Moving Cost by Route
Distance is only part of what you pay. Two moves of the same size over the same 1,800 miles can differ by thousands depending on where they start, where they end and which way the season is running.
What moves the price on a route
- Origin labor rates. Crew costs in a high-wage metro are built into the tariff before the truck moves.
- Access at both ends. A walk-up apartment in a dense city and a house with a driveway are different jobs. Long carry and shuttle fees apply at either address, and destinations are often never surveyed.
- Directional demand. Carriers price to keep trucks full both ways. A route everyone is moving along costs more outbound and less on the return leg, which is why the same route can differ by direction.
- Season. May to September is peak, and the end of the month is the worst window in any month.
- Fuel. Surcharges track diesel, and they are a larger share of a long haul than of a short one.
Routes we have published
Each of these is triangulated from independent published sources for that specific route, restated to one scope, with the number of sources shown on the page. None of them is a national average multiplied by distance.
| Route | Miles | Most quotes, 2 to 3 bed |
|---|---|---|
| California to Texas | 1,400 | $3,500–7,200 |
| New York to Florida | 1,150 | $2,900–6,000 |
| Illinois to Texas | 990 | $3,000–7,000 |
| California to Arizona | 740 | $2,800–5,500 |
| New Jersey to North Carolina | 480 | $2,250–5,000 |
| California to Nevada | 220–570 | $2,300–5,400 |
| New York to North Carolina | 510–640 | $2,200–4,500 |
| Illinois to Florida | 1,180 | $3,100–6,800 |
| Washington to Texas | 1,900–2,300 | $4,500–8,600 |
| Massachusetts to Florida | 1,350 | $3,400–6,700 |
| California to Tennessee | 2,160 | $4,200–7,300 |
| Texas to Colorado | 770–1,080 | $2,900–6,500 |
| Virginia to Florida | 630–980 | $2,500–5,900 |
| Michigan to Florida | 1,000–1,440 | $3,100–7,200 |
What we publish for the rest
For routes not yet listed above, we do not publish a range. We could generate fifty tomorrow by multiplying a national figure by mileage, and several sites do exactly that. It is arithmetic presented as research, and it does not know that your destination street cannot take a full trailer.
Route ranges will be published when we have quotes behind them, and each will carry the number of observations so you can judge how much to trust it. Until then, the national ranges plus the adjustment method below get you closer than a fabricated route number. The limitation is documented on our method page.
How to estimate your own route
- Start with the national range for your move size on the moving cost page.
- Adjust up if your origin is a high cost metro, or if either address has stairs, no elevator or no truck access.
- Adjust up for a peak season or end of month date.
- Get three surveys. On interstate moves the bill follows weight, and only a survey establishes that.
How we choose routes
We publish the corridors with the highest moving volume first, using Census state-to-state migration data and published industry moving studies. The fourteen routes above cover the largest flows out of California, New York, Illinois, the Northeast and the Midwest into Texas, Florida, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado. New routes are added when we have enough independent sources to publish a range we can stand behind.
Send us your route
If you have a recent quote, it goes straight into the data behind these pages. Route, move size, total and what it covered, through the contact page.
Last reviewed October 2026.