Thirty inches: the width the rest of the run lines up against
Reviewed September 2026 · Captivating Cabinets
Thirty inches is where a kitchen finds its rhythm. The range is 30″, so the cabinet above it is 30″, so the run either side falls into step — and once the range wall is set, the opposite wall usually copies it. Sixty-nine units carry this width, second only to 24″, and unlike 24″ they reach every department in the store.
How a 30″ column stacks from the floor up
A base box is 34½″ high and a countertop adds about 1½″, putting the finished counter at 36″. The conventional gap to the underside of the uppers is 18″, landing them at 54″. From there the wall height decides where the run stops — and it lands, deliberately, on the numbers the tall cabinets are built to.
| Wall cabinet height | Bottom sits at | Top sits at | Tall cabinet it lines up with | Suits a ceiling of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30″ — W3030, $383.50 | 54″ | 84″ | 84″ pantry | 8 ft, with crown or a soffit above |
| 36″ — W3036, $451.75 | 54″ | 90″ | 90″ pantry | 8 ft, run tight to the ceiling line |
| 42″ — W3042, $526.50 | 54″ | 96″ | 96″ pantry | 9 ft, or 8 ft with no crown |
The range wall, and the four ways to cover it
Above a 30″ range the catalog gives four answers at four price points. MW3018 at $360.75 is the plain microwave wall cabinet. The MC family — four codes from $708.50 to $773.50 — are microwave walls built to sit in a taller run; check the listed height against your drawing. WAC3018 at $796.25 is the appliance wall cabinet. Or fit a hood and flank it with two narrow uppers, the option that photographs best and stores least.
Whichever you choose, the appliance decides the numbers. Over-the-range microwaves publish a required clearance above the cooking surface; hoods publish their own. Get them from the spec sheet before the cabinet order goes in — a microwave cabinet hung two inches low cannot be fixed with trim.
What else the width carries
The wall list is the deepest of any width — nine families, 33 units, $234.00 to $796.25. Nine plain doubles from W3012 to W3042; four refrigerator walls in 24″ depth, W301524 through W302424, that reach over the appliance; four blind corners; four open NDW boxes; four WOS shelf units; a wine rack; a wall organizer; and the microwave and appliance cabinets above.
The base list runs $172.25 to $845.00 and covers more ground than any narrower width: SB30-1 at $461.50, the farm-sink FS30-1 at $806.00, the oven base BOC30-1 at $598.00, BMC30-1 at $695.50 and the drawer banks at $835.25 and $845.00. Then a pantry from $1,443.00 to $1,807.00, five vanity codes topped by the VSD30 combos at $757.25, a lit floating shelf from $539.50 and a vanity appliance rack at $240.50.
The cheapest base in the catalog is at this width
KD30-1 displays at $172.25 — less than a 12″ wall cabinet, and the lowest price on any base-list item at any width. It is a knee drawer: a shallow unit that fits under a countertop where someone needs to sit, at a desk run or a seated prep station. That is why it looks like an anomaly beside the $845.00 drawer bank.
The farm-sink base is the other piece worth calling out. FS30-1 at $806.00 and its 33″ sibling are cut for an apron front, and the sink’s cutout drawing — not the cabinet name — decides which you need. We check that pairing on every order, because the mistake surfaces at the template stage.
Common questions
- How high above the counter should wall cabinets be?
- Eighteen inches, which puts the underside of the uppers at 54″ over a 36″ counter. From there a 30″ wall tops out at 84″, a 36″ at 90″ and a 42″ at 96″ — the heights the tall cabinets come in.
- What size cabinet goes above a 30 inch range?
- A 30″ unit, to match the appliance: a microwave wall cabinet at $360.75, the four MC microwave walls at $708.50 to $773.50, an appliance wall cabinet at $796.25, or a hood with narrow uppers either side. Take the clearance from the appliance spec.
- How much is a 30 inch pantry cabinet?
- $1,443.00 to $1,807.00 across eight double-door codes covering 84, 90, 93 and 96″ heights in both 12″ and 24″ depths. It is the width at which a pantry starts to hold a genuine shop.
- Does a 30 inch wall cabinet line up with a 30 inch base cabinet?
- In width, yes — centre one over the other and the door edges align. In depth, no: the base is 24″ deep and the upper 12″. The room reads the vertical line of the door edges, so equal reveals matter more than box depth.
- What is a knee drawer cabinet?
- A shallow drawer unit that fits under a counter where someone needs to sit — a desk run or a seated prep station. KD30-1 at $172.25 is the least expensive item on the base list at any width.
Keep reading
The guides behind the numbers on this page.
- Important kitchen dimensions before buying cabinets
The counter height, backsplash gap and clearance numbers the stack on this page is built from.
- Wall and tall cabinet sizes and buying guide
Choosing between 30, 36 and 42″ uppers for your ceiling, and what each does to the crown detail.
- Kitchen cabinet molding types
What closes the gap between the top of a 30″ upper and an 8 ft ceiling, and how the profiles differ.
- Types of base cabinets
Sink base, farm sink base and oven base compared — three of them live at this width.
- 10x10 kitchen cabinets
The industry benchmark layout, most of it built from boxes at this width and 24″.
- Kitchen cabinet ideas
Range walls done four different ways, which is the decision this width forces on you.