How much does it cost to move across the country?

Distance and weight set the price. On HireAHelper's 2026 sample route from New York City to Miami, a 2 to 3 bedroom move costs $1,184 to $1,789 with a rental truck you load and drive, and $5,359 to $8,226 with full-service movers. A coast-to-coast move covers more miles, so expect to land above those ranges and get at least three written estimates.

How much do movers cost per hour?

HireAHelper's 2026 pricing guide puts labor-only movers at $40 to $75 per mover per hour and full-service two-person crews at $100 to $150 an hour. Interstate moves are usually billed by total shipment weight rather than by the hour.

What is the cheapest way to move out of state?

Renting a truck and loading it yourself is the cheapest option in HireAHelper's 2026 estimates, followed by hiring loaders for a truck you drive, then a portable container, then full-service movers. Cutting what you bring lowers any weight-based bill, and moving mid-week, mid-month or outside May to September usually costs less.

Can I deduct moving expenses on my taxes?

Not unless you are active-duty military moving under orders, or an intelligence community employee or new appointee moving in 2026 or later (IRS Topic 455). The 2025 tax law made the suspension of the moving deduction permanent for everyone else, and employer-paid moving costs count as taxable wages.

How to move

How Much Does It Cost to Move Out of State? (2026)

Q: How much does it cost to move out of state?

There is no official national average. HireAHelper's 2026 long-distance estimates for a 2 to 3 bedroom home are $533 to $728 for a self-driven rental truck, $959 to $1,108 if you hire loaders and drive the truck, $1,316 to $1,972 for a portable container and $2,910 to $4,569 for full-service movers. Distance raises all of them: on a 1,280-mile New York City to Miami route, full service runs $5,359 to $8,226 (HireAHelper, 2026).

For a 2 to 3 bedroom home, HireAHelper's 2026 long-distance estimates run from about $533 if you rent a truck and load it yourself to $2,910 to $4,569 for full-service movers, before mileage pushes the number up. People who moved in 2024 reported spending $2,050 on average across all types of moves (Anytime Estimate). Here is what sets your number and how to keep it down.

By Sol Lakein, founder of Slower Sundays. Published November 4, 2026.

What a move out of state costs, by type of move

Nobody publishes a neutral, method-disclosed national average for interstate moves, so we show the ranges a large moving marketplace publishes and label them as estimates. These are HireAHelper's 2026 figures for a 2 to 3 bedroom home^source:

How you move	Long-distance estimate	New York City to Miami (1,280 miles)
Rent a truck and do it yourself	$533 to $728	$1,184 to $1,789
Hire loaders, drive a rental truck	$959 to $1,108	$1,682 to $2,072
Portable container	$1,316 to $1,972	$2,491 to $3,102
Full-service movers	$2,910 to $4,569	$5,359 to $8,226

Source: HireAHelper, Moving Costs, 2026. HireAHelper does not publish a sample size or method for these ranges, so treat them as a starting point, not a quote.

For a reality check, a 2024 survey of 1,000 people who moved found they spent $2,050 on average, counting local and long-distance moves together. 78% hit at least one cost they did not expect, and 44% were surprised by the price of the move itself^source.

What sets your price

Weight and distance. Interstate movers bill on total shipment weight and miles. Truck rentals are sized by the square footage you are moving.
Labor. Labor-only movers run $40 to $75 per mover per hour; full-service two-person crews run $100 to $150 an hour^source.
Packing and storage. Professional packing adds $280 to $2,200, and temporary storage runs $75 to $300 a month.
Heavy items. Pianos, safes and similar pieces add $200 to $1,000.
Timing. May to September is peak season. Weekends and the first and last days of the month cost more; mid-week, mid-month and winter dates usually cost less.
Fees left off the quote. Some quotes leave out fuel surcharges. Compare quotes for exactly the same services.

How to cut the cost

Pick the cheapest method you can handle. In the table above, a truck you load yourself costs a fraction of full service. Hiring loaders for a truck you drive is the middle ground most families can manage.
Move less stuff. On a weight-based bill, every box you sell or donate comes off the price. Among 2024 movers, 22% said their biggest regret was not getting rid of enough before the move^source.
Pick a quiet date. A Tuesday in the middle of the month in February beats a Saturday at the end of June.
Get three written estimates for the same inventory and services, and ask each company whether it uses its own trucks and crews.
Check for a relocation incentive. 104 programs we track pay people to move to their town, with offers worth up to $50,000. Read each program's rules before you move. See every program.

The costs that are not the truck

The move itself is often not the biggest check you write. If your new landlord asks for a deposit equal to one month's rent, here is what the first month plus deposit comes to on the median 2-bedroom:

Metro	Median 2-bedroom rent	First month plus deposit
Pittsburgh, PA	$1,185	$2,370
Knoxville, TN	$1,452	$2,904
Greenville, SC	$1,279	$2,558
Charlotte, NC	$1,589	$3,178
Raleigh, NC	$1,673	$3,346
Tampa, FL	$1,861	$3,722

Rent: Census ACS 2025 1-year, median gross rent for 2-bedroom units (rent plus utilities). First month plus deposit is our arithmetic. Deposit rules vary by state and landlord.

Overlap. A month of paying for two homes, or a lease-break fee, can cost as much as the movers. Line up your move-out date with the end of your lease.
Mail forwarding. Filing a change of address online costs $1.25 for identity verification at usps.com; you can file up to 90 days before the move^source.
A visit first. A long weekend in your top city costs less than a lease in the wrong one. A few relocation programs host or reimburse visits; each program page says which.

Protect the estimate you were given

Federal rules cover interstate moves, and they are the best protection against a bill that doubles on delivery day^source:

The 110% rule. At delivery, a mover cannot require more than 100% of a binding estimate or 110% of a non-binding one. Anything above that is billed after delivery.
Brokers are not movers. A broker owns no trucks and sells your job to a mover. Brokers must use registered movers, tell you which ones, and give you the federal "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move" booklet.
Check the registration. Look up any company by name, USDOT number or MC number on FMCSA's Protect Your Move site to see its registration and complaint history.
Choose your coverage on purpose. Full Value Protection, the default, makes the mover liable for the replacement value of what it loses or breaks. The free option, Released Value, pays 60 cents per pound per item, so a 25-pound TV is worth $15^source.
Walk away from the red flags: an estimate given without seeing your things, a demand for cash or a large deposit before the move, or no copy of the federal booklet^source.

Do not count on a tax break

The moving expense deduction is gone for nearly everyone. The IRS allows it only for active-duty members of the Armed Forces moving under orders, and for intelligence community employees and new appointees moving in 2026 or later^source. If your employer pays for the move, expect it on your W-2 as taxable income. A tax professional can tell you how it lands for you.

What to do next

Price the move against what you save each month in the new city: every state cost of living page shows the monthly housing number for the cities we track. Then follow the moving out of state checklist for the deadlines once you land.