Written by

Tom Grupa

April 5, 2023

How Much Do Movers Cost?

The average cost to hire movers is $25 to $50 per hour per mover. The cost of moving an average 3-bedroom house, transporting 7,400 lbs, is $1,500 for local moving or up to $4,300 for long-distance moving.

Long Distance Moving Costs

Long-distance moving costs $4,300 on average with most homeowners spending $1,800 to $5,600. Most long-distance movers charge by the mile. Your final price will depend on the weight of your items, distance, time of year, and if you need packing. Also, the cost of fuel will likely be added to your quote so be sure to ask beforehand.

Local Movers Cost

Local moves are typically charged on an hourly basis and cost $490 to $1,500 for under 50 miles. Local movers typically have a 4-hour minimum booking, so even a small move costs at least $400.

Local Moving Costs Based On Bedrooms

Local moves under 50 miles cost about $400 per bedroom. Some movers will have a minimum charge.

Moving Rates Per Hour

The average moving rates are $25 to $50 per hour per mover. According to Bo Ballard Moving Services, “For a 2-man crew on a local job, we charge $100 per hour plus a $100 setup fee, which covers our truck, fuel, equipment, mileage and such. We do not have a minimum, as most companies do.”

Not all movers charge by the hour. Some may charge by weight, while others may charge by the truck size.

Professional Moving Company Cost Factors

The cost to hire a professional moving company is $1,500 for a local move under 50 miles and about $4,300 for a long-distance interstate move. The price depends on the weight and size of your property and if your items are already packed.

At the very minimum level, you would pay for a truck to show up with 2 to 4 movers who take all the packed boxes, furniture, appliances, and other belongings out of your home and into the moving truck. After driving the truck to your final destination, they unload the contents into the rooms you have designated them for.

Full-Service Movers Cost

You can elect to have the movers also take care of the following portions of your move for an additional cost of $30 to $50 per hour plus materials:

• Provide all boxes, packing tape, wrapping materials, and padding.

• Do all packing, including labeling boxes by room and detailing contents.

• Disassemble and reassemble all your furniture.

• Use felt pads to protect items that cannot be taken apart like pianos, mirrors, artwork, TVs, etc., and surround them in stretch wrap.

• Do all the unpacking at your new home, with everything going in the right room.

• Hang mirrors and artwork.

• Install TVs and appliances.

Stairs And Obstacles

Stairs, steep driveways, or narrow passages that make the move take longer will increase your cost. When getting bids, let the moving companies know of any obstacles that would make a move more difficult.

The average extra cost is $50 to $100 per flight of stairs or obstacle depending on the extent.

Moving Boxes And Packing Costs

Unless you have been collecting boxes to prepare for your move, you will need to either buy moving boxes from a store or pay the moving company to add cardboard boxes, plastic bins, bubble wrap/packing paper, and any other supplies needed for the move.

The average prices you can expect to see for your moving materials are as follows:

Moving Kits & Materials Cost

Some moving companies offer moving kits that include everything you need for your move. These are sold based on the size of your home and range from $70 for a 1-bedroom studio apartment up to $400 for a 4-bedroom house.

Moving Insurance Costs

Your homeowner’s insurance policy might cover your belongings in a move or while they are in storage. Some carriers will cover your belongings during a move in the quote, while others treat it as an upgrade.

Consider purchasing some sort of liability coverage either through your homeowner’s insurance or through the moving company. Common policy types most moving companies offer include options that provide different levels of protection, including:

• Released value protection – This is often wrapped into the hourly rate you are being charged for the move. It will cover liability to the tune of $.60 per lb of cargo transported. On this insurance, you only get 60% of an item’s replacement value should anything happen during the move.

• Full value protection – This coverage holds the movers accountable for any items damaged and requires them to replace the item or reimburse you at the item’s current, depreciated value.

• Separate liability coverage – This option is governed by state law, and it pays for the insurance amount purchased minus the carrier liability cost that movers pay up to $0.60 per lb of cargo. Make sure you receive a copy of the policy and fully understand the scope of the coverage you paid for.

In most cases, if you do the move yourself, neither your existing auto insurance policy nor your homeowner’s insurance will cover your possessions when using your personal vehicle or rental car. You are taking on the entire risk of loss or damage to your property. If, however, you rent a moving truck to make a move, most offer insurance packages that cover the vehicle, the driver, any passengers, and possessions for the duration of the rental.

Alternatives To Hiring Movers

Numerous medical reports and studies frequently list moving as one of the top 10 most stressful life events, often featuring in the top 5, right after the passing of a family member or a divorce. Knowing this, evaluate if it would be worth handing off the mechanics of the move to movers to lessen the impact of the stress on you and your family. But if the cost is too prohibitive, below are a few different ways to make your move happen without hiring moving professionals.

Moving PODS Cost

Renting a portable moving container allows a bit more flexibility in the pace of your move. The cost of renting PODS is based on the size of the pod(s) that you need and the number of days you need it. Once the container is at your property, just fill it with your moving boxes and larger items and belongings; and when it is full, the company will come back and transport it to your new address.

A quick search on Google can give you many companies to compare prices with, but in many cases, you can expect to pay close to:

The rental company will be able to tell you what size(s) you will need to rent based on the size of your home.

Moving Truck Rental Cost

Moving day will go a lot faster for everyone if you can rent a moving truck rather than use personal vehicles. Depending on the distance of your move, you can select from a local company or a nationwide one.

What size moving truck will I need?

Truck rental companies generally use the following scale to help you determine what size truck you need depending on the size of your home:

Friends And Family

Asking for help from your friends and family is the lowest-cost option available to most people. The most delightful experience for your “free labor” is for them to turn up and everything is already labeled in boxes —which will make it easy to know which room each box goes into on the other end. Also, consider tagging the rooms at the destination with a system that makes sense to those who haven’t seen the new house before.

Depending on everyone’s schedule, and how well everything has been packed and labeled, it might be necessary to have one crew work on packing and another set of friends at the destination for unpacking.

When Is The Best Time To Move?

Both the time and date you set for your move are factors that could influence the final price. As you plan your move, keep the following in mind:

• School year – Most people try to either buy or sell their homes between school semesters to make a move easier on their kids. When possible, do everything you can to find a moving date other than the end of the school year or right before the new one starts. Moving services are in peak demand from May to early September. Also, avoid the months when college students will be either moving away to college or returning for their next semester. It is not uncommon to see rates for moving companies higher than what you might see in the months before or after that period.

• Weekends – Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest days for movers, and if you shop around, you could quickly discover much lower rates early in the week—when there is little to no demand for movers.

• Renters – Renters usually move out at the end of a month, so try and set your move date to a few days after the first week and a few days before the last week of a month.

• Time of day – Schedule your move for some time in the morning so that your move is the movers' first priority of the day. If you’re second on the list for that day, you run the risk of them arriving late from another move.

Tips To Consider When Moving

Your Responsibilities

To make sure your move is as smooth a process as possible, your responsibilities as the customer include:

1. Take the time to read through all the documents from your mover.

2. If you cannot be at both the pickup and delivery, assign someone to act as your representative.

3. If anything changes regarding the move, like the time or date for the move, or if any more items need to be moved, let your mover know as quickly as possible.

4. Either you or your representative will have to pay the full amount using the agreed payment method upon delivery.

5. If any part of your shipment is damaged or gets lost in transit, file claims as quickly as possible.

Protecting Yourself And Your Possessions

Before your move, your moving company should give you some basic information including a copy of the “Ready to Move” brochure or a link to the website and fully detailed documentation regarding the mover’s arbitration process. Also, expect:

• Written details about how to access the mover’s tariff

• Written estimates must be provided by your movers. Estimates should state if they are either binding or non-binding. A binding estimate is a detailed list of your actual charges, and estimates that are non-binding are estimations only. The final costs for your transportation could be higher than the price in the non-binding estimate.

• All documentation should be 100% complete before you sign it. As you look it over, the only items that might be missing from a non-binding estimate are the final weight for your shipment and any unexpected charges incurred during transit.

• Make sure you have a full understanding of the scope of your mover’s responsibility in the case of any loss or damage to your property and ask your mover for a full explanation of the difference between actual insurance coverage and valuation.

• If you elect to only go with the liability coverage, make sure that you are comfortable with a payment of $0.60 per lb for any lost or damaged goods. If it is not the degree of coverage you want for your household property, you will need to purchase an increased valuation. As soon as you have the right coverage in place, you can sign the documents.

• If you have many high-value items in the contents of your home, let your mover know. Items valued at more than $100 per pound per item are classified as high-value items.

• It is within your rights as a consumer to be present any time your shipment is being weighed, and you can have the shipment weighed again without any additional charges.

• At some point in your communications with your mover, and before your shipment leaves, verify what types of payment your mover can accept when the shipment is delivered.

• If the need arises to seek compensation for any loss or damages to your property, investigate settling through arbitration for disputed claims.

• Before signing any documentation, make sure you know if your moving company is a household goods motor carrier or a household goods broker who contracts out the work.

• Make sure your mover is registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). In addition to refusing to work with brokers and/or movers who are not registered with the FMCSA, you should also refuse to work with movers who won’t perform a physical survey of the contents of your home, and those companies who only accept cash payments. FMCSA registrations details can be found by visiting ProtectYourMove.gov, or by calling the FMCSA at (202) 366-9805 for licensing, and for insurance information, you can call (866) 637-0635.

• If your delivery receipt has any wording releasing your mover from liability, do not sign it. Ideally, that should be struck out from any documentation before moving forward with your mover. If your shipment turns up and the receipt still has the wording in it, you can refuse delivery until the mover furnishes the revised delivery receipt for signature.

Hiring Your Moving Company

Before you make a decision on your local moving company, create a top list of 3 to 5 companies to get bids from and compare. To get the best companies onto that shortlist, look for those who have as many of the following as possible:

• In business for 5+ years

• Are insured and bonded

• Rated highly on HomeGuide and Google

• Provide a great warranty