Workers at household and office moving companies earned an average of $30.67 an hour in July 2026, up from $29.60 a year earlier, according to preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics payroll data. At the same time, the industry employed about 100,000 people at the summer peak, slightly below the July 2025 level of 101,100. Labor is the biggest variable in most moving bills, so these two trends, higher pay and a smaller workforce, shape what you’ll pay in 2026. This report pulls together the latest BLS wage, employment, and compensation data for movers, drivers, and crew supervisors, and shows how those numbers translate into an hourly crew cost.
Quick answer: The median hand laborer and material mover working for a trucking company earned $22.01 an hour in May 2025, and the median heavy truck driver in the same industry earned $29.00. After benefits and payroll taxes, a basic three-person crew (two movers plus a driver) costs a moving company roughly $106 an hour in compensation alone, before the truck, fuel, insurance, or overhead.
What Movers Earn: National Wage Data for 2026
The most detailed wage figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. Its latest estimates cover May 2025. The table below shows the occupations that make up a typical moving crew, both across all industries and within the Truck Transportation industry (NAICS 484), which includes household movers.
| Occupation (SOC code) | Median hourly, all industries | Mean hourly, all industries | Median hourly, truck transportation | Mean hourly, truck transportation |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand (53-7062) | $19.35 | $20.32 | $22.01 | $22.25 |
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (53-3032) | $28.19 | $28.71 | $29.00 | $29.59 |
| Light truck drivers (53-3033) | $21.57 | $23.45 | $23.01 | $23.45 |
| First-line supervisors, transportation and material moving (53-1047) | $30.23 | $32.14 | $35.54 | $35.04 |
Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates, retrieved from BLS time series, e.g. hand laborers and material movers, national median, hand laborers in truck transportation, median, heavy truck drivers, national median, and heavy truck drivers in truck transportation, median.
A few points worth noting:
- Trucking pays movers more than other industries. The median hand laborer in truck transportation earned $22.01 an hour, about 14% more than the $19.35 median across all industries. Much of the all-industry group works in warehouses and retail stockrooms, where pay tends to be lower.
- Drivers are the highest-paid crew members after supervisors. The median heavy truck driver in trucking earned $29.00 an hour. Long-distance household moves usually need a driver with a commercial license, which adds to the cost of interstate service.
- Moving labor is below the all-jobs median. The median wage for all U.S. occupations was $24.51 an hour in May 2025. The median hand mover earns less than that, even in trucking.
Why do the two BLS sources give different numbers? OEWS measures wages for specific jobs, like hand movers or drivers, in May of each year. CES measures average hourly earnings for every employee on a moving company’s payroll each month, including dispatchers, estimators, and managers. Use OEWS to understand crew pay and CES to follow the trend over time.
The pay range within the job
Pay for hand movers varies widely. Across all industries, the 10th-percentile wage was $15.03 and the 90th-percentile wage was $26.51. Within truck transportation, the range ran from $16.48 at the 10th percentile to $29.28 at the 90th. Experienced crew leads, packers who handle specialty items, and workers in high-cost metros tend to be at the top of that range.
OEWS counted 2.95 million hand laborers and material movers nationally, but only 98,480 of them worked in truck transportation. Moving companies compete for the same workers as warehouses, distribution centers, and delivery firms, which keeps pressure on wages.
Wage Trends in the Moving Industry, 2019–2026
The BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey tracks the “used household and office goods moving” industry (NAICS 484210) specifically. That is the closest match in federal data to the household moving business. Its average hourly earnings figure covers all employees, including office staff and managers, so it runs higher than the OEWS median for hand movers.
| Year (annual average) | Employment (thousands) | Average hourly earnings | Average weekly hours | Average weekly earnings |
| 2019 | 99.0 | $23.50 | 33.3 | $783.66 |
| 2020 | 94.3 | $23.93 | 33.1 | $793.11 |
| 2021 | 101.4 | $24.63 | 34.3 | $845.02 |
| 2022 | 105.1 | $27.25 | 33.9 | $922.86 |
| 2023 | 100.0 | $29.62 | 34.9 | $1,033.16 |
| 2024 | 95.9 | $29.71 | 33.1 | $983.76 |
| 2025 | 91.5 | $30.43 | 33.7 | $1,024.01 |
Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics, NAICS 484210, not seasonally adjusted annual averages: employment, average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, average weekly earnings.
The story in these numbers:
- Pay jumped in 2022 and 2023. Average hourly earnings rose from $24.63 in 2021 to $29.62 in 2023, a gain of about 20% in two years. This coincided with the post-pandemic labor crunch.
- Growth slowed after that. Hourly earnings rose just 0.3% in 2024 and 2.4% in 2025.
- Over six years, moving pay kept pace with the broader economy. From 2019 to 2025, average hourly earnings in household moving rose about 29.5%, close to the 30.2% gain for all private-sector employees ($27.99 to $36.45).
- The workforce is shrinking. Average employment fell from 105,100 in 2022 to 91,500 in 2025, a drop of about 13%.
The Seasonal Hiring Swing in 2026
Moving is a seasonal business, and the payroll data shows it clearly. In January 2026, NAICS 484210 employment stood at 84,800. By June and July (preliminary), it had risen to about 100,000, an increase of roughly 15,200 workers, or 18%, in six months.
Hourly pay also moves with the season, though not the way you might expect. Average hourly earnings were $31.52 in January 2026 and $30.67 in July (preliminary). One likely reason: seasonal hires often come in at entry-level pay, which can pull the average down even as total payroll goes up. On a year-over-year basis, July’s $30.67 was about 3.6% above July 2025.
For customers, the seasonal swing matters more than the pay rate itself. When companies are running at full staff in summer, crews and trucks are booked tight, and moving companies have less room to negotiate on price. The monthly employment series is a good indicator of when the industry is busiest.
Where Mover Pay Is Highest and Lowest
OEWS state estimates show how much pay varies by location. The figures below are median hourly wages for hand laborers and material movers across all industries in each state, which is the most consistent state-level comparison available.
| Highest-paying states | Median hourly | Lowest-paying states | Median hourly |
| Minnesota | $22.25 | Louisiana | $16.99 |
| Washington | $22.21 | Arkansas | $17.27 |
| District of Columbia | $21.99 | Mississippi | $17.50 |
| North Dakota | $21.97 | Alabama | $17.63 |
| Colorado | $21.81 | Oklahoma | $17.78 |
| Massachusetts | $21.60 | West Virginia | $17.79 |
| Oregon | $21.52 | New Mexico | $17.90 |
| California | $21.50 | Delaware | $17.94 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates for SOC 53-7062, retrieved via BLS time series (e.g. Minnesota, Louisiana). Texas ($18.05) and Florida ($18.35) are also in the lower half.
The gap between the highest and lowest state is $5.26 an hour, or about 31%. For an interstate move, labor is typically performed at both ends, so pay levels at your origin and destination both feed into the price.
From Wages to Crew Cost: An Illustrative Calculation
Wages are only part of what a crew costs a moving company. The BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation survey shows that for private-industry transportation and material moving occupations in June 2026, total compensation averaged $36.38 per hour worked, with wages and salaries making up $24.97 (68.6%) and benefits $11.41 (31.4%). Benefits include legally required costs such as Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation.
What the benefit share includes
Of the $11.41 in hourly benefits for transportation and material moving workers, the same BLS table shows $3.00 (8.2% of total compensation) in legally required benefits and $3.51 (9.7%) in insurance. Workers’ compensation is part of the legally required category, and it tends to cost more for physically demanding jobs like lifting and carrying furniture. For comparison, total compensation for all private-industry workers averaged $46.89 per hour in June 2026, so moving and transport work still costs employers about 22% less per hour than the private-sector average. Even so, the benefit load means every dollar of wage increase costs a moving company about $1.46 in total compensation.
Method: We take OEWS median wages for truck transportation, add up a crew, and divide by 0.686 (the wage share of total compensation) to estimate fully loaded compensation. This is an illustrative calculation, not a price quote.
| Crew configuration | Hourly wages (sum of medians) | Estimated loaded compensation per hour |
| One mover | $22.01 | $32.08 |
| One heavy truck driver | $29.00 | $42.27 |
| Two movers + driver | $73.02 | $106.44 |
| Three movers + driver | $95.03 | $138.53 |
These figures cover compensation only. A moving company’s hourly or per-pound price also has to cover the truck and its financing, fuel, cargo and liability insurance, packing materials, dispatch and office staff, licensing, and profit. That is why the price you’re quoted per crew hour will be well above these numbers. It also explains why estimates vary so much: companies that pay above median, carry more insurance, or use newer trucks have a higher cost floor.
What This Means for Your Move in 2026
- Expect labor costs to be higher than two or three years ago. Moving-industry hourly earnings are up about 3.6% year over year as of July 2026, and the 2025 annual average was about 23.5% above 2021.
- Book off-peak if you can. The industry adds roughly 15,000 workers between winter and summer to handle demand. Moving in fall or winter usually means more scheduling flexibility.
- Don’t pick the cheapest quote blindly. A price that seems far below what the wage data supports can mean underpaid, inexperienced crews, or an estimate that will grow on moving day.
- Ask what’s included. Packing, disassembly, stairs, long carries, and shuttle trucks all add labor hours. A written estimate should list them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do movers make per hour in 2026?
The latest OEWS data (May 2025) puts the median wage for hand laborers and material movers working in truck transportation at $22.01 an hour. Across all industries, the median was $19.35. Payroll data for the household moving industry shows average hourly earnings for all employees of $30.67 in July 2026 (preliminary).
How much do moving truck drivers earn?
The median heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver in the truck transportation industry earned $29.00 an hour in May 2025, according to OEWS. The national median across all industries was $28.19.
Which states pay movers the most?
For hand laborers and material movers across all industries, Minnesota ($22.25), Washington ($22.21), and the District of Columbia ($21.99) had the highest median hourly wages in May 2025. Louisiana ($16.99), Arkansas ($17.27), and Mississippi ($17.50) had the lowest.
Are moving industry wages still rising?
Yes, but more slowly than in 2022 and 2023. Average hourly earnings in household and office moving rose about 3.6% from July 2025 to July 2026 (preliminary data), compared with a roughly 20% jump between 2021 and 2023.
How many people work in the moving industry?
The BLS counted an annual average of 91,500 employees in used household and office goods moving in 2025, down from 105,100 in 2022. Employment swings seasonally, from 84,800 in January 2026 to about 100,000 in June and July.
Why is my hourly moving quote so much higher than mover wages?
Wages are only part of the cost. Benefits and payroll taxes add about 46% on top of wages for transportation and material moving workers (based on BLS compensation data), and the company must also pay for trucks, fuel, insurance, materials, and overhead.
Next Step: Get a Labor-Itemized Written Estimate
Since labor drives so much of the cost, ask each mover to show crew size, estimated hours, and any added services in writing. Compare at least two or three estimates built on the same inventory, and ask whether each is binding or non-binding. With a non-binding estimate, federal rules require the mover to deliver your goods if you pay up to 110% of the estimate at delivery (49 CFR 375.407). Interstate Moving and Relocation Group can walk through your home and give you a written estimate that spells out the labor involved.
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