Long distance moving cost index
What interstate moving actually costs in 2026, by route, by home size, by month. Published as data, free to cite with attribution.
A 2-bedroom long-distance move costs between $2,900 and $7,350 depending on distance and season. The month you move swings the price by about 29%, January is cheapest, July the most expensive. Distance matters less than people expect: rates rise in bands, not proportionally.
Cost by route
Every corridor tracked, sorted by distance, showing a full-service move for each home size.
| Route | Miles | Studio | 2-bedroom | 4+ bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem, OR → Boise, ID | 490 | $1,450–$2,350 | $2,900–$4,650 | $4,900–$7,900 |
| Everett, WA → Boise, ID | 500 | $1,450–$2,350 | $2,900–$4,650 | $4,900–$7,900 |
| Salem, OR → Sacramento, CA | 530 | $1,850–$3,000 | $3,700–$5,900 | $6,250–$10,050 |
| Salem, OR → Salt Lake City, UT | 770 | $1,850–$3,000 | $3,700–$5,900 | $6,250–$10,050 |
| Everett, WA → Salt Lake City, UT | 870 | $1,850–$3,000 | $3,700–$5,900 | $6,250–$10,050 |
| Salem, OR → Las Vegas, NV | 1,000 | $1,850–$3,000 | $3,700–$5,900 | $6,250–$10,050 |
| Everett, WA → Las Vegas, NV | 1,150 | $1,850–$3,000 | $3,700–$5,900 | $6,250–$10,050 |
| Salem, OR → Denver, CO | 1,240 | $1,850–$3,000 | $3,700–$5,900 | $6,250–$10,050 |
| Everett, WA → San Diego, CA | 1,290 | $1,850–$3,000 | $3,700–$5,900 | $6,250–$10,050 |
| Salem, OR → Phoenix, AZ | 1,320 | $1,850–$3,000 | $3,700–$5,900 | $6,250–$10,050 |
| Everett, WA → Denver, CO | 1,340 | $1,850–$3,000 | $3,700–$5,900 | $6,250–$10,050 |
| Everett, WA → Phoenix, AZ | 1,430 | $1,850–$3,000 | $3,700–$5,900 | $6,250–$10,050 |
| Salem, OR → Dallas, TX | 2,000 | $2,150–$3,450 | $4,200–$6,800 | $7,150–$11,550 |
| Everett, WA → Chicago, IL | 2,080 | $2,150–$3,450 | $4,200–$6,800 | $7,150–$11,550 |
| Salem, OR → Austin, TX | 2,090 | $2,150–$3,450 | $4,200–$6,800 | $7,150–$11,550 |
| Everett, WA → Dallas, TX | 2,100 | $2,150–$3,450 | $4,200–$6,800 | $7,150–$11,550 |
| Everett, WA → Austin, TX | 2,200 | $2,150–$3,450 | $4,200–$6,800 | $7,150–$11,550 |
| Salem, OR → Nashville, TN | 2,350 | $2,150–$3,450 | $4,200–$6,800 | $7,150–$11,550 |
| Everett, WA → Nashville, TN | 2,400 | $2,150–$3,450 | $4,200–$6,800 | $7,150–$11,550 |
| Everett, WA → Atlanta, GA | 2,700 | $2,350–$3,750 | $4,650–$7,350 | $7,900–$12,500 |
| Salem, OR → Tampa, FL | 3,050 | $2,350–$3,750 | $4,650–$7,350 | $7,900–$12,500 |
| Everett, WA → Tampa, FL | 3,150 | $2,350–$3,750 | $4,650–$7,350 | $7,900–$12,500 |
Planning estimates built from published industry cost ranges, not from completed-move records.
Cost by month
The seasonal multiplier applied to every route. This is the factor most cost guides omit entirely.
Percentage relative to a baseline month. Peak-to-trough spread is about 29%.
Methodology
Published openly so the numbers can be checked, challenged and cited.
- Volume, not weight or hours. Home size maps to typical shipment volume, from 300 cubic feet for a studio to 1,700 for a four-bedroom home. Larger shipments carry a lower per-cubic-foot rate.
- Distance in bands. Four bands from short interstate to coast-to-coast, with rates rising across them but not linearly.
- Seasonal multipliers by month, applied uniformly across routes.
- Scope. Full-service moving, loading, transport, unloading. Excludes storage, auto shipping and specialty items. Packing is quoted separately.
- Corridor coverage. Only routes with real operating data are published. We do not generate estimates for corridors we have not run.
Free to cite and quote with attribution to BestMoving.us. For the underlying data, an embeddable version of the calculator, or commentary for a story, get in touch.
Long-distance moving costs: common questions
What is the average cost of a long-distance move in 2026?
Across the routes tracked here, a 2-bedroom long-distance move ranges from $2,900 on short interstate corridors to $7,350 coast to coast. "Average" is a misleading figure in moving: distance and volume swing the price by a factor of three or more, which is why costs are published here by specific route instead.
How much does moving cost per mile?
Long-distance moves are not priced per mile: they are priced on volume, with distance applied in bands. Rates rise with distance but not proportionally, because the fixed cost of loading a trailer is spread across a longer haul. A 2,000-mile move costs meaningfully less than twice a 1,000-mile one.
What month is cheapest to move?
January is the cheapest month and July the most expensive, a spread of about 29%. The cheap window runs across January, February, March and November; peak season is May, June, July and August, when nearly every household with school-age children moves at once.
How much does it cost to move a 2-bedroom apartment across the country?
A 2-bedroom shipment is roughly 800 cubic feet. Coast to coast, over about 3,000 miles: that runs toward $7,350 at peak season and materially less off-peak. Shorter interstate moves of the same home start around $2,900.
Where does this cost data come from?
Published industry ranges, pending replacement with completed-move data from our carrier operations. The methodology (distance bands, volume by home size, seasonal multipliers) is documented on the moving cost calculator page.
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