How Much Do Movers Cost?

How much do movers cost? Well, it’s costly. It depends on where a person is moving; it also depends on a little item known as the movers’ tariff.

The movers’ tariff is the Federal Government mandated documentation that provides guidelines for professional movers, telling exactly what they can and cannot ship, and also what they can charge for their services. This means that movers may have some wiggle room in the fees they can charge, although it won’t be a lot. But it will affect the basic movers cost to the consumer directly.

The cost of movers changes exponentially with the location of the move, with the circumstances (weather etc.) under which the move is made and with the length of the move (how many days will be required). The movers cost to another city is usually greater than a local move, unless the local move takes a great deal of time (expensively padded furniture which is moved with care, for instance). On the other hand, the out of town move, if it’s not too far out of town, could, if carefully planned, take no more than a half day’s expense. But there are a few general guidelines to assist the consumer with the cost of movers.

How Much Do Movers Cost On Average?

If one takes a specific situation, a move to a given destination (say, 100 miles from a present address to a new one), and then applies the rate structure, the figure is fairly easy to discover. Generally, 100 miles or less is within the radius of most moving companies; the hourly rate for the vehicle and two moving men would vary between $75 and $125. Assuming two hours to travel to the destination safely, an approximate six hours to unload the truck and two hours return trip, the average cost of movers falls between $750 and $1250 to make a move within the radius of the moving company.

How Much Do Professional Movers Cost?

The cost of movers if they are professionals will increase depending on the factors listed above, the duration of the move and the travel time. It would also be affected by the fact that many movers pack furniture and household items for their customers, who may not be that handy at packing. Under those circumstances, professional movers cost at least $100 per hour as packers; this is a baseline figure, since one is paying not only for their moving but their packing expertise.

Moving company prices are usually higher because they not only pack the boxes, but they wrap, buffer and ship them, a process that can add several hours of labor to the situation. If one has the movers pack most items, even minutiae, one should figure at least $110 to $125 an hour, and a six hour work day before moving the boxes; multiply it by two, since two workers will expedite things.  One may see a grand total of between $1000 and $1500 for a small house or condo, assuming one trip for everything, and that does not include the truck rental, another $700 to $1200 per day expense added to movers cost (which, in the case of the vehicle, usually figures in expenses based on mileage of the commute.)

Local Movers Cost

Local movers cost around the same amount per hour or per mile, but the bottom line may be half what it costs to move out of town. In other words, one would pay an hourly wage of between $65 and $130 for the truck rental and two moving men. If an extra mover is needed, figure in $45 to $65 for the additional man.

If a local mover packs the house for the customer, the cost of movers can get expensive very quickly. A one room bedroom’s furnishings, packed up, can run over $100 for the packing alone. Bear in mind that this charge would include boxes, shipping tape and packing materials such as bubble wrap. A higher-end movers cost with full packing done might run a total of between $1500 and $2000, even locally.

Long Distance Movers Cost And Cross Country Movers Cost

Long distance and cross country movers’ costs are so relative and varied that it’s impossible to ascertain much beyond a ballpark figure for general consumption; however, one can visit the movers website and enter information (include mileage, bulk of moving by number of rooms, and number of men needed.)

The long distance and cross country mover will usually charge, not by the mileage or hours, but by weight and volume, and those figures are difficult to estimate. No chart exists that simply and clearly delineates every move to every destination; however, one can always get fairly accurate quotes from the website of the mover. And there is a surprise awaiting most people; long distance movers cost is usually trumped by that of cross country movers.

For example, a higher end moving company located in California quoted a price of $4200 to move a three bedroom family to a Midwestern state (a long distance move, obviously), but nearly doubled it to $8100 going cross country to New York. The clearest method of getting an accurate quote, then, is to contact the long distance movers’ website; quotes are free, and are usually followed up by the company, who will contact the consumer with a bid.

If one wants a good deal, one can approach several movers’ websites and request similar quotes from all of them. The bidding war that follows is fun to be part of, and will provide numerous fairly low bids to choose from.

House Movers Cost

If one has no intention of parting with the old family home, but wants instead to take it to new land with a house-hauling company, one has opted for the most expensive alternative there is in moving, although it is nice to take a cherished house and put it elsewhere, in a move that feels like a whole new life. It better be, because one is leaving the old life with a pretty solid debt: the typical house moving costs between $12 and $16 for every square foot. That may not seem like a lot, but one must calculate the expense based on total square footage in the house itself. According to Eric Fetters of the Everett Washington Herald, it runs between $150,000 and $200,000 to move a house. In addition, if the house is more than one story, utility wires must be raised, with another fee thus added to the cost of movers. Moving a house, or even just what’s in it, is always costly.