IMO, for this budget, better stick with an mid level induction range. Its performance can easily beat the gas range around this price.

Thanks, eshmh, is there a brand or model you'd recommend checking out?

Some questions and maybe some clarifications, adding to what esmh said.

First, when you are thinking of a cooktop and separate wall oven, are you planning on putting the cooktop over the oven or will you have the oven elsewhere?

Second, what exactly is it you have in mind with the term "push in range?" That term seems to cover a number of possibilities. Industry jargon uses the terms "freestanding" and "slide-in." There are also "pro-style" ranges and a hybrid form represented by GE's Cafe line. The basic differences between the types are:

* free-standing style ranges have an oven vent riser in a thick backsplash which holds the oven controls (burner controls down front for gas ranges but on the backsplash for electric ranges including induction). On esmh's search from AJ Madison, the fourth stove is a freestanding model (the Whirlpool model with the double-ovens).

* slide-ins have no backsplash, have all controls in front, have cooktop lips on the sides to cover gaps between the stove and countertops (but may sit higher than your countertops if you don't have them a bit higher than the standard 35"), and may have oven vents across the back (as with the GE induction slide-in on esmh's list) or may have the oven vent at the front of the range (as with the Samsung and Frigidaire slide-ins on the list.)

* So called "pro-style" ranges are have thin risers at the rear for the oven vents but more open space on the stovetop (so more bigger pots at a time) and, with gas versions, have more strong, full range burners (major brand 30" gas ranges tend to have one or two power burners and two or three smaller burners). Apart from what you might find on Craigslist, the only pro-style brand within your budget is the all-gas NXR (priced at $2k but Costco periodically has it for $200 or $300 less.) May or may not be to your liking because it is pretty industrial looking and has no real features beyond convection in the oven and a flame sensor burner ignitor that will re-light a burner if the flame blows out.)

* Ge Cafe ranges are a hybrid -- they look-like standard slide-ins but, like pro-style stoves, do not have the cooktop lips on the sides while, like many of the curent crop of mid-tohigh priced major brand stoves, they add a fifth burner in the center (for running a pancake griddle.) No induction versions yet in the line of Cafe ranges. All models priced a bit above your budget but still a possibility during holiday discount sales and on Craigslist. The first Cafe models from five years ago had some design issues but those got ironed out and reviews here have been pretty favorable from 2012 onwards. Take that into account when looking at offerings on Craigslist.

Third, FWIW, ajmadison's search engine is sometimes wonky and the Frigidiare on the linked list is a standard radiant electric slide-in, not the induction slide-in model. The model you want to look at is the Gallery Series FGIS3065PF. It lists for $2K but typically sells for under $1500 which you can see when you put the range in the "cart." This is currently the least expensive induction slide-in range. (You will see that AJ Madison often has "sale ends today" for months at a time. If you can put the appliance in the cart, you will often see a significantly lower price.)

Fourth, I'm not up on gas cooktops or gas ovens. A search on sites like AJ Madison and Lowe's will turn up numbers of 30" gas cooktop choices from GE and Frigidaire/electrolux (in the sub $1k price range) and Thermador (around $1200, IIRC). A lot of folks here have commented on their preference for "rangetops" which is what esmh has. These cooktops look like the top part of a stove with knobs on a panel in front rather than sitting on top of the cooktop with the burners. But, if those do not eat up your budget entirely, they won't leave much for buying the oven. You might find a deal on Craigslist, though, as you note, so still something to consider.

Fifth, it seems to me that you would have a lot more choices with electric wall ovens.than with gas. Is there a reason you are focused on having a gas wall oven?

Sixth, there are plenty of induction cooktops that are priced to eat your entire target budget, but there are some pretty decent budget-friendly versions. Models to consider might start with Frigidaire's new model. I think Kaseki recently replaced a failed Kenmore from the last decade with the new Frigidaire (model FGIC3067, I think). He has had good things to say about it and the reviews he found. (Now that I've mentioned his name, maybe he will notice this thread and comment further.) Other model/brands --- within your target budget --- that have been discussed favorably here are the Bosch 500 series (which has timers for individual burners) and GE's "Profile" series. (The latest GE Profile induction cooktops apparently can use with a Bluetooth temperature probe to control the burner settings to regulate temps in a pot to +/- 1°F). These will run under $1300 and leave you enough of your budget for a gas or electric wall oven.

Finally, do you have a preference on wall oven size?

Thanks for all of the great info, jwvideo!

I don't really have a preference among the different types of freestanding/slide in ranges (thanks for the clarification).

If I did get a wall oven, it would probably go under the cooktop. I'm open to electric. My husband seems to think it's 'better' to have separate units but I'm not sure where this belief comes from (and he is not the cook haha).

30 inches, 4 burners.. I'd love a 36 inch oven but I think that's out of my price range. I want something reliable that works well. From what I see, aesthetically appealling is completely out of my budget, but again, I have time to look for some freak bargain :)

Regarding why a separate wall over and cooktop are thought to be "better."

Two reasons I've seen suggested here:

One is that a failure of one function does not take down all your cooking facility. If a control panel in the oven conks out, it does not take down your cooktop and vice versa.

Second is that you can put the the oven in an elevated location where it is easier to use and maybe out of the way of toddlers. (Obviously does not apply when you put the oven beneath a cooktop.)

Be aware that different cooktops and ovens have different clearance and other restrictions. Some do an "over and under" more easily than others. Best to check the intall instructions. If memory serves, sjhockeyfan has posted about some of the issues and gyrations that were required in their kitchen to get an "over and under" set up.

Exactly right! I investigated an over/under arrangement for a particular drop-in cooktop that I was interested in. For reasons I don't recall now, that solution was not feasible. IIRC, the issue was clearance restrictions as jwv mentioned above. In the end, we picked up an NXR from Costco and have been pleased with it thus far.