This site is an independent cost guide. We are not affiliated with any moving company. Cost estimates are based on 2026 industry data.
Cost ranges verified May 2026

About CrossCountryMovingCost.com

CrossCountryMovingCost.com is an independent cost-research reference for US household cross-country moves. We are not a mover, not a broker, and not a lead-generation portal. Every number on this site traces back to a primary carrier tariff, rental rate sheet, or FMCSA regulation, with the source linked.

Why this site exists

Cross-country move planning is dominated by three sources of information, none of which are neutral. Full-service mover websites quote binding estimates only after lead capture, which means the cost number a household sees first is not comparable across carriers. Container and truck-rental sites lead with promotional pricing that excludes mileage, fuel, and damage-coverage costs. Aggregator portals (Move.org, MoveBuddha, Moving.com) earn affiliate fees and broker commissions, which structurally biases coverage toward the carriers that pay the highest commissions.

This site is the reference we wished existed when we last had to plan a 2,400-mile move. Cost ranges are shown both ends of the published-tariff band. Method comparisons are like-for-like (same home size, same distance, same week). Carrier orderings are FMCSA-data-grounded, not commission-driven. The math is shown rather than buried in a quote-form CTA.

Where the audit data does not exist (carrier-negotiated commercial accounts, corporate relocation packages, military DPS reimbursements), we say so on the relevant page rather than fill the gap with optimistic averages.

Editorial position

We are independent. We are not a mover, not a broker, not a quote-form lead-gen funnel, and not a moving consultancy. We do not collect quote requests, sell leads to carriers, or run affiliate UTMs on outbound carrier links. We do not accept paid placements or sponsored listings.

Where two carriers publish materially different rates for the same lane and home size, we show both numbers. Where peak-season or weekend surcharges apply, we quantify them rather than rounding into a midpoint. Where Released Value Protection leaves a household exposed to thousands in unrecovered loss, we say so in plain dollar terms.

This site is editorial. The author is named (Oliver Wakefield-Smith, Digital Signet). Corrections are accepted at the address below. Material substantive changes are noted in page footers when they ship.

Who runs the site

CrossCountryMovingCost.com is built and edited by Oliver Wakefield-Smith at Digital Signet, a small UK-based publishing and software house that operates a portfolio of independent cost-reference sites covering consumer and commercial topics. Sister sites in the moving cluster include CheapestWayToMoveAcrossCountry.com, which goes deeper on the cheapest-method cluster and links back here for the full-service and by-distance work.

The Digital Signet portfolio operates on a single set of editorial principles: independent, named author, single-source freshness, no affiliate quote forms, no lead capture, and every number traceable to a primary source.

What this site covers

Cost calculator
Calculator for home size, distance, and method on the home page.
Cost by distance
Per-mile rate curves for 500 to 3,000 mile moves.
Cost by home size
Weight bands and method-by-method ranges for studio to 4-bedroom.
Cost by route
Named-route pricing for ten popular US cross-country corridors.
Compare methods
Full-service vs container vs truck rental three-way comparison.
Cheapest ways to move
Eight methods ranked by cost for a 1BR, 1,500-mile move.
Ways to save
Twelve money-saving tactics with specific dollar savings ranges.
What affects cost
Seven factors that drive your final mover bill, with dollar impacts.
Best moving companies
Independent review of ten cross-country movers using FMCSA data.
Moving insurance
Released Value vs Full Value Protection, plain English with real numbers.
Moving checklist
Week-by-week interstate checklist including DMV and voter tasks.
Moving scams
The six common scams with FMCSA-grounded protection steps.

Editorial principles

Source pattern
Every cost range, per-mile rate, and weight band on this site traces back to a primary source. Full-service mover costs come from published Allied, Atlas, United, Mayflower, and North American Van Lines tariff pages and the carriers' own cost-estimator outputs. Truck rental day rates come from U-Haul, Penske, and Budget published quote pages. Container shipping costs come from PODS, U-Pack, 1-800-PACK-RAT, and ExtraSpace Storage published rate sheets. FMCSA carrier licensing and consumer-protection rules come from fmcsa.dot.gov.
No paid placements
There are no sponsored placements, no premium positioning, and no pay-to-rank. The /best-moving-companies ordering is by FMCSA complaint ratio, published-tariff transparency, and service coverage. No mover, broker, or lead-buyer is paying for placement.
No affiliate quote forms
Outbound links to carrier sites, truck rental sites, and container sites are plain unaffiliated URLs with no UTM tracking and no quote-form intermediation. This site is a reference, not a lead-generation funnel for moving brokers.
Monthly verification
Cost ranges are re-verified against the underlying carrier and rental sources on the first business week of each month. The last verified label currently reads May 2026.
Single-source freshness
The verification date is held in one constant (LAST_VERIFIED_DATE) imported by every page. Footer text, schema dateModified, and visible badges all read from that single source so cosmetic-only refreshes are not possible.
FMCSA-grounded consumer framing
Where the FMCSA defines a rule (binding vs non-binding estimates, the 110%-of-estimate cap, Released Value Protection, mover licensing requirements), this site quotes the rule and links to the source. We do not paraphrase or soften the consumer-protection language.

Methodology in brief

Cost ranges on this site are built from published carrier tariffs, truck-rental day rates, container shipping rate sheets, and FMCSA consumer-protection rules. The full method, including in-scope and out-of-scope coverage and the calculation framework, is documented at /methodology.

Every figure is a planning anchor, not a binding quote. A binding quote for your specific shipment, distance, and date can only come from an in-home survey with a licensed carrier under FMCSA rules.

Contact and corrections

Correction requests, source updates, and challenges to specific cost ranges are welcome. Email the editor at [email protected] with the page URL, the figure being challenged, and a primary source citation. Substantive corrections are typically actioned within 5 business days and noted in the affected page footer.

For privacy, cookies, terms, or accessibility queries, see the legal links in the site footer.

Disclosures. No paid placements. No affiliate quote forms. No commission on outbound carrier links. Carrier and rental-brand names (Allied, Atlas, United, Mayflower, North American, U-Haul, Penske, Budget, PODS, U-Pack, 1-800-PACK-RAT, ExtraSpace) are used descriptively. Cost ranges are planning anchors based on published sources, not binding quotes.

Updated 2026-05-11