What actually determines the price of an interstate move
An interstate household goods move is priced on two things the carrier measures and a list of things the carrier does. It measures the weight of your shipment, at a certified scale, and the tariff distance between the origin and the destination. Against those two figures sits a rate. Everything else on the invoice is a service that was performed: packing, a long carry from door to truck, a flight of stairs, a shuttle where a tractor-trailer cannot reach the address, storage while the destination is not ready, and the valuation option chosen.
That is why every serious quote starts with an inventory. The mover is not being difficult when it asks to see the garage on a video survey. Weight is the largest single input to the price, and the only way to estimate weight before the truck reaches a scale is to look at what is being moved.
Why a rate per mile does not describe the job
Distance is one input. Loading and unloading a household is largely the same work whether the truck then drives 200 miles or 2,000, so the fixed part of the cost does not shrink as the distance falls. Divide a short move by its mileage and the per-mile figure looks alarming. Divide a coast-to-coast move by its mileage and the same job looks cheap. Neither number tells you whether the price was fair, because neither knows what the shipment weighed or what the crew did.
The practical harm is in comparison. Two quotes on the same lane can produce a similar figure per mile while one includes packing and full-value protection and the other includes neither. A reader who compares per-mile rates has compared nothing.
BestMovers.info does not publish a per-mile moving rate, because we hold no dataset of shipment weights, tariff distances and final invoices from which one could be calculated. A number here would be an average of moves we have not seen, presented as a rate no carrier quotes from. Where a per-mile figure is useful at all, it is one you calculate yourself, after the fact, from your own written estimate.
What the mover must give you in writing
An interstate household-goods carrier must give the shipper a written estimate of charges before the move. (49 CFR 375.401.) That document, not a rate per mile, is the thing to compare between carriers, because it names the weight assumed, the services included and the estimate type.
The shipper may observe each weighing and may request a re-weigh before charges are computed. (49 CFR 375.519.) Since weight is the dominant input to an interstate price, the right to watch the scale and ask for a second weighing is the consumer's direct check on the largest number in the calculation.
What the mover can charge above the estimate
On a non-binding estimate the carrier may require no more than 110 percent of the estimated charges at delivery; the balance is billed afterwards. (49 CFR 375.407.) On a non-binding estimate that is the ceiling on what has to be paid before the goods come off the truck, whatever the final weight turns out to be.
Charges above the amount collectible at delivery must be billed and are payable within 30 days of delivery. (49 CFR 375.407.) A binding not-to-exceed estimate removes the question entirely: the estimate becomes a ceiling on the total, and a lighter shipment costs less.
What an interstate move costs by home size
Since the price tracks the size of the household rather than the odometer, the useful table is by home size. These are national full-service figures from our pricing model, not a rate for any particular corridor.
| Home size | Approximate weight | Full-service interstate |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | ≤500 sq ft, ~2,000 lb | $1,650–$4,200 |
| 1 Bedroom | 500–800 sq ft, ~3,500 lb | $2,250–$5,460 |
| 2 Bedroom | 800–1,200 sq ft, ~5,500 lb | $3,000–$7,000 |
| 3 Bedroom | 1,200–1,800 sq ft, ~8,500 lb | $4,350–$10,850 |
| 4 Bedroom | 1,800+ sq ft, ~12,000 lb | $5,850–$15,050 |
| 5+ Bedroom | 2,600+ sq ft, ~16,000 lb | $7,200–$18,900 |
What a mover is liable for if something is damaged
Released value is the no-extra-charge level of carrier liability on an interstate household-goods move, set at 60 cents per pound per article. (49 CFR 375.701.) Released value is calculated on the weight of the damaged article and not on what the article is worth, which is why the alternative, full-value protection, is worth pricing before the move rather than after the damage.
How to compare two quotes that look unalike
- Same inventory list, or weight estimates close enough that the difference is explainable
- Same valuation selection: released value on both, or full-value protection on both
- Same packing scope: full pack, partial, or none
- Same accessorials named: stairs, long carry, shuttle, storage-in-transit
- Same delivery window length
- Same estimate type, with binding not-to-exceed preferred