Moving Guide

What Moving Actually Costs

Moving costs are one of those expenses nobody budgets for properly. A local move (under 100 miles) averages $1,200-$2,500 for a 3-bedroom home with full-service movers. An interstate move averages $4,500-$7,500, and that number climbs fast with distance and weight. A cross-country move from New York to LA easily hits $8,000-$12,000 with professional movers.

Those are averages. The actual cost depends on four variables: distance, weight (or cubic footage), time of year, and how much the movers have to do. Moving in June-August (peak season) costs 20-30% more than a January move. Weekend moves cost more than midweek. First and last days of the month cost more because that’s when leases turn over.

Your Options: Full Service, Hybrid, or DIY

Full-Service Movers

They pack, load, transport, unload, and unpack. This is the most expensive option ($3,000-$12,000 depending on distance) but also the least stressful. For local moves, companies charge by the hour: $100-$200/hour for a 2-person crew, $150-$300/hour for 3 people. A typical 3-bedroom local move takes 6-10 hours of labor.

For interstate moves, pricing is by weight. The average 3-bedroom home weighs 7,500-10,000 pounds. At $0.50-$0.70 per pound per 1,000 miles, a 2,000-mile move costs $7,500-$14,000 before extras.

Moving Containers (PODS, 1-800-PACK-RAT, U-Pack)

A container is dropped at your home. You load it yourself (or hire labor separately for $300-$600). The company transports it. This hybrid approach runs 20-40% less than full-service: $2,000-$5,000 for interstate moves. The trade-off: you’re doing the physical labor of packing and loading, but the driving is handled.

Container pricing is straightforward: you pay for the container size and the distance. A 16-foot container (fits a 2-3 bedroom apartment) costs $2,500-$4,500 for a cross-country move. You can keep the container at your new home for loading/unloading flexibility, which is a huge advantage over rental trucks.

DIY (Truck Rental)

Rent a truck from U-Haul, Penske, or Budget and do everything yourself. Local: $50-$150/day plus mileage. One-way long distance: $1,200-$3,500 depending on distance and truck size. A 26-foot truck fits most 3-4 bedroom homes.

Hidden DIY costs people forget: fuel ($200-$800 for long distance — these trucks get 6-10 MPG), insurance ($40-$100), tolls, lodging if multi-day drive, pizza and beer for friends who help you load, and the very real risk of injuring yourself. If you value your time at $30/hour, the 20-40 hours of packing, loading, driving, and unloading add $600-$1,200 in opportunity cost.

Moving Timeline: What to Do When

• 8 weeks before: Get quotes from 3-5 movers (or book your container/truck). Declutter aggressively — every pound you don’t move saves money. Start using up freezer and pantry items.
• 6 weeks before: Book your mover. Good crews get booked up, especially in summer. Start packing non-essential rooms (guest room, garage, storage).
• 4 weeks before: File change of address with USPS ($1.10 online). Notify banks, credit cards, insurance, subscriptions. Schedule utility disconnects at old home and connections at new home.
• 2 weeks before: Pack most of the house. Label every box with room AND contents. A box labeled “Kitchen – pots and pans” is 10x more useful than “Kitchen Stuff.”
• 1 week before: Confirm with movers. Pack a “first night” box: toilet paper, paper towels, basic tools, phone chargers, sheets, towels, change of clothes, coffee maker, snacks. This box goes in your car, not the truck.
• Moving day: Be present. Walk through the empty home to check every closet, cabinet, and shelf. Read the meter readings. Take timestamped photos of the empty home for security deposit purposes (renters) or condition documentation (sellers).

How to Hire Movers Without Getting Scammed

The moving industry has a real scam problem. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration logs thousands of complaints annually about hostage loads (movers refuse to deliver until you pay an inflated price), damaged goods, and no-show crews.

Protect yourself:

• Check FMCSA registration. Every interstate mover must have a USDOT number. Look it up at FMCSA SAFER. No number = don’t hire them.
• Get binding estimates. A “non-binding estimate” means the final price can change. A “binding estimate” locks the price. A “binding not-to-exceed estimate” is the best — the price can go down but not up.
• Never pay a large deposit upfront. Legitimate movers collect payment on delivery. A demand for 25%+ upfront before they’ve loaded anything is a red flag.
• Read reviews carefully. Look for specific, detailed reviews. A company with 4.8 stars from 30 reviews is less reliable than 4.4 stars from 800 reviews. Watch for patterns: repeated mentions of hidden fees, late arrivals, or damage.
• Photograph everything valuable. Before the movers touch anything, photograph your electronics, furniture, and fragile items. This is your documentation for damage claims.

Tipping Movers

Tipping isn’t mandatory but it’s expected and deserved when the crew does good work. Standard practice: $5-$10 per mover per hour for local moves, or $20-$50 per person for a full day. For a 4-person crew on an 8-hour move, $100-$200 total in tips is standard. For interstate moves: $50-$100 per person for the loading crew, same for the delivery crew.

Also provide water, Gatorade, and snacks. Moving is brutal physical work, especially in summer heat. A crew that’s hydrated and fed will handle your belongings with more care.

Moving Insurance

Movers are required to offer two levels of liability protection:

• Released Value ($0.60 per pound per item): This is the free default. Your 50-pound TV is covered at $30. That’s not a typo. This coverage is essentially worthless for anything valuable.
• Full Value Protection: The mover must repair, replace, or compensate at current market value. This costs $100-$500 depending on the declared value of your shipment. Worth every penny if you own anything you can’t afford to replace.

Third-party moving insurance from companies like MovingInsurance.com costs $200-$500 and fills gaps that mover liability doesn’t cover — like items you packed yourself (movers won’t cover damage to owner-packed boxes under their liability).

Moving Checklist Essentials

Moving is just one item on a long list — follow our complete home buying checklist to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Before move-in, confirm you’ve secured homeowner’s insurance and completed your final inspection. Planning immediate improvements? Our renovation ROI guide identifies which projects to tackle first.

Saving Money on Your Move

• Declutter before you quote. Every box you eliminate saves $5-$15 in moving costs. A ruthless purge of clothes, books, and kitchen gadgets you haven’t used in a year can save $500-$1,500.
• Get free boxes. Liquor stores, bookstores, and Costco have sturdy boxes. NextDoor and Buy Nothing groups regularly have free moving boxes. Don’t pay $3-$5 per box when you need 60 of them.
• Move midweek, mid-month, off-season. A Tuesday in October is the cheapest day to move. Saturday in June is the most expensive.
• Pack yourself, hire movers to load/transport only. This “labor-only” service costs 30-50% less than full-service. You do the tedious packing; they do the heavy lifting.