Moving from California to New York in 2024

In a Nutshell: If you’re moving from California to New York, the average cost of your move can range from $4,150 to $7,650 depending upon how much you are moving and what type of moving service you chose. 

Now, obviously, this is a big range. But that’s because every move is different and every move cost can vary drastically, depending on various factors. 

Factors like, how much you’re moving, how far are you moving, what moving service you use, when you are moving will all affect your move cost.

So, how exactly can you figure out your actual moving cost to New York from California?

Let’s dive a little deeper.

How much does it cost to move from California to New York?

There are multiple ways to move from California to New York. 

• Hire a full service moving company
• Rent a moving truck
• Use a Moving Container company

The table below shows a comparison of the moving costs from California to New York based on move size and different moving types

MOVE SIZE	MOVING COMPANY	MOVING CONTAINER	RENTAL TRUCK (gas not included)
Studio / 1 Bedroom	$2,100 – $4,350	$1,850-$3,650	$2,110-$3500
2 – 3 bedrooms	$3,250-$6350	$2,600-$5,400	$3,650-$5,120
4+ bedrooms	$6,200 – $9,800	$5,700-$8,550	$5,450-$9,320

** Moving costs provided are estimates based on previous moves data. Your actual moving cost may vary. **

Understand that these prices are just rough estimates based on averages.

If you’d like to learn more, let’s take a deeper look into different moving options.

1. Hire a full-service mover: Least Effort. Higher Price.

This is the most white-glove moving option you’ll find. Hiring a full-service mover is the least stressful moving option but also can be on the expensive side.

If you hire a moving company, all you have to do is sit back and relax and let the movers do their job. Full service movers will show up at your door with a truck, pack all your items, disassemble furniture if required, load the moving truck, and ship your items to your new home. 

This is the most convenient way of moving to New York from California. 

What’s the cost to hire full-service movers when moving from California to New York?

Using full service movers for your move can cost anywhere from $4350 – $7350 depending upon how much stuff you have. In this cost, movers do almost everything for you. Drive the truck, load and unload the truck, disassemble and assemble the furniture. They’ll even pack and unpack your boxes if needed.

There’s not much else to worry about here other than making sure you stay in touch with the movers and get everything in writing.

Below are some sample moving quotes from California to New York processed thru MoverJunction.

FROM	California	TO	New York	SIZE	PRICE
Fresno	CA	New York	NY	3 Bedroom	$5,818.85
Oakland	CA	Alfred	NY	2 Bedroom	$3,358.94
Goleta	CA	Cuba	NY	2 Bedroom	$3,358.94
San Francisco	CA	New York	NY	1 Bedroom	$2,387.73
Lawndale	CA	Brooklyn	NY	1 Bedroom	$2,238.06

** Rates are from previous moves data over several months. Your actual rate may vary**

1. Rent a moving truck: Least Expensive. Most Effort.

Renting a moving truck is one of the cheapest ways to move to New York from California, but keep in mind the efforts that come along with it.  You’ll need to drive the truck all the way, load and unload the truck yourself and be responsible for anything that goes wrong along the way (think truck breaking down or getting a ticket or accidents). 

So before you decide on renting a truck for your move, take some time to calculate all the costs involved, not just the cost of the truck.

What’s the cost of renting a moving truck when moving from California to New York?

When renting a truck there are multiple things you need to budget for:

1. Truck Rental Fee
2. Gas Prices
3. Labor Cost (if you hire labor)
4. Food, Lodging etc

How much is the Truck Rental cost for New York to California?

The average cost of renting a moving truck when moving from California to New York is $1,501 – $2,083. The biggest factor in the high cost of truck rental is that you’ll be dropping the truck in a different location than the pickup and you’ll likely be keeping the truck for multiple days. 

Some sample Truck Rental rates from California to New York:

From	To	10’ Truck	15’ Truck	20’ Truck	26’ Truck
Fresno  CA	New York NY	$4,318 – $5,518	$6,060 – $7,260	$7,575 – $8775	$9,090 – $10,290
Oakland  CA	Alfred NY	$3,878 – $5,078	$5,444 – $6,644	$7,349 – $8,549	$9,254 – $10,454
Goleta  CA	Cuba NY	$4,026 – $5,226	$5,650 – $6,850	$7,063 – $8,265	$8,475 -$9,675
Lawndale  CA	Brooklyn NY	$4,200 – $5,400	$5,895 – $7,095	$7,369 – $8,565	$8,843 – 10,043

**Rates are average estimates. Your actual truck rental rates may vary**

Get truck rental quotes and save upto 20% off on your Truck Cost

In addition to the truck rental fees, you’ll need to budget for gas, food and lodging expenses depending on the driving distance.

How much should you budget for gas if you choose truck rental when moving from California to New York?

The budget for gas will vary upon the current gas rates, distance you’re traveling and the gas mileage your truck will give.

On an average a typical moving truck gives an average of 10-15 miles per gallon. 

With gas prices around $5 per gallon, you’ll need between 192.3 – 288.4 gallons of gas for a trip from CA-NY, which is at least 2,884 miles or 4,641 km. 

So, you should definitely budget $961.5 – $1,442  for gas when moving to New York from California. 

What size truck should you rent?

The truck size you choose will be critical to your move, so choose wisely. It’s better to have a truck too big than too small.

The table below will help you decide.

Home size	Recommended truck size
1-room apartment	10-16 ft.
2-room apartment	12-22 ft.
3-room house	22-26 ft
5-room house	26 ft

** You may use a smaller truck size if your house isn’t heavily furnished. The above table is based on how much stuff an average house has **

3. Hire moving labor help

This is kind of a happy medium between hiring a full service mover to do it all and renting a truck and doing it all yourself.

With this option, you can rent a truck or a moving container, but hire moving labor to help you load and unload your belongings. 

Here’s a quick snapshot of the various major services moving labor help provides:

• Packing 
• Furniture disassembling
• Loading
• Truck driving (not all moving labor companies offer this service)
• Unloading
• Unpacking
• Furniture assembling

Moving labor companies are professional movers and usually charge by the hour. Rates may vary from $55-$185/hr depending upon how many helpers you need.

What’s the cost to hire moving labor when moving to New York from California? 

Here’s a simple breakdown of the average cost of hiring moving labor:

Home	Number Of Moving Labor	Duration	Cost
Studio apartment	2 helpers	2 – 3 hours	$200 – $400
2-bedroom apartment	3 helpers	5 – 6 hours	$425-$625
3-bedroom apartment or house	4 helpers	8 – 9 hours	$725-$985

** Rates are based on previous moves and national averages. Your actual rate may vary**

See how much moving labor will cost for your move. 

Or

4. Rent a moving container: Most Flexible. Moderately Expensive.

Moving containers, or moving pods as they are more commonly referred to, are a fairly new way to move locally or long distance. 

How do Moving containers work?

Once you choose this option, the moving company will drop off the moving container at your desired location. You can pack and load your items into the pod at your own pace but within the agreed time frame. 

Once you’re done, the pod company will send a truck to drive the container to your new home. Then you can unload the truck yourself. You can hire moving labor help for the packing, loading, unloading and unpacking. 

Here’s a list of the well-known moving container companies in America: 

• 1-800-PACK-RAT
• PODS 
• U-Pack
• Zippy Shell
• SmartBox

How much will moving containers cost when moving from California to New York

The average cost of moving containers when moving from California to New York is $2,100 – $3,100 for a 3 bedroom home.  Similar to other moving options, several factors will affect the cost of your moving container when you’re moving to New York from California. 

Note: If you go with the Moving Container option, you may also hire moving labor to help you load and unload the container. Just remember the labor cost will be extra and will increase your total moving cost.

Get quotes from our Moving Container partner  Or

What if you’re interested in car shipping too?

How much does it cost to ship a car when moving from California to New York?

The average cost of shipping your car from California to New York is $850. Typically,  moving a car from CA to NY can cost anywhere from $900 to $1,200 depending upon the car. However, depending on several factors, your car shipping cost can be higher or lower. 

Let us show you what these factors are.

Factors that affect car shipping cost from California to New York  

• The type of car you’re shipping
• The type of car shipping service you want (enclosed or open trailer)
• The season and weather conditions
• The route of the car shipping company

Is moving from California to New York a good idea?

Let’s find out if moving from California to New York is right for you. We can start by comparing certain key factors in both states.

Things to consider before moving from California to New York

These are the key things to compare about the two states before making up your mind about moving from California to New York:

• Climate
• Schools 
• Career Opportunities
• Lifestyle
• Cost of Living

Let’s take a deeper look and compare.

The climate in California vs New York 

Climate can be one of the most important things you might consider before moving from California to New York. The table below shows the two states climates average and compared to the national average based on data collated from Best Places:

Climate	California	New York	United States
Rainfall	21.7 in.	43.5 in.	38.1 in.
Snowfall	7.1 in.	62.2 in.	27.8 in.
Precipitation	53.2 days	139.1 days	106.2 days
Sunny Days	258 days	165 days	205 days
Avg. July High	86.7°	81.2°	85.8°
Avg. Jan. Low	39.3°	15.8°	21.7°
Comfort Index (higher is better)	8.4	6.6	7
Elevation	2304 ft.	940 ft.	2443 ft.

 Schools in California vs New York  

If you’re moving from California to New York, the following are key things to know about the school systems of the two states and how they compare to the national average according to data from Great Schools and Best Places:

Education	California	New York	United States
Expend. per Student	$11,183	$23,054	$12,383
Educ. Expend. per Student	$9,188	$19,861	$10,574
Instr. Expend. per Student	$5,496	$13,785	$6,428
Pupil/Teacher Ratio	25	13.9	16.8
Students per Librarian	1398.1	516.1	538.1
Students per Counselor	839.2	367.6	403.2

 Career opportunities in California vs New York

Let’s look at the career opportunities in both states. This will give you an idea of what to expect if you’re moving from California to New York based on data from Home Snacks and Best Places:

Employment info.	California Average	New York Average	United States Average
Income per Cap.	$33,128	$35,752	$31,177
Household Income	$67,169	$62,765	$57,652
Unemployment Rate	8.2	8.5	6
Recent Job Growth	-8.83%	-8.56%	-6.18%
Future Job Growth	33.96%	27.54%	33.51%

 How is life different if you’re moving from California to New York?

Let’s talk about how life is different in New York compared to California. This will give you a better idea of what to expect if you’re moving from California to New York: 

	California	New York
Population	39,664,128	19,223,191
Political Environment	Democratic  63-34	Democratic 60.8-37.7
Crime index	25.7	25.8

Cost of living in California vs New York 

Cost of living is one of the key things you’ll most likely consider before making up your mind about moving from California to New York.

Cost of Living	California	New York	U.S. Average
Cost of living index	149.9	120.5	100
Grocery	105.1	103.8	100
Health	92.4	105.8	100
Housing	239.1	132.1	100
Median Home Cost	$684,800	$371,880	$291,700
Average rent cost	$1,698	$1,431.58	$1,326
Utilities	102.4	115.9	100
Transportation	133.1	140.7	100
Gas tax	51.10 Cents (Gasoline) 38.90 cents (Diesel)	8.05 cents per gallon of regular gasoline, 8.00 cents per gallon of diesel	Gasoline tax: $0.184/gallon, Diesel tax: $0.244/gallon
State income tax	13.3%	4% – 10.9%	13.29%.
Average sales tax	8.68%	4% – 8.875%	6.35%
Property insurance	$1,284 Per year	$1,045  Per year	$1,383
Car insurance	$1,713	$2,321   Per year	$1,630

 10 Best places to live in if you’re moving from California to New York

These are the best cities to live in if you’re moving from California to New York, according to Home Snacks:

Rank	City	Population	Unemployment Rate	Home Value
1	Malverne	8,516	2.4%	$484,600
2	East Hills	7,189	1.3%	$1,139,300
3	Floral Park	15,979	4.0%	$609,900
4	Williston Park	7,266	4.1%	$591,700
5	North Hills	5,867	0.8%	$1,185,300
6	Rye	15,769	3.5%	$1,448,500
7	Rockville Centre	24,552	4.2%	$653,300
8	Massapequa Park	17,152	4.4%	$493,700
9	Cedarhurst	6,642	3.0%	$591,300
10	Kings Point	5,250	3.6%	$2,000,001

Most popular places to live in if you move from California to New York 

 New York is home to some of the most well-known cities in America. World Population Review data shows the following are the ten most popular cities to live in the state if you’re moving from California to New York:  

Rank	Name	2022 Pop.	2010 Census	Change
1.	Yonkers	201,831	196,407	2.76%
2.	New Rochelle	77,762	77,233	0.68%
3	New York City	8,177,020	8,190,210	-0.16%
4.	Mount Vernon	66,415	67,399	-1.46%
5.	Schenectady	65,057	66,151	-1.65%
6.	Cheektowaga	73,740	75,178	-1.91%
7.	Rochester	204,768	210,217	-2.59%
8.	Syracuse	141,073	145,215	-2.85%
9.	Buffalo	253,793	261,275	-2.86%
10.	Albany	94,807	97,753	-3.01%

Key Comparison: California Vs New York 

Before making up your mind about moving from California to New York, look at the table below. It compares key information about both states and can make it easier for you to make the right decision about moving from California to New York:  

Factors	California	New York	Winner
Income Tax	1% – 13.3%	4% – 10.9%	New York
Sales Tax	7.25% to 10.25%.	4% – 8.875%	New York
Population	39,664,128	19,223,191	California
Sunny Days Per Year	258	165 days	California
Cost of Living	149	120.5	New York
Average Property Tax Rate	0.73%	1.72	New York
Average Home Cost	$884,890	$371,880	New York
Average Rent	$1,698	$1,431.58	New York
GDP	$3.4 trillion (2021)	$1.49 trillion (2021)	California
Unemployment Rate	8.2%	8.5%	California
One-way Commute time	28.8 minutes	33.0 minutes	California
Crime Rates	Violent crime: 25.2, Property crime: 37.1	Violent crime: 21.1, Property crime: 24.5	New York  (Lower crime rates)
Homeownership Rate	54.2% (2021)	58.9% (2021)	New York

Things to do after moving from California to New York

 Here are the most important things to do once you complete your moving from California to New York:

•  USPS Change of address: once you complete your moving from California to New York don’t hesitate to change your address. A USPS change of address can make the process of customer identification program (CIP) easier and prevent identity theft.
• Update utilities: You should consider updating utilities a few days before moving from California to New York. So, when you arrive at your new home your utilities will be running.
• Update Insurance: Update all your insurance within the first few days after moving from California to New York. Your insurance should include life, health, automobile, home, and casualty insurance etc.
• Transfer medical records: Transfer all your medical records from California to New York. Your medical records should include medications, test results, vaccine records, treatment plans, and other relevant health care information. You should do this to get the right medical care in New York.
• Voter’s registration: After moving from California to New York, you’re required to register to vote at least 25 days before the next election. You can register to vote in-person, online or by email. 
• Get to the DMV: You have 30 days to register your vehicle after moving from California to New York. You can become a registered New Yorker in 3 simple steps:

1. Vehicle inspection and insurance: Get your vehicle inspected at the DMV
2. Registration: Get your vehicle sticker and license plate
3. Driver license: After moving from California to New York, you’re required to get a New York driver license within 30 days. 

Get a free moving checklist

Moving from California to New York can be stress-free if you know exactly how to prepare for the move. We are offering a free moving checklist to make it easier for you to plan your relocation and move like a pro.

You can download the free moving checklist (PDF) to get started.

** Disclaimer: All the rates mentioned in the article are either rates from previous moves or average of rates paid by previous customers. Your actual rates may vary depending upon different factors.