of $86,214, according to the Remodeling 2025 Cost vs Value Report (www.costvsvalue.com). The scope is fixed: a 200 square foot kitchen, 30 linear feet of semi custom wood cabinets with a 3 by 5 foot island, laminate countertops, a stainless sink, an energy efficient range, a vented hood, a built in microwave, a dishwasher, a disposal, custom lighting, new flooring and fresh paint. The same report models two more scopes on the same room: a minor midrange version, where the cabinet boxes stay and only the fronts and hardware change, at just under $30,000, and an upscale version with custom cabinets and stone counters at $171,369. All three are Los Angeles figures in the Cost vs Value Report.

Nothing moves in any of those three scopes. No layout change, no plumbing relocated, no wall opened and no electrical panel work (Cost vs Value Report, Los Angeles).

Homeowners answering the federal American Housing Survey for 2023 reported something lower. Among the 564,000 who did a major kitchen remodel, the average was $48,010. Among the 1,919,000 who did a minor one, the average was $7,084. The survey draws the line between the two at $30,000 for a professional kitchen job.

Homeowners surveyed by Houzz who finished a major remodel by the middle of 2025, meaning at least all the cabinets and all the appliances were replaced, reported a median of $55,000, with the top ten percent at $150,000 or more. For a minor remodel the median was $20,000.

Render of a steel tape measure laid along the full length of an old tiled kitchen counter, held at the far end by one hand. — **Render** · Cabinets are sold by the running foot.

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What homeowners reported spending on kitchen remodels, by survey. Each row is one survey measuring one definition, and the definitions differ.
Project	Reported	Survey	What it counts
Major kitchen remodel	$48,010 average	Federal American Housing Survey, 2023	Over $30,000, professional work, all US homeowners
Minor kitchen remodel	$7,084 average	Federal American Housing Survey, 2023	Under $30,000, professional work, all US homeowners
Major kitchen remodel	$55,000 median	Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, 2025 spend	All cabinets and appliances replaced, Houzz users
Minor kitchen remodel	$20,000 median	Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, 2025 spend	Not all cabinets and appliances replaced, Houzz users
Major, kitchen under 250 sq ft	$46,000 median	Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, 2025 spend	Top ten percent spent $120,000 or more
Major, kitchen 250 sq ft and over	$75,000 median	Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, 2025 spend	Top ten percent spent $150,000 or more

Why those numbers disagree

They are not measuring the same thing. The federal survey asks every kind of homeowner what they spent. Houzz asks people who are already using a remodeling site, and weights the answers so they represent Houzz users rather than homeowners in general. Cost vs Value asks nobody at all (Harvard Joint Center, Improving America's Housing).

The Cost vs Value job cost is a modeled estimate. It is built from federal price and wage data, the Consumer Price Index, the Producer Price Index, Personal Consumption Expenditures and installer wages, then localized for each market using Verisk estimating software. Its resale figures come from a separate survey of more than 6,000 real estate agents. No contractor's invoice goes into it (the Cost vs Value Report sets out its own method).

The report says so itself. It calls its numbers an accurate snapshot of the national housing market and less successful at predicting an individual project for a particular address, and it tells readers the best local step is to get estimates from local remodelers (the Cost vs Value Report's own guidance). That is worth more than any of the figures above it.

The word major does different work in each source too. For the federal survey it means over $30,000. For Houzz it means all the cabinets and all the appliances. For Cost vs Value it means one fixed 200 square foot scope. Three definitions, three answers (Harvard Joint Center, Improving America's Housing, Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, Cost vs Value Report, Los Angeles).

Render of two hands lifting one oak cabinet door off its hinges while the other doors stay in place. — **Render** · The cheapest defined scope leaves the boxes alone.

Render of four cabinet door styles set side by side: slab, shaker, raised panel and beadboard. — **Render** · Cabinet fronts, where the cheaper scope stops.

What the City charges

There is no flat kitchen remodel fee in the City of Santa Clarita. The building permit fee and the plan check fee both scale with the job valuation, and electrical, plumbing, mechanical and sewer fees are charged per item, under the City of Santa Clarita schedule effective August 24, 2026. The fee schedule has no line item for a kitchen (City of Santa Clarita adopted fee schedule).

Alongside those, each trade permit carries a $38 issuance fee and a $22 residential general inspection fee, there is $47 to process each new plan check submittal, and a record maintenance fee of 10 percent of the permit fees. Electrical work is $26 for the first receptacle, switch or light and $5 for each one after. Plumbing is $18 a fixture, $26 a gas outlet and $42 for a water heater (City of Santa Clarita fee brochure).

Starting permit required work before the permit is issued adds a fee of twice the permit fee, which the Building Official may adjust. That roughly triples what the permits cost. It does not triple the remodel (Santa Clarita Building Code, SCMC 18.02.110).

These figures cover addresses inside Santa Clarita city limits, so Valencia, Saugus, Newhall and Canyon Country. Castaic and Stevenson Ranch are unincorporated county and their fees are set elsewhere (City of Santa Clarita building fee brochure).

Continued: which permits a kitchen pulls

Render of plain cardboard cartons stacked down the middle of a kitchen stripped to bare studs. — **Render** · What a full scope looks like before it goes in.

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City of Santa Clarita building permit and plan check fees by job valuation, under the fee brochure effective August 24, 2026. City limits only.
Valuation	Building permit fee	Plan check fee
$0 to $5,000	$95	$146
$5,001 to $25,000	$95 plus $20.91 per $1,000 over $5,000	$146 plus $12.80 per $1,000 over $5,000
$25,001 to $50,000	$513.20 plus $14.44 per $1,000 over $25,000	$402 plus $10.30 per $1,000 over $25,000
$50,001 to $100,000	$874.20 plus $11.94 per $1,000 over $50,000	$659.50 plus $8.55 per $1,000 over $50,000
$100,001 to $300,000	$1,471.20 plus $8.17 per $1,000 over $100,000	$1,087 plus $8.17 per $1,000 over $100,000

Work out your own City fees

Every line below comes out of the City of Santa Clarita fee brochure, and the arithmetic is the brochure's own. Change the numbers to match your job (City of Santa Clarita building fee brochure).

Your job

Job valuationThe City works from a valuation. This page does not say who sets it.

Plan check submittals$47 each, when plans are required.

Receptacles, switches and light fixturesZero means no electrical permit.

Plumbing fixtures and permanent dishwashers$18 each. A plumbing permit adds $38 issuance and $22 inspection once.

Low pressure gas outlets$26 each.

Water heaters$42 each.

Drain, waste and vent repairs$42 each.

Plans are requiredSubpanel, meter or switch gear up to 400 ampsWork started before the permit was issued

Your City fees

Building permit$1,172.70

Plan check$873.25

Plan check processing$47.00

Electrical permit$141.00

Plumbing permit$132.00

Record maintenance, 10 percent of permit fees$144.57

Total City fees$2,510.52

Rounded to the nearest cent. Lines that do not apply to your job are hidden.

The fine print

These are City of Santa Clarita fees only, under the fee brochure effective August 24, 2026, for addresses inside city limits. Castaic and Stevenson Ranch are unincorporated Los Angeles County and their fees are set elsewhere.
This is an estimate of published fees. It is not a quote, an invoice or advice. The City sets the valuation a permit is charged against, and this page does not say how. Fees are revised annually and the City may charge items this calculator does not model.
Not included: mechanical and sewer permits, a main panel upgrade, plan rechecks and expedited review. A main panel upgrade up to 400 amps is $44 plus staff charges at an hourly rate the brochure does not publish, so it cannot be totaled here. Rechecks run 15 percent of the original plan check fee, and City documents differ on whether that starts at the third or the fourth check. Expediting adds 50 percent and is offered only above $100,000 valuation.
The $22 residential general inspection applies per permit on marked line items only. Whether a combination permit reduces the per permit fees is not stated in the brochure, so this calculator does not assume it does. Whether branch circuit and residential appliance items are charged per count is not stated either.
No remodel price, materials cost or labor cost is calculated here, and no figure from any industry survey feeds this calculator. Check the figure against the City before you rely on it.

Every figure in this calculator comes from: City of Santa Clarita building fee brochure, City of Santa Clarita adopted fee schedule, Santa Clarita Building Code

What comes back when you sell

Real estate agents surveyed for the 2025 Remodeling Impact Report estimated that a complete kitchen renovation returns 71 percent of its cost at resale, and a minor kitchen upgrade returns 67 percent. Those are national estimates, and the agents were told to picture a house in good condition, roughly 2,300 square feet, built after 1978, finished in standard quality materials. A good part of Newhall and Saugus predates 1978, so the assumption is worth holding in mind.

The Cost vs Value Report puts a major midrange kitchen in Los Angeles at 56.9 percent recouped. For its minor kitchen the same report prints a recouped figure above 100 percent, meaning the estimated resale gain exceeds the estimated job cost, which should tell you what kind of number it is. It comes from asking agents what a project would add to a sale price, so it is an opinion survey and never a record of sales, and the Cost vs Value Report says how it gathers them.

As for the 30 percent rule, the idea that a renovation should stay under 30 percent of what the house is worth: it is not a published standard. Searched in September 2026, every source stating it is a remodeling company writing on its own website. No industry body, no government agency and no appraisal organization publishes it. Cost recovery is published, and it is measured, and it is the two paragraphs above (Remodeling Impact Report, Cost vs Value Report, Los Angeles).

How homeowners borrow for a remodel, and the rule attached to each kind of loan, is on the financing page.

Render of one example single story stucco house with a two car garage, seen from across the street. — **Render** · One example house.

Next in the sequence

The four money questions

What is a realistic kitchen remodel budget in Santa Clarita?

There is no one number, and the published sources disagree for a reason worth knowing. Homeowners who told the federal American Housing Survey they finished a major kitchen remodel during 2023 spent an average of $48,010, where major means a professional job over $30,000. Homeowners surveyed by Houzz who finished a major remodel by the middle of 2025, meaning at least all the cabinets and all the appliances were replaced, reported a median of $55,000. The Remodeling 2025 Cost vs Value Report (www.costvsvalue.com) models a major midrange kitchen in Los Angeles at $86,214 for one tightly defined 200 square foot scope. The federal number is lower because it covers every homeowner. The Houzz number is higher because it covers people already using a remodeling site. The Los Angeles number is higher again because it models a full scope in one market. No survey publishes a figure for Santa Clarita, and City permit fees sit on top of all of them (Harvard Joint Center, Improving America's Housing, Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, Cost vs Value Report, Los Angeles).

What can $10,000 do in a kitchen remodel?

It pays for a real project, though not a new kitchen. Federal American Housing Survey data for 2023 shows 1.9 million homeowners doing minor kitchen remodels at an average of $7,084, so work at this level is ordinary. The same survey puts the line between minor and major at $30,000 for a professional kitchen job, which places $10,000 well inside minor. Houzz puts the median minor remodel at $20,000, so $10,000 sits below the middle even there. What no source shows at this level is a change of layout. The cheapest scope the Cost vs Value Report defines still leaves the cabinet boxes where they are. Inside Santa Clarita city limits a job valued at $10,000 also carries a building permit fee of $199.55 before plan check, trade permits or record maintenance (Harvard Joint Center, Improving America's Housing, Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, Cost vs Value Report, Los Angeles, City of Santa Clarita building fee brochure).

What is the 30 percent rule in remodeling?

It is not a published standard. Searched in September 2026, every source stating the 30 percent rule is a remodeling company writing on its own website. No industry body, no government agency and no appraisal organization publishes it. What is published is cost recovery, and that is measured. Agents surveyed for the 2025 Remodeling Impact Report estimated that a complete kitchen renovation returns 71 percent of its cost at resale and a minor kitchen upgrade returns 67 percent, nationally. The Remodeling 2025 Cost vs Value Report (www.costvsvalue.com) puts a major midrange kitchen in Los Angeles at 56.9 percent. Those two disagree because one asks about a 2,300 square foot house built after 1978 anywhere in the country and the other asks about one 200 square foot scope in one city. Neither is 30 percent of anything (Remodeling Impact Report, Cost vs Value Report, Los Angeles).

Can you remodel a kitchen for $30,000?

Yes, and $30,000 lands almost exactly on the line the federal government draws. The American Housing Survey counts a professional kitchen project as major once it passes $30,000, so a $30,000 job is the top of minor and the bottom of major. For what that buys, the closest defined scope is the minor midrange kitchen in the Remodeling 2025 Cost vs Value Report (www.costvsvalue.com), modeled at just under $30,000 in Los Angeles: a 200 square foot kitchen and 30 linear feet of cabinets, where the boxes stay and only the fronts, drawer fronts and hardware are replaced, laminate countertops again, a new range and refrigerator, a midpriced sink and faucet, new resilient flooring and fresh paint. Not in that scope: any layout change, any plumbing moved, any wall opened, any panel work. Houzz puts the median major remodel of a kitchen under 250 square feet at $46,000, so $30,000 sits below that too (Harvard Joint Center, Improving America's Housing, Cost vs Value Report, Los Angeles, Houzz Kitchen Trends Study).

Sources

Every figure on this page was read at its own source in September 2026 rather than taken from another remodeling website. City fees cover city limits only.