Moving cost
Moving from San Francisco to Houston: modeled cost
$6,700 to $8,900 is the modeled range for a 3-bedroom household moving 1,870 mi from San Francisco to Houston, with a $7,700 midpoint. San Francisco carries the higher crew-labour index. The range is model output from stated assumptions, not a price a carrier has committed to.
What separates this corridor from other routes of the same length is narrow but material: the costly half of this move is the pickup end, which is where the model puts the weighted service cost. The figures below all follow from a 8,150 lb profile over 1,870 mi.
Estimated full-service moving cost · 3 bedroom
$6,700–$8,900
Estimated range. Our model’s midpoint for this profile is $7,700.
- Distance
- 1,870 mi est.
- Transit
- 6 to 14 days
- Shipment
- 6,800–9,500 lbs
- Method
- Full service
The modeled numbers for this corridor
| Measure | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Modeled range, 3-bedroom | $6,700–$8,900 | Full service, off-peak, no packing |
| Midpoint | $7,700 | 1,870 mi, 8,150 lb assumed |
| Cost per mile | $4.12 | Cohort median $3.90 |
| Transit window | 6 to 14 days | Shared-trailer scheduling assumption |
| Line haul | $5,800 | 75% of the total |
| Crew time, both ends | $1,250 | 16% of the total |
| Transport and handling | $650 | 8% of the total |
Expensive-origin route: what it means for the estimate
Crew rates are not symmetric here — San Francisco indexes at 1.26 and Houston at 0.96, 31.0% apart.
The model weights the loading end at 60%, so that spread reaches the estimate close to full force — $375 of the $1,250 crew component.
Two consequences follow: the return direction prices differently, and an hour of crew time saved in San Francisco is worth more than the same hour in Houston.
Against the distance band
Set against 909 modeled routes of similar length, this one sits $1,400 below the $9,100 median — the 8th percentile. Mileage is controlled for in that comparison, so the discount is coming from the two metro labor assumptions rather than from the haul.
Cost by shipment size
The curve spans $10,150 from studio to five bedrooms, and the single 3-to-4 step is $2,500 of it. Compared with the $900 peak-season adjustment on this route, shipment size is the input with the larger consequence — which is why an honest inventory at survey matters more than the date.
| Home size | Modeled midpoint | Step from previous |
|---|---|---|
| 1 BR | $3,550 | — |
| 2 BR | $5,250 | +$1,700 |
| 3 BR | $7,700 | +$2,450 |
| 4 BR | $10,200 | +$2,500 |
| 5+ BR | $13,700 | +$3,500 |
What your own labour is worth here
| Method | Modeled midpoint | Against full service | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full service | $7,700 | — | Carrier loads, drives, unloads |
| Container | $4,900 | −$2,800 | You load; carrier drives |
| Rental truck | $3,000 | −$4,700 | You load and drive |
Price your own San Francisco to Houston move
San Francisco to Houston: your details
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Related routes
What this corridor raises
Which end of this move is the expensive one?
San Francisco in our model: it carries a labor index of 1.26 against 0.96 at the other end. Because the model weights the loading end at 60%, that gap lands on the estimate at close to full force.
How much more is a 4-bedroom move than a 3-bedroom on this route?
$2,500 more at the midpoint, $7,700 against $10,200 — a 32.5% step. Home size enters our model as a weight profile, so the step is really about the extra 3,100 lbs the larger profile assumes, not about the room count.
What is the cost per mile on this route?
About $4.12 per mile at the modeled midpoint, against a median of $3.90 across comparable cross-country move models. Per-mile figures are only useful for comparing corridors — within a single move, weight moves the total far more than mileage does.
How much does shipping less weight actually save here?
Line haul on this route models at $5,800 for 8,150 lbs, roughly $700 per 1,000 lbs across 1,870 miles. Service and transport do not fall at the same rate, so cutting weight is a partial saving rather than a proportional one.
Why does this route model lower than other moves of the same distance?
The midpoint sits near the 8th percentile of 909 comparable cross-country move models, roughly 15.4% under the $9,100 median. The inputs that differ are the metro labor assumptions at the two ends, not the distance.
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.