How much do movers cost? What 3,187 people said they paid

A same-state job clusters around the $1,500 median for 2025 and $1,870 so far in 2026. Read that as a local bill priced in hours. The thing that moves it most is the hourly minimum, including travel time from the warehouse to your door. Stairs or a long carry keep the crew on that clock after the truck is parked. A low posted rate with a long minimum can pass a higher rate that starts at the curb. Put the minimum in the hourly calculator before you compare two companies.

An interstate job clusters around the $4,500 median for 2025 and $4,530 so far in 2026. Read that as a weight-and-miles bill. The thing that moves it most is the weight on the truck, because the tariff multiplies pounds by distance and then adds fuel. Diesel was $5.60 a gallon (31 Aug 2026), so the same rooms can price apart once the surcharge is on the quote. Get the weight in writing, and ask how a reweigh changes it, before you treat the median as your rooms.

A studio is usually a two-mover crew and a short booking, often inside a half-day minimum. Your local planning band is $450–$950. The question to ask is whether the minimum is longer than the work. Travel time can use up that minimum before the truck is full. If the company wants a three-mover crew for one room, ask what the third person does. Put the minimum hours next to the rate in the hourly calculator and see where the day lands inside $450–$950.

A one-bedroom is usually a two-mover crew for about half a day, plus the travel time the company puts on the clock. Your local planning band is $700–$1,400. Ask what the hourly minimum is, and whether the drive from the warehouse counts toward it. A minimum that outlasts the loading is the line that pushes a small apartment toward the top of $700–$1,400. If they add a third mover, ask whether the minimum hours drop. Check both versions in the hourly calculator.

A two-bedroom is usually a three-mover crew for most of a working day, and the minimum is where the quote gets slippery. Your local planning band is $1,100–$2,200. Ask how many hours are guaranteed and whether travel time sits inside them. A kitchen plus a second bedroom adds carry time that a smaller quote never clocks. If they offer a fourth mover, ask how the minimum changes with the crew. Run both versions through the hourly calculator and keep $1,100–$2,200 as the planning range.

A three-bedroom is usually a three-mover or four-mover crew for a full day, sometimes with a second trip. Your local planning band is $1,700–$3,200. The minimum matters more here because a full-day floor, plus travel, can price the job at the top of that band before any overtime starts. Ask whether the minimum is per truck or per crew, and who pays if the elevator reservation slips. A walk-through is the check, since a phone quote never clocks the long carry. Compare the written minimum in the hourly calculator.

A four-bedroom or larger home usually takes a four-mover crew for a long day, and a second truck is common. Your local planning band is $2,400–$4,500. Ask for the hourly minimum on each truck, and whether travel time is charged once or per crew. Two minimums stacked is the line that leaves a small-home quote behind. Put stairs and any shuttle in the hours before you sign. Price the crew and the minimum in the hourly calculator, and treat $2,400–$4,500 as the band to plan against.

On a same-state move the clock is the bill, so the lines that change it are stairs and a long carry, waiting time, and the elevator reservation. Each one keeps the crew on the hourly rate after the truck is parked. A walk-up with no reserved elevator adds crew time and no extra miles. Weekend and month-end rates stack on those same hours. Price the add-ons in the accessorials calculator before you treat a verbal hourly rate as the number you will pay.

On an interstate move the lines that change the bill are the shuttle van, storage in transit, and the fuel surcharge. The shuttle is there because the linehaul truck cannot reach the door, and it is priced apart from the miles. Storage in transit holds the shipment between trucks and bills by weight and by day. Fuel follows diesel, which was $5.60 a gallon (31 Aug 2026). Read those three on the quote in the accessorials calculator and set the delivery-day total next to the original figure.

Peak season on a studio is a demand premium on a short job, and that premium is a large share of a small long-distance bill. The planning band for this size is $2,200–$4,000. May through August, a Saturday, and the last five days of a month each add demand against that band. A weekday outside those windows is worth taking. The crew is small, and the date is one of the few levers left. Check the date in the peak calculator before you lock a Saturday.

A one-bedroom in peak season pays a demand premium on a light shipment, and that premium is a real slice of $3,000–$5,200. May through August, Saturdays, and the last five days of a month are the dates that add it. Shifting to a weekday in a quieter month is worth it. The crew stays small, and the date is a cut that leaves the blankets and the truck alone. Look up the date in the peak calculator and set it beside $3,000–$5,200.

A two-bedroom in peak season carries enough weight that the May through August premium sits on the full $4,000–$7,200 band. Saturdays and the last five days of the month add demand on top of that. A weekday in a quieter month is worth taking when you can get it. Most carriers still send one truck, so the date change keeps the same crew. Check the week in the peak calculator before you hold $4,000–$7,200 as the plan.

A three-bedroom in peak season is a heavy shipment, so a May through August booking puts the demand premium across $5,400–$9,400. A Saturday or a month-end date stacks more demand on the same weight. A weekday in a quieter month is worth the trouble. A large crew is easier to staff then, and the truck is less likely to wait on a shuttle. Use the peak calculator on the date you want, then read $5,400–$9,400 with that premium in or out.

A four-bedroom or larger home is where the date does the most work, because a second truck and the demand premium both sit inside $7,000–$12,000. May through August is the tight window. A Saturday, or the last five days of the month, makes a big crew harder to book. A weekday shift is worth it when the building allows it. You keep the same crew size and leave the peak premium on the table. Run the date through the peak calculator and plan against $7,000–$12,000 with the premium included.

For a same-state move, the paper you can hold someone to is a written hourly estimate that names the crew size and states the hourly minimum and travel time in hours. The check that matters is where the clock starts. Travel from the warehouse can consume the minimum before a box moves, and a short job still pays the full minimum. Ask for both lines in writing and add them in the hourly calculator. A walk-through catches the stairs a phone quote never clocks.

For an interstate move, ask for a binding estimate. The checks that matter are the weight ticket and the carrier's FMCSA authority. Binding locks the price to the inventory and services on the page. The weight ticket is what you keep if the carrier later says the shipment weighed more. Confirm the company is among the 9,119 active household-goods authorities. 900 authority holders are brokers, so run the legal name through the license lookup and match it to the name on the estimate.