The short answer
Budget $500 to $1,200 per linear foot for custom cabinets in California, or $500 to $1,400 per cabinet installed. For a twenty cabinet kitchen that puts the custom range at roughly $10,000 to $28,000 before counters, appliances, flooring or electrical work. Santa Maria quotes tend toward the lower half of the California band because Central Coast labour rates sit below Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
Cost per linear foot, California
California cabinet makers publish $500 to $1,200 per linear foot for custom cabinets statewide. Regional figures from Los Angeles and San Jose cabinet makers run $500 to $1,500 per linear foot, with luxury solid hardwood work above $1,500. These are cabinet maker published ranges rather than survey data, which is worth knowing, but they are consistent across several independent shops.
| Market | Per linear foot | Source type |
|---|---|---|
| California, statewide | $500 to $1,200 | Cabinet maker published range |
| Los Angeles and San Jose | $500 to $1,500 | Regional cabinet maker published ranges |
| Luxury solid hardwood | Above $1,500 | Cabinet maker published range |
California figures, not Santa Maria figures. Central Coast labour generally runs below LA and Bay Area rates.
Linear feet are measured along the wall, counting each run of cabinets once. A galley kitchen with an 12 foot run and an 8 foot run is 20 linear feet. An island is measured as its own run. At the middle of the California band, 20 linear feet is around $17,000.
Cost per cabinet installed, by tier
Per cabinet is the other useful way to test a quote, and it is the number that shows you what the three tiers actually cost relative to each other.
| Tier | Installed per cabinet | 20 cabinet kitchen |
|---|---|---|
| Stock | $75 to $400 | $1,500 to $8,000 |
| Semi custom | $150 to $900 | $3,000 to $18,000 |
| Custom | $500 to $1,400 | $10,000 to $28,000 |
Source: Thumbtack cost data, national figures. The right hand column is arithmetic from the per cabinet range, not a quoted figure.
Thumbtack also publishes a whole project figure for custom cabinets: a national average of $2,817, with a typical range of $1,447 to $5,294, a low of $552 and a high of $13,423. That looks far cheaper than the per cabinet maths above because it counts single vanity swaps and small built ins alongside whole kitchens. Use the per cabinet figures for a kitchen and the project figure only for small jobs. What actually separates the three tiers →
Cost by material, for a full kitchen
Material sets the band and cabinet count sets your position inside it. Thumbtack's material figures for a standard sized kitchen:
| Material | Standard kitchen | What drives the spread |
|---|---|---|
| Solid hardwood | $5,000 to $25,000 | Maple, cherry, oak and pine all sit in this band. Door complexity and cabinet count, not species. |
| Wood veneer | $1,900 to $13,000 | Real wood face over a stable core. Cheapest route to a genuine wood look. |
| Laminate | $4,000 to $15,000 | Hard wearing, easy to clean, limited to flat and simple profiles. |
Source: Thumbtack cost data, national figures for a standard sized kitchen.
Note that laminate is not automatically the cheap option. A good laminate kitchen with plywood boxes costs more than a poor hardwood one with particleboard boxes, because the box is a separate decision from the face.
The line items people forget
Four items routinely add a four figure sum to a kitchen and routinely appear on the invoice rather than on the quote. Ask about all four before you sign.
| Item | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Installation per cabinet box | about $100 | Labour only, on top of the cabinets themselves. |
| Remove existing cabinets | about $300 | The single most commonly assumed and least commonly quoted line. |
| Crown moulding | about $70 per 8 ft section | Priced per section, so a long run of uppers adds up. |
| Finished ends | $100 to $200 each | Any cabinet end that is visible rather than buried against a wall. |
Source: Thumbtack cost data, national figures.
A fifth line worth asking about is hardware. Hinges, drawer slides and pulls are sometimes included at a stated specification and sometimes carried as an unnamed allowance you top up later. Pulls alone run from a few dollars to well over thirty each, and a kitchen needs around thirty of them.
What refacing costs in Santa Maria specifically
Cabinet refacing in Santa Maria runs $1,525 to $2,391 for a standard 12 cabinet kitchen in laminate, about $127 to $199 per cabinet. This is the only figure on this page modelled for Santa Maria rather than for California or the nation. The model breaks it down as roughly 26.2 hours of labour at $927 to $1,638, materials and supplies at $545 to $683, and an equipment allowance of $53 to $71. Wood veneer refacing on the same kitchen is estimated at $2,000 to $6,000.
| Option | Cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Laminate refacing | $1,525 to $2,391 | homeyou cost model for Santa Maria CA |
| Wood veneer refacing | $2,000 to $6,000 | homeyou estimate |
| Custom replacement | $6,000 to $16,800 | Arithmetic from Thumbtack's $500 to $1,400 per cabinet, national |
The refacing figures are modelled from labour hour build ups rather than from quotes. Treat them as a range to test a quote against.
The comparison only holds if your existing boxes are sound. The refacing page has the six point inspection that decides it →
How to read a cabinet quote
- Is the box material named? Plywood or particleboard, what thickness, full back panel or thin skin. A quote that describes the door in detail and the box in one word is hiding the expensive decision.
- Is every cabinet listed with its size? A lump sum with no schedule cannot be compared against another lump sum.
- Is hardware specified or allowanced? Named hinges and slides, or a dollar figure you will exceed.
- Is removal of the existing kitchen included? About $300 of work that is easy to assume.
- Are finished ends and crown counted? $100 to $200 per end and about $70 per 8 foot crown section.
- Is there a CSLB licence number on the document? Check it on the register before you sign, not after.
- Are approximate start and completion dates on it? California requires them on a home improvement contract.
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. They are linked so you can check them rather than take our word for it.
- Thumbtack: custom cabinet cost →National per cabinet, per material and whole project figures, plus crown moulding, finished ends and removal.
- Thumbtack: cost to install kitchen cabinets →National installation figures, including the per box and per linear foot labour rates.
- homeyou: cabinet refacing costs in Santa Maria CA →The Santa Maria specific refacing model, with its labour hour and materials breakdown.
- Ronbow: custom kitchen cabinet cost in California →The $500 to $1,200 per linear foot California statewide range.
Where to go next
For the full picture on materials, contracts and process, read the custom cabinets page. For the tier comparison in detail, see custom vs semi custom vs stock. For permits, licensing and the contract rules, see the permit and licensing guide. When you want a real number, request a written quote.