In our interstate bookings scheduled from January through April 2026, 275 moving cost estimates cross country had a median estimated price of $3,989. The middle half of those estimates ran from $2,872 to $6,925. Some shipments consisted of a few pieces of furniture and boxes, while others filled substantially more truck space, which explains why one figure cannot describe every cross-country move.
These were prices recorded when moves were booked, rather than customers’ final bills. The group includes moves in both directions between California, Oregon or Washington and states along the Atlantic coast. We arrange these interstate moves through authorized motor carriers, and the price for your household begins with the inventory, pickup and delivery addresses, and the services the carrier is being asked to provide.
How Much Does a Cross-Country Move Cost in 2026?
The amount of furniture and boxed belongings makes a substantial difference even when the shipment is traveling from one side of the country to the other. We grouped those 275 booked estimates by the cubic footage recorded for each shipment.
| Estimated shipment volume | Number of bookings | Median estimated price | Middle 50% of estimates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150–399 cubic feet | 142 | $2,887 | $2,546–$3,436 |
| 400–699 cubic feet | 63 | $5,085 | $4,269–$5,960 |
| 700–1,099 cubic feet | 36 | $8,317 | $6,875–$9,377 |
| 1,100–1,599 cubic feet | 15 | $12,351 | $11,477–$12,966 |
| 1,600–3,500 cubic feet | 19 | $17,013 | $14,806–$21,616 |
Source: Our anonymized booked interstate estimates for moves scheduled January–April 2026, between Pacific and Atlantic coastal states. The middle-50% column shows the 25th–75th percentile of each group. Figures are estimates at booking, across different routes and services, not final paid prices or guaranteed rates.
Just over half of these bookings involved shipments below 400 cubic feet. A compact move might include a mattress, sofa, dresser, desk and several dozen boxes. By the time you add two furnished bedrooms, a large sectional, dining furniture, bicycles and the contents of a garage, the load may be much larger. The estimates in the two largest groups come from fewer bookings, so their medians should be read with the sample sizes alongside them.
We record shipment volume rather than the number of bedrooms in the home. A lightly furnished two-bedroom apartment can produce a smaller shipment than a one-bedroom home with a storage unit full of furniture. If you’re working out a budget from the table, first identify the size of the belongings that will actually travel.
What Were the Booked Estimates for Cross-Country Routes?
Our bookings also show how difficult it is to judge a cross-country quote from two state names alone. California-to-Florida and Florida-to-California are both long moves, but the households in each group were different.
| Origin to destination | Bookings | Median booked estimate | Median shipment volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| California to Florida | 37 | $4,711 | 550 cu ft |
| Florida to California | 19 | $3,618 | 349 cu ft |
| California to New York | 16 | $3,417 | 400 cu ft |
| New York to California | 10 | $4,671 | 371 cu ft |
Source: Same January–April 2026 booked-estimate group. Routes are grouped by state, not a single city pair. Volumes are median estimated cubic feet; prices are median booked estimates, not final invoices.
The California-to-Florida bookings had a median shipment of 550 cubic feet, compared with 349 cubic feet in the opposite direction. That difference in what was being moved makes it impossible to attribute the gap in prices to which coast the truck started on. Even the California-to-New York group combines different cities, moving dates, households and services.
For your own move, the specific addresses matter. A pickup in Los Angeles and delivery in Manhattan involves different roads and building access from a move between two suburban homes elsewhere in California and New York. A quote for a specific pair of addresses should take precedence over a state-level median once you have confirmed the inventory and services.
How Do Movers Calculate a Cross-Country Estimate?
We begin with the inventory because a bedroom count leaves too many unanswered questions. A queen bed might be the only large piece in a bedroom, or it might be joined by a dresser, two nightstands, a bookcase and a wardrobe. A garage, attic, patio or storage locker can add as much furniture as another room without changing the description of the home. Trying to do a volume calculation for your move? Use our cubic feet calculator for moves.
The estimator needs the furniture list and an approximate number and size of boxes. Large items should be measured where necessary, particularly if they will be difficult to carry out or load efficiently. For a rough calculation, multiply an item’s length, width and height in inches and divide by 1,728 to get cubic feet. A sofa measuring 84 by 36 by 34 inches occupies about 59.5 cubic feet by its outside dimensions. The total shipment estimate also has to allow for the remaining furniture, packed boxes and how the items can be arranged in the truck.
Once you know what is going, give the estimator both full addresses and your anticipated moving date. The carrier’s pricing may account for the shipment’s weight or volume, distance, and the services listed in its tariff. A fourth-floor walk-up and a ground-floor house may hold the same furniture, yet require very different carrying arrangements. A large moving truck may also be unable to reach a narrow street or an apartment entrance, in which case a smaller shuttle vehicle could be needed.
Our moving cost calculator can help with an early budget when you know the route and approximate load. The written estimate should then reflect the inventory and conditions at the actual addresses.
What Can Change a Cross-Country Moving Quote?
Suppose your first inventory includes a bed, sofa, dresser and 25 boxes. By moving day, you’ve decided to bring a dining table, two bookcases, a treadmill and everything in a storage locker. The carrier has more to transport and possibly more furniture to handle, so the original estimate needs to be revisited before pickup.
Packing is another detail that can change the work the crew is expected to perform. If you pack your own kitchen, the estimate may cover loading and transportation without professional packing for those boxes. If the crew must pack fragile dishes, large mirrors or artwork, those services and materials should appear in the revised scope. The same applies to temporary storage, furniture requiring special handling, stairs, long carries and a delivery address that cannot accommodate the truck.
Timing can affect availability and pricing too, especially when you need a specific date. We cannot determine how much a particular date would change your quote from these booking records alone; the dates and inventory are different across the sample. Give the same proposed dates to every company you ask to price your move, and check whether nearby pickup dates would change the amount.
How to Compare Two Cross-Country Moving Estimates
Put the inventories next to each other before looking at the totals. One estimate might account for 500 cubic feet and the other for 800 because an estimator counted the storage unit, patio furniture or additional boxes that the other missed. If both companies are pricing a different quantity of belongings, the prices won’t tell you which company is charging more for the same move.
Next, read the services included in each estimate. Check who will pack fragile items, whether furniture is being disassembled and reassembled, how loading and unloading are handled, and what the documents say about storage, stairs, elevators, long carries and possible shuttle service. Ask about the proposed pickup and delivery periods as well. A lower figure may leave out work you need at one of the addresses.
We arrange transportation as a household-goods broker; the authorized motor carrier assigned to your move performs the transportation and agreed moving services. For an interstate move, confirm that the carrier’s written documents match the inventory and services you discussed when obtaining the estimate. Our separate moving cost statistics page provides broader completed-move price information, drawn from a different population than the 2026 booked estimates on this page.
Binding and Nonbinding Estimates for Interstate Moves
A binding estimate establishes the agreed charge for the goods and services listed in the written estimate, subject to the applicable terms and changes. If you add furniture or request extra services before loading, the estimate may need to be revised. A nonbinding estimate is a projection rather than a guaranteed final price; the actual charges depend on the shipment and the carrier’s applicable tariff.
Under federal interstate moving rules, a motor carrier generally cannot require more than 110% of a nonbinding estimate at delivery for the goods and services listed in that estimate. That limit governs the amount collected at delivery, rather than forgiving additional lawful charges. Extra services requested later and certain impracticable-operation charges have separate rules. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s estimate requirements explain both types of estimate and the payment rules.
Ask which kind of estimate you’re receiving, what is included, and which charges could change if the inventory or access conditions change. Those questions become particularly important on a cross-country move, when correcting a missing item after loading may be much harder than updating the list beforehand.
What About Moving Containers or Rental Trucks?
Our booked prices here are for interstate household moves arranged through us with authorized carriers. They are not quotes for a portable container or a rental truck, so they cannot be used to claim that one of those methods costs a specific amount less.
If you rent a truck, you provide the driving and normally arrange the lifting at both homes. A container company transports the container between locations, while packing and loading are generally your responsibility unless you hire that help. The rental price, fuel, any paid loading crews, additional storage and the conditions at the delivery address all belong in the amount you compare with a carrier’s written estimate. We cover the differences in our PODS vs. movers comparison.
Get a Cross-Country Moving Estimate for Your Household
When you’re ready to price the move, tell us the two addresses, the dates you have in mind, and what furniture and boxes you plan to take. Include anything stored away from the home and describe access at both buildings. We can arrange an interstate move with an authorized motor carrier based on the shipment and services you actually need.
Request a free moving quote for your route and inventory. You’ll have a specific estimate to review alongside the recorded prices above, rather than relying on a national average that may describe a very different household.
Sources
- Coastal Moving Services: anonymized interstate booked estimates for moves scheduled January–April 2026, restricted to Pacific-to-Atlantic and Atlantic-to-Pacific state pairs and grouped by estimated shipment volume. These data are different from completed-move records.
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: Estimating Charges (Subpart D).
