Long Distance Moving Cost
by Home Size

Why home size matters more than anything else

Every FMCSA-licensed long distance carrier prices interstate moves the same way: weight (in pounds) times a per-pound rate that scales with distance, then adjusted for time of year and service level. Home size is a proxy for weight. It's not a perfect proxy — a minimalist studio with a Murphy bed and one suitcase weighs 600 pounds, while a hoarder studio with floor-to-ceiling boxes can hit 3,000 — but it's the starting point every dispatcher uses, and it's the question a carrier rep asks before quoting anything else.

The industry-standard rule of thumb is roughly 1,000 pounds per fully-furnished room. "Fully furnished" means the room has its primary purpose covered: a bedroom has a bed, dresser, nightstand, and closet contents; a living room has a couch, chairs, coffee table, TV, and shelving; a kitchen has appliances, dishware, pantry contents, and small appliances. Rooms that aren't furnished or are used as storage skew this rule, which is why the bedroom estimate is a starting point — not a binding answer.

Standard weight assumptions used by US Move Quote and most major carriers

2026 cost by home size and distance

The table below uses 2026 industry-average per-pound rates: $0.50–$0.58 for short interstate (500 mi), $0.55–$0.65 for mid-distance (1,000 mi), $0.62–$0.78 for long (2,000 mi), and $0.68–$0.85 for coast-to-coast (3,000 mi). Ranges shown are shoulder-season (April or October). Add 25–30% for June–August. Subtract 8–12% for December or January.

Studio apartment moves

Typical scenario: A renter relocating for a job, a recent graduate moving home, or a single person making a fresh start. The shipment is one bed, one couch or chair, a small dining set, a TV, a desk, and maybe 20–35 boxes of clothing, books, and kitchen goods.

Weight assumption: 1,500 lbs is the standard, but real shipments range widely. A minimalist studio with no couch can weigh under 1,000 lbs. A studio with a queen mattress, a heavy sleeper sofa, and an apartment's worth of books can hit 2,500 lbs.

Cost range (interstate, shoulder season): $750 to $1,280 depending on distance. The big gotcha: many full-service van lines charge a minimum shipment weight of 2,000 lbs. If your studio actually weighs 1,200 lbs, you may still be billed at 2,000 lbs at the per-pound rate. For shipments under 1,500 lbs, a freight trailer (U-Pack) or a moving container (PODS) is almost always cheaper than a van line.

What to watch: Pickup-day reweighs that push your shipment over 2,500 lbs. Brokers who quote $599 cross-country (these are bait quotes that double or triple at pickup). Storage-in-transit fees if the carrier holds your shipment because your delivery window is too narrow.

1-bedroom apartment moves

Typical scenario: A young professional, a couple downsizing, or a single person with a bit more accumulated furniture. One queen or king bed, a couch, a TV stand, a dining table for 2–4, a desk, a dresser, and 30–50 boxes.

Weight assumption: 2,500 lbs is the working estimate. Healthy 1-bedrooms with a real dining set and a large couch run 3,000–3,500 lbs. Lightly furnished 1-bedrooms (futon, milk-crate shelving, no dining table) can come in at 1,800.

Cost range: $1,250 (500-mile move, off-peak) to $2,130 (cross-country, shoulder). In peak summer cross-country, expect $2,700–$3,500.

What to watch: "Hidden" furniture you forgot about — patio furniture, a stored kayak in the building basement, a bicycle, the contents of a storage unit you keep in the building. These get added on pickup day and reshape the weight by 400–800 lbs. List everything during the survey.

2-bedroom moves

Typical scenario: A couple with a guest room or home office, a young family, or roommates moving together. Two bedrooms fully furnished, a living room, a real kitchen, and frequently a closet's worth of seasonal clothes and sports gear.

Weight assumption: 4,500 lbs is standard. Most real 2-bedroom moves land between 3,800 and 5,500 lbs after the survey. Heavy second bedrooms used as home gyms or libraries skew the estimate up by 800–1,500 lbs.

Cost range: $2,250 (500-mile shoulder) to $3,830 (cross-country shoulder). The 1,000-mile peak-summer range is $3,200–$3,800. Add 25–35% for full-pack service.

What to watch: 2-bedroom moves are the sweet spot where full-service van lines and moving containers genuinely compete on price. For routes under 1,200 miles, a container (PODS, U-Pack ReloCube, 1-800-PACK-RAT) can be 25–35% cheaper if you're willing to pack and load yourself. Over 1,500 miles, the labor savings of full service usually wins.

3-bedroom house moves

Typical scenario: A family of three to five, often with a garage and yard, frequently relocating for a job change or schools. Three furnished bedrooms, a living and dining room, a real kitchen with appliances, plus garage contents, lawn equipment, and seasonal storage.

Weight assumption: 7,500 lbs is the standard. Real 3-bedroom houses typically weigh between 6,500 and 9,500 lbs. Houses with finished basements, attached garages packed with tools, or large home offices can hit 11,000 lbs.

Cost range: $3,750 (short interstate, off-peak) to $6,380 (cross-country, shoulder). Cross-country in July typically lands at $8,400–$11,500. Adding a full pack ($1,500–$3,000) and Full-Value insurance ($300–$900) is common for 3-bedroom moves and pushes the total past $10,000 on a cross-country.

What to watch: Garage and basement contents that weren't included in the original survey. Most under-surveys happen here. Insist the surveyor walk every room, every closet, every storage area. A 3-bedroom house with an under-surveyed garage can end up 1,200 lbs over the estimate at pickup — adding $700–$1,000 to a non-binding quote.

4-bedroom house moves

Typical scenario: An established family in a single-family home, often dual-income, frequently with kids' rooms full of accumulated stuff. Four bedrooms (often including a home office or guest room), a formal dining room, a family room, a garage, and frequently outdoor/lawn equipment.

Weight assumption: 10,000 lbs is the working estimate. Real 4-bedrooms commonly weigh 8,500 to 12,500 lbs. Houses with finished basements used as media rooms or with home gyms can exceed 14,000 lbs.

Cost range: $5,000 (500-mile shoulder) to $8,500 (cross-country shoulder). Cross-country in July with full pack runs $11,500–$16,000.

What to watch: At this size, the choice of carrier matters more. Tier-one van lines (Allied, United, Mayflower, North American, Atlas) handle 4-bedroom moves daily and have crews trained for full-pack at scale. Discount brokers often subcontract to smaller carriers that struggle with this volume and end up needing additional truck capacity at pickup — generating "shuttle service" surcharges of $300–$800.

5+ bedroom estate moves

Typical scenario: Established families in large suburban or rural homes, retirees relocating from long-term family homes, or executives with accumulated furniture from multiple residences. Five or more bedrooms, often including a home office, library, media room, finished basement, and detached structures (workshops, sheds).

Weight assumption: 13,000 lbs is the baseline. Real 5+ bedroom estates often weigh 15,000–20,000 lbs. Estate moves with fine art, antiques, multiple pianos, or wine collections can exceed 22,000 lbs.

Cost range: $6,500 (short interstate shoulder) to $11,050 (cross-country shoulder) for the standard goods only. Real-world 5-bedroom moves with crating for antiques, climate-controlled trucking for fine art, and full-pack service routinely cost $18,000–$32,000 cross-country.

What to watch: Specialty handling. Estate moves frequently include items that need third-party crating (oversized art, antique mirrors, marble tabletops), climate-controlled transit (wine, fine art, certain antiques), and dedicated trucks (no shared loads). Each adds to base cost but reduces risk substantially. Get written quotes from at least three van-line-tier carriers — the cheapest discount mover is almost never appropriate for this size.

How to lower your effective weight

Every 500 pounds you eliminate saves $250–$450 on a cross-country move. For most households, there's $1,000–$2,500 of "free money" sitting in items you haven't used in a year and don't actually want to ship.

1. Run the one-year rule on every closet and storage area. If you haven't touched it in a year and it isn't a sentimental keepsake, it goes. Most households purge 8–15% of their shipment weight this way without missing anything at the destination.

2. Sell or donate heavy furniture you can replace cheaply. A used sleeper sofa costs $400 to ship cross-country and $300 to replace at Wayfair or Facebook Marketplace. Old mattresses (over 5 years) are almost always cheaper to replace than to ship.

3. Eliminate fluid weight. Cleaning supplies, paint, garage chemicals, half-full shampoo bottles, full pantry items — these add 200–400 lbs to most households and most are not allowed on the truck anyway (hazmat rules). Use them up or donate before pickup.

4. Books and exercise equipment. A medium box of books weighs 50 lbs. Twenty boxes is 1,000 lbs. A treadmill is 200–350 lbs. A weight set is 200–500 lbs. These are the highest-density items in most homes and the easiest to sell or donate.

5. Take only what fits. If you're moving to a smaller place, measure before you pack. Shipping furniture that won't fit at the destination is a pure loss.

When to upgrade your size estimate

Five situations where the bedroom-count estimate is almost always low:

1. Books or vinyl collections over 200 items. Add 400–800 lbs.
2. Home gym with weights or a treadmill. Add 300–600 lbs.
3. Finished basement used as a media room or storage. Add 1,000–2,500 lbs.
4. Attached garage with tools, lawn equipment, or stored furniture. Add 600–1,500 lbs.
5. Outdoor furniture, patio sets, grills, or kayaks. Add 200–500 lbs.

If two or more of these apply, bump your home-size selection up one tier on the calculator. A 3-bedroom with a finished basement plus garage tools is realistically a 4-bedroom shipment.

Try the calculator for your exact route and size

Plug your origin state, destination state, home size, and move month into our long distance moving cost calculator for an instant 2026 estimate. The calculator uses the same per-pound rates and seasonal multipliers shown on this page. For a binding number, call (833) 555-8699.

Popular routes — see real cost ranges by home size

Each route page below shows the typical 1BR, 2BR, and 3BR shipment cost on that specific corridor:

• Los Angeles to Austin — 1,378 mi
• New York to Miami — 1,280 mi
• Chicago to Houston — 1,082 mi
• Chicago to Phoenix — 1,755 mi
• Boston to Tampa — 1,340 mi
• San Francisco to Nashville — 2,360 mi
• Seattle to Boise — 510 mi (short interstate example)

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