The short answer
Across every corridor we publish, a full-service 3-bedroom interstate move models around the corpus median shown in the first table below, with the middle of the range driven by distance and the level set by shipment weight. A studio models at a fraction of that; a five-bedroom household at a multiple of it.
Those are model outputs, not quotes. They assume standard access at both ends, a transport-only scope, and the weight profile published for each home size. Packing, storage, specialty items, stairs, shuttles and long carries are priced by the carrier on top. The tables show the size ladder and the distance ladder separately, because conflating them is what makes most published moving-cost figures unusable.
Moving Cost Advisor model data
Median modeled cost by home size, across our full corridor inventory
Swipe the table sideways to see every column
| Home size | Assumed shipment weight | Median modeled midpoint | Weight-normalised |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 1,500–2,600 lbs | $2,450 | $1,200 per 1,000 lbs |
| 1 Bedroom | 2,400–3,800 lbs | $3,200 | $1,025 per 1,000 lbs |
| 2 Bedroom | 4,200–6,200 lbs | $4,800 | $925 per 1,000 lbs |
| 3 Bedroom | 6,800–9,500 lbs | $7,050 | $875 per 1,000 lbs |
| 4 Bedroom | 9,500–13,000 lbs | $9,400 | $825 per 1,000 lbs |
| 5+ Bedroom | 13,000–18,000 lbs | $12,600 | $825 per 1,000 lbs |
MCA model output. Every one of the 2,300 published corridors repriced at each profile (median corridor: 1,530 miles), then summarised on midpoints. Not a market survey.
Moving Cost Advisor model data
Modeled 3-bedroom cost by distance band, and what it implies per mile
Swipe the table sideways to see every column
| Distance band | Corridors priced | Median distance | Median modeled midpoint | Implied per mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 500 miles | 108 | 395 miles | $3,400 | $8.61 per mile |
| 500–999 miles | 507 | 790 miles | $4,900 | $6.20 per mile |
| 1,000–1,499 miles | 516 | 1,205 miles | $6,100 | $5.06 per mile |
| 1,500–2,199 miles | 581 | 1,830 miles | $7,800 | $4.26 per mile |
| 2,200 miles and over | 588 | 2,505 miles | $9,450 | $3.77 per mile |
MCA model output. Per-mile figures are derived by dividing the median modeled midpoint by the median band distance — they are an arithmetic consequence of the model, not a rate movers publish.
Moving Cost Advisor model data
What optional services add at the median corridor (1,530 miles, 3 bedroom)
| Scope | Modeled midpoint | Added versus base |
|---|---|---|
| Transport only, you pack | $7,000 | Base |
| Partial packing (fragiles) | $7,350 | $350 · 5% of the base total |
| Full packing | $7,900 | $900 · 13% of the base total |
MCA model output. These are modeled service components, not a fee schedule from any carrier; a real quote itemises its own accessorial charges.
Why one number cannot answer this question
Interstate pricing has two independent drivers. Distance sets the rate band and the length of the haul; shipment weight sets how much of that haul you are paying for. A 600-mile four-bedroom move and a 2,400-mile one-bedroom move can land within a few hundred dollars of each other while having nothing else in common.
That is why our corridor pages exist: each one fixes a distance and two endpoint market assumptions so the remaining variable is your inventory. A national figure is only useful as a sanity check on a quote you already hold.
What the ranges on this site include
Every modeled range covers line haul, crew service at origin and destination, and transportation. Optional services are added separately and shown as their own component, so you can see what scope costs rather than inferring it.
What the model cannot see is your building. Access conditions — elevator waits, a shuttle for a street a tractor-trailer cannot enter, a fourth-floor walk-up — are established at survey and appear on the quote as accessorial charges.
- Included: line haul, origin and destination service, transportation
- Shown separately: packing scope, storage, specialty handling
- Not modeled: shuttle, long carry, stair counts, valuation upgrades, storage-in-transit
How to use these figures against a real quote
Compare the assumed weight first, then the distance, then the scope. A quote that is far below our modeled band is usually pricing a lighter shipment or a narrower scope, not offering a better deal — and a non-binding estimate built on an optimistic weight corrects itself on delivery day.
Getting from a modeled range to your number
- 01Pick the home-size profile that matches what will actually be on the truck, not the bedroom count on the lease.
- 02Find your distance band in the second table to see how the haul scales.
- 03Open the corridor page for your specific city pair, which holds distance and both market assumptions fixed.
- 04Add the optional services you genuinely need, using the third table as a scale reference.
- 05Get two or three written estimates on the same documented inventory, and compare the weight assumption before the price.
Regulatory and external sources
What the rules say
Interstate movers must provide a written estimate based on a physical or virtual survey of the shipment before the move.
49 CFR Part 375 — Transportation of Household GoodsFMCSA publishes a consumer checklist for verifying interstate movers and understanding estimate paperwork.
FMCSA — Protect Your Move
Limits of this analysis
- All figures are outputs of our published pricing model, recomputed over our own corridor inventory. They are not collected invoices or a market survey.
- The model prices full-service interstate moves. Container and rental-truck options are compared elsewhere on the site and behave differently.
- Access conditions, valuation coverage and storage are excluded from the modeled bands by design.
Put this into a number
Use the moving cost calculator to see how these mechanics change your own estimate, or read the pricing methodology for the exact inputs we apply.
Related, and deliberately separate
Questions
Is this an estimate I can plan a budget around?
Use it as a reference band and then narrow it on the corridor page for your city pair. A budget should be built on a written estimate produced after a survey of your inventory.
Why do published moving costs vary so much between sites?
Because they answer different questions. A figure with no stated home size, distance or scope cannot be compared with one that states all three. Every number here declares its assumptions.
Does the cost per pound fall as the shipment gets bigger?
In our model, yes — the weight-normalised column in the size table shows it. Fixed components are spread over more pounds, so the marginal cost of size is lower than the headline step suggests.