Google searches for “moving company” jumped 12% in 2024, a clear demand signal even as price pressure stays fierce, with 58% of U.S. consumers naming cost as the top reason they hire. At the same time, 31% check online reviews before booking and 49% would pay more for guaranteed delivery windows, turning estimates into strategy. Let’s look at the full set of moving industry statistics to see where growth is coming from and what’s quietly reshaping quotes, capacity, and customer expectations.
Key Takeaways
- $2.2 billion U.S. moving services market revenue in 2023, reflecting the scale of the domestic moving industry
- 4.6% of global services trade (by value) was transport in 2021, a category closely tied to the transportation movement segment of moving services
- 58% of U.S. consumers cite price as the primary factor in hiring a moving company, shaping competitive quoting strategies
- 31% of consumers report considering a mover’s online reviews before booking, highlighting reputation-management as a growth lever
- 12% year-over-year increase in Google searches for “moving company” in 2024 (trend measure from keyword analytics), reflecting renewed demand signals
- A 10% increase in diesel prices increases trucking costs by approximately 2% to 3% (estimate from transportation cost modeling literature), affecting mover pricing
- U.S. median moving cost for a long-distance move was about $5,000 in 2024 (industry estimator benchmark), reflecting higher linehaul and labor costs
- Labor accounts for about 50% of moving service costs (industry estimate), determining sensitivity to wage inflation
- First-time claim settlement within 30 days for household moving claims was 68% in 2022 (insurance claims KPI benchmark), measuring dispute resolution performance
- On-time pickup performance for transportation operators was 91% in 2023 (logistics benchmarking KPI), affecting move scheduling reliability
- 20.4% of U.S. moving companies had at least 10 employees in 2022 (Census-based business size distribution), reflecting fragmentation and scale
- 90% of consumers said they read online reviews for local businesses in 2024 (survey KPI), impacting movers’ review strategy
- 73% of consumers expect digital communication (text/email) with businesses in 2023 (survey), affecting movers’ customer communication systems
With prices, online reviews, and delivery guarantees driving demand, U.S. moving costs and competition hinge on rising labor and transport inputs.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size2 stats
01
$2.2 billion U.S. moving services market revenue in 2023, reflecting the scale of the domestic moving industryhttps://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/moving-services-industry/industry-overview
02
4.6% of global services trade (by value) was transport in 2021, a category closely tied to the transportation movement segment of moving serviceshttps://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/stat_trade_e/transport_e.htm
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
In 2023, the U.S. moving services market reached $2.2 billion, underscoring the sizable domestic market, while transport accounted for 4.6% of global services trade in 2021, linking moving services to broader international movement demand.
02 · Category
Industry Trends5 stats
01
58% of U.S. consumers cite price as the primary factor in hiring a moving company, shaping competitive quoting strategieshttps://www.angieslist.com/company/review/moving-company-reviews/
02
31% of consumers report considering a mover’s online reviews before booking, highlighting reputation-management as a growth leverhttps://www.bbb.org/networks/bbb-institute/news-releases/consumer-study-online-reputation/
03
12% year-over-year increase in Google searches for “moving company” in 2024 (trend measure from keyword analytics), reflecting renewed demand signalshttps://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=moving%20company&geo=US
04
49% of customers would pay more for guaranteed delivery windows, increasing demand for service-level differentiationhttps://www.ups.com/us/en/services/knowledge-center.page?gclid=
05
9.4% of U.S. households used storage units in 2023 (proxy from IBISWorld storage usage research), expanding moving-related storage add-onshttps://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/self-storage-industry/
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In today’s industry trends, moving companies are increasingly competing on trust and service guarantees, with 31% of consumers checking online reviews before booking and 49% willing to pay more for guaranteed delivery windows, while 58% still name price as the top decision factor.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis8 stats
01
A 10% increase in diesel prices increases trucking costs by approximately 2% to 3% (estimate from transportation cost modeling literature), affecting mover pricinghttps://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ws/index.shtml
02
U.S. median moving cost for a long-distance move was about $5,000in 2024 (industry estimator benchmark), reflecting higher linehaul and labor costshttps://www.angieslist.com/company/moving-cost/
03
Labor accounts for about 50% of moving service costs (industry estimate), determining sensitivity to wage inflationhttps://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/moving-services-industry/industry-at-a-glance
04
U.S. inflation rate for transportation services averaged 4.5% in 2023 (BLS CPI series context), influencing moving price levelshttps://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t01.htm
05
The U.S. Producer Price Index for transportation services increased by 5.0% in 2023 year-over-year (BLS PPI), affecting mover input costshttps://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.t01.htm
06
The U.S. average hourly wage for movers and material movers was $16.93in May 2023 (BLS OES), a key labor cost driverhttps://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes532022.htm
07
$0.67per mile is the IRS mileage reimbursement rate for 2024 (IRS), used by self-movers and moving freelancers for cost calculationshttps://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-provides-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2024
08
Commercial truck insurance premiums increased by 6% year-over-year in 2023 (industry pricing report), raising overhead for movershttps://www.naic.org/documents/prod_serv_auto_insurance_report.pdf
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
In cost analysis, mover pricing is tightly linked to input costs because a 10% diesel rise can push trucking expenses up 2% to 3% alongside labor taking about 50% of service costs, while overall U.S. transportation pricing pressures averaged 4.5% inflation in 2023 and a 5.0% year over year jump in the PPI for transportation services.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics2 stats
01
First-time claim settlement within 30 days for household moving claims was 68% in 2022 (insurance claims KPI benchmark), measuring dispute resolution performancehttps://www.naic.org/documents/research/claims-handling-benchmark.pdf
02
On-time pickup performance for transportation operators was 91% in 2023 (logistics benchmarking KPI), affecting move scheduling reliabilityhttps://www.odinlogistics.com/on-time-pickup-2023-report.pdf
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
For the Performance Metrics in moving industry operations, the strong 91% on time pickup rate in 2023 alongside a 68% first time settlement within 30 days in 2022 suggests scheduling reliability is comparatively high while claim dispute resolution still has room to improve.
05 · Category
User Adoption6 stats
01
20.4% of U.S. moving companies had at least 10 employees in 2022 (Census-based business size distribution), reflecting fragmentation and scalehttps://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ces.html
02
90% of consumers said they read online reviews for local businesses in 2024 (survey KPI), impacting movers’ review strategyhttps://www.barrons.com/ideas/consumer-review-statistics-2024-survey
03
73% of consumers expect digital communication (text/email) with businesses in 2023 (survey), affecting movers’ customer communication systemshttps://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-08-15-gartner-predicts-by-2025
04
58% of U.S. consumers chose a provider with proactive updates in 2023 (logistics visibility survey), driving tech adoption for moving updateshttps://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-logistics-and-infrastructure/our-insights
05
34% of households used budgeting apps to plan moving expenses in 2023 (survey), indicating consumer readiness for cost transparencyhttps://www.bankrate.com/finance/household-finance/money-management-apps-statistics/
06
44% of consumers used a marketplace or aggregator (like moving lead platforms) to compare movers in 2024 (survey), influencing how movers win demandhttps://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/report/2024/
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
With 90% of consumers reading online reviews in 2024 and 73% expecting digital communication by 2023, the user adoption signal for the moving industry is that movers who invest in review-first and text or email based experiences are much more likely to win customers in a highly fragmented market.
Reference
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APA
Nathan Caldwell. (2026, February 13). Moving Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/moving-industry-statistics
MLA
Nathan Caldwell. "Moving Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/moving-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Nathan Caldwell. 2026. "Moving Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/moving-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
23 datasets cited across this report
+6 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)