Movers in Austin cost about $120 to $180 an hour for two movers and a truck, and most local moves finish in half a day or a full day. That range comes from our own jobs, not a national calculator. Titan Moving & Delivery is a family owned crew of seven based in Del Valle, just southeast of Austin, and we price moves across the metro every week.
Search for moving costs and you get two kinds of answers: a national average that ignores Austin, or a two hour special that ignores reality. Here is what a move really costs here, what changes the number, and how to get a quote that holds.
What movers in Austin, TX cost per hour
Two movers and a truck run $120 to $180 an hour in Austin, plus a travel fee that covers the drive from our yard in Del Valle to your door and back. The clock starts when the crew arrives at your address and stops when the last piece is set down at the new one. That is the whole pricing model for a local move. You pay for hours worked, not for a guess.
How does Austin compare to the rest of the state? Third party data puts the Texas average at about $103 an hour, with most companies enforcing a two hour minimum (moveBuddha, 2026). Austin sits a little above that average. That tracks with a metro that added 53,796 residents in one year, the sixth largest gain in the country (U.S. Census Bureau, 2026). More people moving means busy crews, and busy crews are not cheap.
Where you land inside that $120 to $180 band depends on the crew size you need and the day you pick. A three or four person crew costs more per hour and often less per move. The same furniture leaves the house in far fewer hours. Our movers in Austin, TX price both options on request so you can pick the cheaper total, not the cheaper hourly rate.
Average moving costs by home size
A one bedroom apartment in Austin usually takes 3 to 4 hours, which works out to roughly $360 to $720 with two movers. A two bedroom home takes 4 to 6 hours. A three bedroom with a garage runs 6 to 8, and a four bedroom two story is a full day with a third or fourth mover added. Those are hours from real jobs, assuming a packed house, a driveway for the truck, and no stairs.
| Home size | Typical hours | Titan range at $120 to $180 per hour | Texas average (moveBuddha, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio or one bedroom | 3 to 4 hours | $360 to $720 | $584 |
| Two bedroom | 4 to 6 hours | $480 to $1,080 | $900 |
| Three bedroom | 6 to 8 hours | $720 to $1,440 | $1,987 |
| Four bedroom | Full day, 3 to 4 movers | Quoted per job after a walkthrough | $2,269 |
The Texas averages in that last column come from a statewide cost calculator, so they are averages of quotes, not finished jobs (moveBuddha, 2026). The same publisher models an Austin two bedroom at $774 to $1,290 and a three bedroom at $1,161 to $1,935, adjusted from national data rather than measured here (moveBuddha, 2026). Our numbers are lower on the small moves and honest on the big ones, because a four bedroom with a full garage is a full day no matter who you hire. Add the travel fee to any row above, and add packing if you want the boxes done for you.
The four things that move a local moving estimate
Four things decide whether a two bedroom lands at 4 hours or 6, and none of them is how much stuff you own. They are stairs and elevator waits, the walk from the truck to your door, where the truck can legally park, and how much is already boxed when the crew walks in. Tell us all four before we quote, and the estimate holds.
Stairs are the most expensive thing you can put between a crew and a truck. A fourth floor walk up in West Campus can add two hours to the same load that would take ninety minutes out of a ground floor house with a driveway. Here is the part most people miss, and it comes straight from Lee’s years on the truck: on a walk up, adding a third mover usually lowers the total bill. The same sofa comes down in far fewer hours. Ask to have it priced both ways.
Elevator buildings have a different problem. Most downtown towers give you a reserved freight elevator window, and the whole move has to fit inside it. A long carry across a parking lot, or a truck parked a hundred feet from the door, costs real time on every trip.
Then there is packing. Loose items in cabinets, closets, and the garage are the single most common reason a local move runs long. A packed house moves fast. A half packed house moves slowly and costs more. It is the one factor you control completely.
Local moving cost versus long-distance moving companies
Inside the Austin metro, a move is priced by the hour. Once the job passes roughly 100 miles or crosses a state line, it becomes a long-distance move with a flat written price. Three inputs build it: how much your household weighs, how far it is going, and how much labor both ends need. Most moves never get there. About 8.9 percent of Americans moved within their own state in 2024, against 2.1 percent who moved to a different state, so four out of five moves are local (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025).
The rules change too. For an interstate move, federal law requires a written estimate marked binding or non-binding, and on a non-binding estimate the mover cannot demand more than 110 percent of the estimate at delivery (49 CFR 375.703). Titan holds its own interstate authority, so the crew that loads your Austin house is the crew that unloads it in Dallas or Denver. No broker, no handoff, no stranger with your headboard. The full breakdown is on our long distance moving from Austin page.
What the hourly rate includes, and what packing adds
A real hourly rate includes the crew, the truck, fuel, and every piece of equipment the job needs. It also includes the work people expect to pay extra for: taking apart beds, tables, and sectionals and rebuilding them, blanket wrapping anything with a finish, dollies, straps, ramps, and floor runners, and disconnecting and resetting washers, dryers, and refrigerators. If a moving company lists those as add ons, the hourly rate is not the price.
Packing is the honest add on. If you want the whole house boxed the day before the truck comes, that is a separate crew and a separate line. Our packing services page explains how it is priced. Everything else belongs in the rate.
Two traps are worth naming. The first is a deposit to get a quote. You should never pay to find out a price. Texas requires movers to register with the state and hand you a proposal or contract before loading. After loading, the agreed price can only change if both sides agree in writing (TxDMV Smart Mover guide, 2025). The second trap is the two hour movers ad. Two hours covers the drive, the wrapping, and one staircase, and little else. A low first number is not a low price. It is the number that grows. The Better Business Bureau logged more than 100,000 inquiries about movers in 2024, along with 718 formal complaints, and scam victims reported a median loss of $754 (BBB, 2025). Almost every bad moving story is about a number that changed.
The cheapest time to move in Austin
The cheapest crew you will ever hire is a weekday crew in the middle of the month, outside of summer. About 41 percent of all moves in the country happen between May and August, and peak season pricing runs 20 to 30 percent above the off season (moveBuddha, 2026). Austin makes that worse. Leases here end on the last day of the month, so a huge share of the city’s demand lands on the same four or five days.
Want the same crew for less money? Ask for a Tuesday or Wednesday in the second week of the month. The end of month weekend slots go first, weeks out. If your date is locked to the 31st, book early, because the good crews are spoken for first. October through February is the quiet stretch, and a two bedroom in November moves on the same truck, with the same movers, for a smaller bill than in June.
One more timing note. A morning start beats an afternoon start in July, when Austin highs sit in the upper 90s. Crews move faster before the heat, and faster is cheaper.
What a real quote tells you about how much your move costs
A real quote needs five things: a room count, the address at both ends, whether there are stairs or an elevator, a photo or two of the garage and anything heavy, and your date. From that, professional movers can tell you the hourly rate, the crew size, and the estimated hours in writing. Nobody can price a four bedroom off a phone call and a hunch. Lee Lucio started carrying furniture alongside his father in the late 1990s, and he still walks the job or reviews photos and a room count before he puts a number on paper.
Own a gun safe, an upright piano, or a marble table? Mention it now, not on the morning of the move. Heavy pieces need equipment and a plan, so they get quoted as line items. Then compare quotes on the total, not the rate. A $130 an hour crew of two that takes 7 hours costs more than a $190 an hour crew of three that takes 4.
That is how we price every job out of Del Valle. Titan is family owned, our movers are employees rather than day labor, and 47 Google reviews at 4.7 stars say the estimates hold. If you are moving anywhere in Austin or the surrounding metro, send the room count and the addresses, or call (512) 652-8616. You get a written quote with the rate, the crew size, and the hours, and there is no deposit to get one.
