Moving Cost Calculator

What this moving cost calculator does

This calculator estimates what a typical US household move should cost, expressed as a low–high dollar range with a midpoint. It separates local moves (under 100 miles, billed by the hour) from long-distance moves (100 miles and up, billed by weight × distance), because the underlying pricing models are completely different. It uses 2024–25 national-average tariff figures from Forbes and MoveBuddha for the base bands, then lets you add the two most common upgrades: full packing service and 30-day storage in transit. It is a sanity check — not a quote — so you can compare written bids against a defensible national-average baseline.

How to use the moving cost calculator

1. Pick the home size — studio, 1-bed, 2-bed, 3-bed, or 4-bed+. This drives every downstream number (hours for a local move, pounds for long-distance, packing time, truck size).
2. Pick the move type — local under 100 miles, or long-distance 100 miles and up. If long-distance, enter the actual one-way mileage.
3. Tick full packing service if you want the crew to pack everything before the truck arrives.
4. Tick 30-day storage if your move-out and move-in dates don’t line up and you need the company to warehouse your goods.
5. Read the low–high band and midpoint. Aim to get 2–3 written bids from reputable movers (USDOT-licensed for long-distance) and reject any that land more than ~25 % below the midpoint — they’re usually rogue operators who hold your goods hostage on delivery.

Local moves: hourly pricing

A local move is the simpler model. Two to four movers show up with a truck, load, drive, and unload, and the bill is crew size × hours × hourly rate. National-average hourly rates run $25–$50 per mover per hour; a 2–3 person crew on a 2-bedroom job for 6–8 hours lands in the $800–$1,500 band the calculator shows.

Typical local-move durations by home size:

Local moves usually have a 2 to 4-hour minimum charge, so even a studio that takes 90 minutes will be billed at the minimum. Stair floors, long carries (truck parked >75 ft from the door), and bulky items (piano, gun safe, treadmill) add flat surcharges, typically $25–$150 each.

Long-distance moves: weight × distance

Long-distance (interstate) movers are regulated by the FMCSA and must hold a USDOT number. Their tariffs are based on shipment weight × distance:

• The truck is weighed at a CAT scale empty before loading and loaded after pickup — the difference is your shipment weight.
• The bill is roughly $0.70–$1.00 per pound per 1,000 miles at national average, plus a fixed pickup/delivery fee.
• A 2-bedroom household averages ~5,000 lb; a 4-bedroom averages ~12,000 lb (rule of thumb: 1,500 lb per room).
• A binding estimate locks the price after the in-home survey; a non-binding estimate can rise by up to 110 % on delivery day under federal rules. Always prefer a binding estimate.

Packing and storage — the two biggest add-ons

Full packing service is the largest single add-on in most moves. A 2-person crew arrives the day before pickup with boxes, paper, tape, and bubble wrap, and packs the entire house — kitchen, closets, garage, basement. For a 2-bedroom this is roughly 60–100 boxes and 4–8 person-hours, billed at $300–$700. Larger homes scale proportionally. A common middle ground is fragile-only packing ($100–$300) — the crew packs the kitchen, lamps, and art while you handle clothes and bedding yourself.

30-day storage in transit holds your goods at the company’s warehouse between pickup and delivery, useful when move-out and move-in dates don’t line up. National-average rate is $150–$400 flat for 30 days; longer storage usually transitions to a monthly rate after that.

Why summer and end-of-month cost more

About 70 % of US moves happen between May and September, with the heaviest demand on the 1st, 15th, and last day of every month (lease turnover dates). When demand exceeds crew capacity, every reputable mover charges peak rates and the marginal ones charge whatever the market will bear. A move that costs $1,200 on a Tuesday in February can run $1,800–$2,000 on a Saturday in late July.

If your dates have flexibility, mid-month, mid-week, between October and April is the cheapest window — savings of 20–30 % are routine.

Tipping movers

Tipping is customary in the US moving industry. The standard guidance:

• Local hourly moves: $5–$10 per mover per hour, paid in cash at the end of the job, split equally among the crew.
• Long-distance moves: 5–10 % of the total bill, split between pickup and delivery crews.

Tip the crew, not the dispatcher — and only after the truck is unloaded and the inventory is signed off.

Full-service movers vs trucks-only DIY

The calculator’s bands assume full-service movers — the crew loads, drives, and unloads. The DIY alternative is a rental truck (U-Haul, Penty, Budget) where you do the labour:

• A 26-ft U-Haul rents for roughly $40 per day plus $1 per mile; one-way long-distance trucks bundle the mileage and run $1,000–$3,000 for a 1,000–2,000 mile move.
• You save 30–50 % vs full-service on long-distance moves, but you supply all the labour (or recruit friends with pizza).
• Hybrid options like PODS or U-Pack drop a container at your home, you load it on your schedule, they drive it, you unload — splits the savings.

For a 2-bedroom move across 1,000 miles, full-service runs $3,500–$5,000; DIY in a 20-ft U-Haul runs $1,200–$2,000 in truck and fuel — you just trade money for two full days of your own labour.

Privacy

This calculator does its arithmetic in JavaScript on your device. There is no fetch call, no analytics on the home size, mileage, or add-ons you enter, no server-side logging. The page works the same way offline once loaded.