Moving cost
Moving from Boston to Chicago: modeled cost
Moving a 3-bedroom home the 985 mi from Boston to Chicago models at $5,550, inside a $4,850 to $6,450 range. That is the 99th percentile for its distance band. Our pricing model produces that from published assumptions; a surveyed quote can land outside it.
Below is what our model produces for this corridor and, more usefully, why it produces it: this route prices above comparable-distance routes, and the reason is identifiable. The inputs are a 8,150 lb weight profile, 985 mi of modeled road, and labour indices of 1.20 and 1.08.
Estimated full-service moving cost · 3 bedroom
$4,850–$6,450
Estimated range. Our model’s midpoint for this profile is $5,550.
- Distance
- 985 mi est.
- Transit
- 2 to 5 days
- Shipment
- 6,800–9,500 lbs
- Method
- Full service
Boston to Chicago at a glance
| Measure | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Modeled range, 3-bedroom | $4,850–$6,450 | Full service, off-peak, no packing |
| Midpoint | $5,550 | 985 mi, 8,150 lb assumed |
| Cost per mile | $5.63 | Cohort median $6.55 |
| Transit window | 2 to 5 days | Shared-trailer scheduling assumption |
| Line haul | $3,850 | 69% of the total |
| Crew time, both ends | $1,250 | 23% of the total |
| Transport and handling | $450 | 8% of the total |
Above-cohort route: what it means for the estimate
The $4,850 median for this length sits $700 below this corridor, placing it at the 99th percentile of 559 modeled comparisons.
Distance is held roughly constant in that comparison, so the difference is coming from the labor assumptions we hold for Boston (1.20) and Chicago (1.08), not from the drive.
The practical consequence: a per-mile budget borrowed from another route of this length will be wrong here by roughly $0.73 a mile, and quotes above the band median should not be read as overpricing.
What your own labour is worth here
The $3,350 between the top and bottom row is bought entirely with your own labour across 2 to 5 days. Set against the roughly 18 person-hours our profile assumes for loading and unloading a three-bedroom shipment, the container option values that work at about $111 an hour.
| Method | Modeled midpoint | Against full service | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full service | $5,550 | — | Carrier loads, drives, unloads |
| Container | $3,550 | −$2,000 | You load; carrier drives |
| Rental truck | $2,200 | −$3,350 | You load and drive |
What each bedroom adds
$7,250 separates the smallest and largest profiles here. Because weight enters line haul linearly across 985 mi, cutting a bedroom's worth of contents is worth about $1,800 — more than any negotiation on the $5,550 midpoint is likely to produce.
| Home size | Modeled midpoint | Step from previous |
|---|---|---|
| 1 BR | $2,600 | — |
| 2 BR | $3,850 | +$1,250 |
| 3 BR | $5,550 | +$1,700 |
| 4 BR | $7,350 | +$1,800 |
| 5+ BR | $9,850 | +$2,500 |
Which end is the expensive one
The two ends do not price alike: 1.20 in Boston against 1.08 in Chicago. Boston is the dearer crew market by 11.0%, which is where an extra hour of access trouble costs the most.
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Questions about this route
Why does this route model higher than other moves of the same distance?
Against 559 comparable medium-haul move models the midpoint here sits around the 99th percentile, about 14.4% above the $4,850 median. Distance is held roughly constant in that comparison, so the difference comes from the labor indices we hold for Boston (1.20) and Chicago (1.08).
What is the cost per mile on this route?
About $5.63 per mile at the modeled midpoint, against a median of $6.55 across comparable medium-haul move models. Per-mile figures are only useful for comparing corridors — within a single move, weight moves the total far more than mileage does.
Is a moving container cheaper than a full-service move on this route?
Yes in dollars: $3,550 against $5,550, a modeled saving of $2,000 or 36%. You take on the loading and unloading at both ends in exchange, which our home-size profile puts at roughly 18 person-hours for a 3-bedroom shipment.
Is doing the loading yourself worth it on this route?
It saves a modeled $2,000 against full service. Spread across the roughly 18 person-hours our profile assumes for loading and unloading a 3-bedroom shipment, that values your labor at about $111 an hour. Whether that clears your own bar is the actual question.
How much does shipping less weight actually save here?
Line haul on this route models at $3,850 for 8,150 lbs, roughly $475 per 1,000 lbs across 985 miles. Service and transport do not fall at the same rate, so cutting weight is a partial saving rather than a proportional one.
What this estimate cannot see
Our model does not know your stairs, your elevator reservation, your real inventory, or a carrier's capacity on your date. Use the range as the figure to check written quotes against, and read the method behind it in our pricing methodology.
Modeled with pricing pricing-v1.0. Reviewed 2026-08-31.