What It Costs to Hire Help for a Move, by the Hour and by the Day

The number is two numbers

Hiring help for a move comes down to a rate and a count of hours, and almost everybody who ends up over budget got the second one wrong, not the first.

Two people for four hours at 25 an hour is 200 dollars. The same two people for seven hours, because nobody counted the stairs, is 350. The rate never moved.

So price the hours first, honestly, and then look up what movers and general labor pay where you live. Our Daily Pay Finder shows the published wage data for your metro next to what jobs nearby have actually been paying.

How long a move really takes

These are planning numbers for loading and unloading with a truck at the curb, not a promise. Add time for everything in the next section.

• A studio or small one bedroom, two people, about three to four hours.
• A two bedroom apartment, two people, about five to seven hours.
• A three bedroom house, three people, most of a day.
• Loading only, or unloading only, roughly half of those figures.

What quietly doubles the time

Every one of these is a real hour, and every one of them is invisible when you are estimating from your couch.

• Stairs, and how many flights.
• How far the truck can park from the door.
• An elevator you have to share with the building.
• Anything that has to come apart first, like a bed frame or a treadmill.
• Boxes that are not packed when the crew arrives.

Two people or three

Two is the floor for a move, because a couch is a two person object and one person alone will hurt themselves or your doorway.

Go to three when there are stairs, a long carry, or a hard deadline like a truck that has to be back by five. A third person on a stairs move usually pays for themselves in saved hours.

Being one person short does not stretch the day a little. It turns a finished move into a second trip.

What to have ready before they arrive

Every minute the crew spends waiting is a minute you are paying for. Have the boxes packed and closed, the path clear, the parking sorted, and somebody there who can answer what goes and what stays.

Have the dolly, the straps, and the blankets on site too, or say clearly that you expect the workers to bring them.

Hourly or a flat day rate

Hourly is fairer for both sides on a job whose length nobody can predict, and most local moves are exactly that.

A flat rate makes sense when you genuinely know the scope, like a truck unload. Just say what hours the flat number covers, because the argument at the end of the day is always about that.

Post it with the details and it fills

The posts that fill fast on Day Labor Work say the day, the hours, the rate, the stairs, and what the workers should bring. The vague ones sit open.

Your first job post is free, and you can keep one job on the board at no cost for as long as you need it.