Kitchen Remodel ROI: What It Adds to Home Value

Return on investment for a kitchen has two parts: what the remodel adds to the price a buyer will pay, and what it gives you while you live there. Only the first can be measured, and the standard measurement is Remodeling magazine's Cost vs. Value Report, published by Zonda. This page gives the kitchen figures from that report, says exactly which year and region they cover, and explains what they can and cannot tell you about a house in Vancouver.

What the Cost vs. Value Report measures

The report compares the cost of a set of defined remodeling projects with the value those projects are estimated to add at resale, market by market. The most recent edition is the 2025 report, Zonda's 38th annual, released September 18, 2025. It covers 28 remodeling projects in 119 U.S. markets. As of October 2026 no 2026 edition had been found, so the 2025 figures are the latest.

"Cost recouped" is resale value divided by job cost. A figure above 100% means the project is estimated to add more to the sale price than it cost. A figure of 50% means half the cost comes back at sale.

2025 Cost vs. Value: Pacific region and national

The Pacific region is the report's grouping that includes markets such as Seattle, Spokane, Medford and Sacramento. These rows are from the 2025 edition.

Zonda's own announcement of the 2025 report ranked the minor kitchen remodel fifth nationally and called it the only interior project in the top five.

2024 Cost vs. Value: the Portland market

What the figures show

Read across both tables and one pattern holds in every column: the smaller the project, the larger the share of its cost that comes back at resale.

• The minor remodel recoups the most. In the 2025 Pacific figures and the 2024 Portland figures it is the only kitchen project estimated to return more than it cost.
• Major remodels recoup a fraction. In both editions the midrange major remodel returned roughly half to two-thirds of its cost, depending on the region.
• Upscale finishes recoup the smallest share in every column. Buyers pay more for a high-end kitchen, but not in proportion to what it cost.
• The Pacific region runs ahead of the national figures for every kitchen project in both editions.

What the figures do not show

• They are not local. A regional figure blends very different housing markets. It says nothing about your street.
• They describe standard projects. The report prices its own defined scopes. Your kitchen, with its own layout and selections, is not one of them.
• They move from year to year. The national minor kitchen figure went from 96.1% in the 2024 edition to 112.9% in the 2025 edition. A single year's percentage is not a forecast.
• They assume a sale. The report estimates value at resale. It does not measure what the kitchen is worth to the people cooking in it.
• They are estimates. Nobody can know what a specific buyer will pay for a specific kitchen until the house sells.

This guide quotes only the kitchen rows. The source pages listed below have the full tables and the publisher's notes.

Remodeling to sell

If you expect to sell soon, the report points toward restraint. The kitchen project that returns the most in its tables is the smaller one, which it calls a minor kitchen remodel, not the major rebuild. In the terms used in this guide, that is closer to a cosmetic refresh or a pull-and-replace than to a full gut.

Before spending anything to prepare a house for sale, ask a local real estate agent what buyers in your neighborhood expect and what comparable homes have. A kitchen finished to a higher level than the rest of the house, or the rest of the street, is the classic way to spend money that does not come back. Check too that any earlier work was permitted, because Washington's seller disclosure form asks about it, as explained in unpermitted kitchen work.

Remodeling to stay

If you plan to live in the house for years, resale percentage is the wrong yardstick. A major remodel that recoups half its cost at sale has still given you a kitchen that works, every day, for as long as you own it. The questions that matter are different:

• Does the layout solve the problems that made you want to remodel?
• Is the budget one you are comfortable with regardless of what a buyer might pay later?
• Are the unseen parts, such as wiring, plumbing and ventilation, done properly, so the kitchen lasts?
• Are the finishes ones you like, not ones chosen for an imagined buyer?

Putting a number on your own project

Resale figures tell you roughly how much of a budget a future buyer might pay back. They do not tell you what your kitchen will cost. For that, start with JDI Construction's kitchen cost calculator, then read how to budget a kitchen remodel. If you want to talk through whether a lighter or a fuller scope makes sense for how long you plan to stay, JDI's page on kitchen remodeling in Vancouver explains how to arrange a free in-home consultation.