The Headline: Cost Per Linear Foot
Cabinets are priced by the linear foot, measured along the wall at base cabinet level, not around the room and not through the sink and range openings. Walk your base run with a tape, write down the number, and everything else on this page becomes arithmetic.
| Tier | Per linear foot | What you are buying |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | $75 to $150 | Stock carcases in fixed widths, filler strips where sizes do not land |
| Semi custom | $150 to $650 | A catalogue you can modify: sizes, finishes, some interior fittings |
| Premium | $300 to $800 | Better carcases and hardware, more of the layout decided by you |
| Luxury and full custom | $500 to $1,500+ | Built to your field dimensions, no catalogue involved |
Source: Bradco Kitchens, How Much Do Custom Cabinets Cost in Los Angeles (2026), updated 10 July 2026.
The same source puts Los Angeles at $500 to $1,500 per linear foot for custom work and describes that as approximately 25 percent above a national range of $400 to $1,200, attributing the premium to specialised labour, strict building codes and premium material preference. Two of those three apply to Lancaster; the labour premium largely does not, which is why quotes here tend toward the lower half.
What a Kitchen Costs at Those Rates
| Kitchen size | At $500/LF | At $1,500/LF | What that layout usually is |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 linear feet | $7,500 | $22,500 | Galley or small L |
| 25 linear feet | $12,500 | $37,500 | The common tract kitchen with an island |
| 35 linear feet | $17,500 | $52,500 | Larger L or U with island and pantry wall |
| 50 linear feet | $25,000 | $75,000 | Open plan, butler's pantry or second prep run |
Cabinetry only. Counters, appliances, flooring, electrical and plumbing are all separate. A 50 foot plus open plan layout is published as exceeding $75,000.
The 25 foot row is the one that matters most in the Antelope Valley, because it is roughly the size of a standard tract kitchen once an island is included. Lancaster holds 173,516 people across 94 square miles and grew through the decades when tract construction was the default, and Palmdale added another 169,450 with a similar housing profile, so a great many kitchens here are within a few feet of each other in size.
The Same Kitchen, Priced by Material
A second way to triangulate, using Thumbtack's national data for a standard kitchen.
| Material | Range | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Solid wood | $5,000 to $25,000 | Species and door complexity drive this, not the word wood |
| Wood veneer | $1,900 to $13,000 | A stable core with a real wood face. Frequently the best value here |
| Laminate | $4,000 to $15,000 | Durable and washable, and it cannot be refinished, only replaced |
Source: Thumbtack custom cabinet cost data, updated 8 July 2026.
Notice the overlap. Veneer bottoms out well below laminate and tops out below solid wood, which is why a stable core with a real wood face is often the best value in a dry climate: you get the appearance of solid timber with far less of its dimensional movement. That argument is made in full in the materials guide.
National Project Figures, and Why They Look Low
| Measure | Figure | What it reflects |
|---|---|---|
| Typical project range | $1,447 to $5,294 | Where most custom cabinet projects land |
| Project average | $2,817 | Pulled down by small jobs like a single vanity |
| Low end | $552 | A single small cabinet |
| High end | $13,423 | A substantial kitchen, still below a luxury LA build |
National, updated 8 July 2026. This category counts a single vanity alongside a whole kitchen, which is why the average sits far below any kitchen total.
These are the numbers people find first and misread most. An average of $2,817 does not mean a kitchen costs $2,817. It means the category called custom cabinets contains a great many small jobs: one vanity, one built-in, a run of garage cabinets. Use this table for small projects and the linear foot tables for kitchens.
Installation, Priced Two Ways
Installation gets quoted either as labour by the linear foot or as one figure for the job, and Thumbtack publishes both. Read the row labels carefully before comparing anything to your own quote: the $50 to $70 is labour alone, while the tier rows below it are installed cost, meaning cabinets and fitting together on the same measured wall.
| Line item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Typical installation job | $482 to $2,167 |
| Average installation job | About $1,044 |
| Full range seen, low to high | $164 to $6,187 |
| Installer labour, per linear foot | $50 to $70 |
| Installed cost per linear foot, stock | $75 to $400+ |
| Installed cost per linear foot, semi custom | $150 to $900+ |
| Installed cost per linear foot, custom | $500 to $1,400+ |
Source: Thumbtack, cost to install kitchen cabinets, updated 8 July 2026. National figures. The tier rows are installed cost per linear foot, not per cabinet and not labour alone.
The worked example on that page is worth holding onto as a sanity check: a standard kitchen lands just under $5,000 in total, made up of about $900 of installation and about $4,000 of cabinets. That is a national figure for a modest stock or semi custom kitchen, so it sits well below any custom Lancaster number, but the ratio it implies is the useful part.
Custom installation costs more per linear foot than stock for concrete reasons rather than for positioning: custom units are heavier, they vary in size across a run so each is set individually, and far more of them meet a wall that needs scribing. In Antelope Valley tract housing, where walls lean and floors fall toward a slab edge as a matter of routine, scribing is a real line of work rather than a formality. The installation page explains what it involves.
Across a whole cabinet project, labour typically accounts for 20 to 30 percent of the total. A quote that separates cabinetry from installation is doing you a favour, because it lets you see which half is driving the number.
Add-On Line Items, Where Quotes Diverge
| Item | Figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Crown molding | About $70 per 8 ft section | Runs along the top of uppers. Priced by length, not by cabinet |
| Finished end panel | $100 to $200 each | Covers an exposed carcase side. You need one at every visible end |
| Old cabinet removal and disposal | About $300 | Ask explicitly whether this sits inside or outside the quote |
| Box installation, per cabinet | About $100 | Thumbtack's simple per box figure for straightforward work |
Source: Thumbtack custom cabinet cost data. National figures.
Finished end panels are the one people forget. Every exposed carcase side needs one, and in a typical kitchen with a peninsula and a run beside a refrigerator that is three or four panels at $100 to $200 each. Old cabinet removal at around $300 is the other: ask explicitly whether it is inside or outside the quoted number, because it is genuinely done both ways.
The Six Decisions That Actually Move a Quote
1. Cabinet count, especially drawers
The primary driver, ahead of size, material and everything else. A drawer is a box inside a box on a pair of slides, so a three drawer base always prices above a door base of the same width. Specialty interiors compound it: waste pull outs, tray dividers, roll out shelves and corner mechanisms all add hardware and labour per unit.
2. Box material
Plywood, particleboard, MDF and solid lumber each cost differently and behave differently. Plywood is worth paying for at the sink base and wherever a hinge plate or a wall cleat is carrying load. Everywhere else in a Lancaster kitchen, where the air averages 6.81 inches of rain a year, a good particleboard carcase is stable and perfectly legitimate.
3. Door construction and style
Part count and profile complexity set the price. A plain slab is cheapest, a shaker frame with a flat panel is next, and a raised panel with an applied moulding is the most labour. The door styles guide runs through all of them.
4. Finish
Paint costs more than stain on the same door, which surprises people. A stained clear finish is three or four operations; a painted finish is sanding, filling, priming, sanding again, two colour coats and often a clear over the top, with no tolerance for a rejected panel. Glazing, distressing and two tone schemes stack further labour on top. The painted versus stained guide has the full comparison.
5. Hardware
Soft close concealed hinges and full extension undermount slides are the current baseline and are worth it, because you operate them thousands of times a year. Cheap side mount runners and unadjustable hinges are how a low quote gets low. Handles are a smaller number than people assume and the easiest thing to change later. See cabinet hardware.
6. Site conditions
Out of plumb walls, floors that fall toward a slab edge, inconsistent soffit heights, a gas stub in the wrong place and a drain sitting proud of the wall all cost installation time. A quote produced from a real site survey prices them. A quote produced from photographs finds them later, which always costs more.
How to Make Three Quotes Comparable
The single most useful thing you can do before asking for prices is write down the six decisions above yourself, then ask every shop to price against that same specification. Quotes stop being mysteriously different the moment they are describing the same job.
- Total linear feet of base cabinets, measured along the wall.
- Number of drawer banks versus door bases, decided rather than left open.
- Carcase material per location, with plywood called out at the sink base.
- Door style, overlay type and reveal dimension.
- Finish: painted or stained, and how many coats.
- Hinge and slide type, with soft close and full extension stated explicitly.
- Interior fittings per cabinet: waste pull out, roll outs, tray dividers, corner mechanism.
- Who removes and disposes of the old kitchen.
- A scribe allowance for walls that are not straight.
- The CSLB licence number, written on the quote.
What California Law Says About Paying for It
Three rules govern the money on any cabinet job here, and they are worth knowing before the conversation rather than after it.
The contract has to be written. Business and Professions Code section 7159 applies where the aggregate contract price exceeds $500, and subdivision (d) requires that a home improvement contract and any changes to it be in writing and signed by the parties before work commences. That includes change orders.
The deposit is capped. Section 7159.5(a)(3) states that if a downpayment will be charged, it shall not exceed $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract amount, whichever is less. Subdivision (a)(5) adds that except for the downpayment, the contractor shall neither request nor accept payment exceeding the value of the work performed or material delivered.
There is usually a cancellation window.Section 7159 sets out a three business day right to cancel, or five for a senior citizen, with anything paid returned within ten days. The notable exception is a contract negotiated at the contractor's place of business, which means a contract signed in a showroom may carry no window at all. All of this is set out with the statutory wording on the permits and licensing guide.
Where It Is Sensible to Save, and Where It Is Not
Sensible savings
Handles, because they are cheap to change later. Open shelving in a display position, which costs less than a cabinet and often looks better. Fewer, better drawers rather than more, cheaper ones. Keeping the existing layout where it genuinely works, which removes the plumbing and electrical permit entirely. And phasing: doing the kitchen now and the laundry next year costs more overall but spreads it, though doing them together is always cheaper per room.
False economies
Particleboard at the sink base. Three quarter extension drawer runners. Skipping the scribe allowance, which does not remove the problem, it just moves it into a change order. Glued door panels instead of floating ones, which in a climate this dry is a split waiting for a season change. And accepting an unlicensed quote to save the margin, when Business and Professions Code section 7048 only exempts unlicensed work below $1,000 in aggregate contract price.
Sources for Every Figure on This Page
Nothing here is estimated. These are the three pages every number came from, all read on 30 September 2026.
- Bradco Kitchens, How Much Do Custom Cabinets Cost in Los Angeles (2026), updated 10 July 2026→
Los Angeles per linear foot bands, tier breakdown, kitchen totals by linear footage, labour share
- Thumbtack, How much do custom cabinets cost, updated 8 July 2026→
National project averages, per linear foot semi custom, material bands for a standard kitchen, add-on line items
- Thumbtack, Cost to install kitchen cabinets, updated 8 July 2026→
National installation job range and average, installer labour per linear foot, installed cost per linear foot by tier
Where to Go Next
For what you are buying at these prices, start with custom cabinets or kitchen cabinets. For the cheaper paths, see refacing and the refacing versus replacing guide. For what tier you actually need, read custom versus semi custom versus stock. Or send your linear footage and the town for a real number.