How to Figure Out Your Moving Volume (and Why Movers Care So Much)
Every honest moving price starts with one question: how much stuff? Not how many rooms; how much stuff. Volume decides the truck, the crew size, and the hours, which is why movers ask about it so carefully and why “it’s a two-bedroom, not much” is the most expensive sentence in the business. Here’s how to get the number right.
The unit: cubic feet
Movers think in cubic feet. A standard 26-foot moving truck holds roughly 1,700 cubic feet packed properly. A medium moving box is about 3 cubic feet; a large is about 4.5; a dish pack is about 5. A sofa is 35 to 45. A queen mattress and box spring together run about 60. A dresser, 25 to 35. Get the household into cubic feet and everything else follows.
Typical volumes by home size
- Studio: 400 to 600 cubic feet
- One bedroom: 600 to 900
- Two bedrooms: 900 to 1,300
- Three bedrooms: 1,300 to 1,800
- Four bedrooms or more: 1,800 to 2,500 and up
Those are averages. A minimalist three-bedroom can move in one truck; a full one with a garage can need two. Which is why the ranges are a starting point, not an answer.
The room-by-room method
Walk the house with your phone and list every piece of furniture per room, then count boxes per room. A rough guide: a bedroom is 8 to 12 boxes, a kitchen 15 to 25 (dishes take space), a living room 10 to 15, a home office 5 to 10. Add furniture volumes from the numbers above. Total it. You’ll land within about 15 percent of what a professional walkthrough finds, which is close enough to book the right crew.
The three things everyone forgets
- The garage. Tools, bikes, holiday decorations, the second fridge. Garages routinely add 200 to 400 cubic feet that never make it onto a mental inventory.
- The patio and the yard. Outdoor furniture, the grill, planters, the kids’ play set. Bulky and awkward, and it all needs truck space.
- The storage unit. If you have one, it’s part of the move. Tell the mover; it usually means a second stop and can trigger Double Drive Time on a local job.
Why the number changes your price
Local moves are billed hourly by crew size, so volume drives the hours and the number of movers. Undercount and a two-person crew takes eight hours to do what three would have done in five; the “cheaper” crew costs more. Overcount and you pay for a truck you don’t fill. Long-distance moves are priced flat from inventory, so volume is the price. Either way, the closer the count, the tighter the written quote.
The easy version: let us count
A ten-minute video walkthrough on your phone does all of the above. You walk, we count, and the crew size and hours go on a written quote before you decide anything. It’s how we plan every move, and it’s free. Price tables by crew size are on the Moving Cost page, and if you’d rather not lift a box at all, the full-service option starts with the same walkthrough.