How Much to Charge for a Local Move

Every moving customer asks the same first question: "how much?". If your answer is "it depends, we would have to come see it", they call the next company. If your answer is a clear number with an honest range, you are already ahead. Here is how to build that number.

Start with your hourly cost

Before you set a price, know what an hour of your crew and truck really costs you. Add up:

• Labor: what you pay each mover per hour, plus payroll taxes and workers' comp
• Truck: payment, insurance, maintenance and fuel, divided by the hours it works
• Overhead: your phone, software, liability and cargo insurance, gear and your own time on the phone

A small company in a mid-size US city often lands somewhere around $80 to $100 an hour all in for two movers and a truck. To keep a healthy margin, your rate should be about 1.4 to 1.6 times that.

Set your hourly rates

A common rate card for a small mover:

• Two movers and a truck: $140 an hour, two-hour minimum ($280)
• Labor only, two movers: $110 an hour, two-hour minimum ($220)

Most US movers charge between $100 and $200 an hour for two movers and a truck, so check what the companies around you show online. Read moving company hourly rates by crew size for three and four mover crews.

Turn hours into a price by home size

Customers do not know how many hours their move will take. They know how many bedrooms they have. So give them a price by home size, built from your hourly math and your own records:

Home	Typical crew and time	Price
Studio or 1 bedroom	2 movers, about 3 to 3.5 hours	$480
2 bedrooms	about 3 movers, 5 hours	$930
3 bedrooms	3 to 4 movers, most of a day	$1,380
4 bedrooms	4 movers, a full day	$1,830
5 bedrooms	4 movers, a long day	$2,280

That is $480 for the first bedroom and $450 for each one after it. It is easy to explain and easy to put in a calculator.

Add-ons that pay for extra time

Some homes take longer no matter how many bedrooms they have. Price those separately so the base stays fair:

• Stairs or an elevator at either home: +$100
• Long carry, more than about 75 feet from the door to the truck: +$75
• Piano or safe: +$250
• Packing materials (boxes, tape, wrap): +$150
• A date this week: +$100

So a two-bedroom on the second floor with no elevator is $930 + $100 = $1,030. Our guide on pricing stairs and long carries explains why these matter.

Always show a range and say how the bill works

Your price by home size is an estimate. The real bill goes by the real hours. Say so on your website, on the phone and on the deposit invoice. A good line: "Most two-bedroom moves land around $930. The final bill is based on actual hours at $140 an hour for two movers, $185 for three."

Showing a range, like $830 to $1,070 for that two-bedroom, protects you when the customer was not as packed as they said, and it protects them from surprises.

Should you offer flat rates?

Some movers offer a flat price after a video walkthrough. It can win jobs, but one bad guess wipes out the profit of three moves. If you do it, do it only after you have records from 50 or more moves of your own, and write down exactly what the flat price includes.

What to do when someone asks for a discount

Do not cut the hourly rate. Offer to save them hours instead: pack everything before the crew arrives, take beds apart, reserve the elevator, and move on a Tuesday instead of the last Saturday of the month. A weekday move is the real discount you can afford.

Review your prices twice a year

Wages, fuel and insurance go up. Look at your numbers every spring and every fall. If your average two-bedroom keeps running past five hours, your price by home size is too low for your crew, and it is time to adjust.

Put your prices where people decide

Most people pick a mover at night, on their phone. A moving estimate calculator on your site shows your price by home size with your add-ons, and the customer calls ready to pick a date. You can try one on our free moving cost calculator.