Extra Space says $300 to $600 for a one-bedroom, moveBuddha says $658, and the customer-reported median is $1,157. We triangulate Richmond's 2026 moving costs under Virginia's filed-tariff rules, then show what the move costs when you split the truck from the labor.
Wondering how much it costs to move in Richmond? So are we. We can tell you how much it costs to move with Undergrads (read on to learn), but everyone else has wildly different answers. Extra Space Storage's calculator says a one-bedroom runs $300 to $600. MoveBuddha, which tracks eighteen licensed Richmond movers, puts the typical one-bedroom at $658. Great Guys Moving's customer-reported median for a Richmond move is $1,157. They can't all be the average, so instead of picking one, we compared the sources against each other and against how Virginia actually regulates mover pricing, then show what the same move costs when you split the truck from the labor.
That last part is an obvious nod to us. We're Undergrads Moving, and our bread and butter is saving Richmonders money by making labor-only moving easy: you handle the truck, our background-checked university-student crews handle every box and staircase. We'll show our pricing next to the full-service ranges at every home size as a shameless self-promotional tactic.
What Richmond movers charge per hour
Full-service movers price local Richmond moves by the hour. MoveBuddha's tracked average is $100/hour for a standard crew (about 29% below the $140 national average), while Extra Space quotes a much wider $140–$384/hour band that reads like a national artifact at the top end. Two-hour minimums are the Richmond norm (not the three-hour minimums common in bigger metros), and expect a travel or base charge on top; one moveBuddha-powered estimate puts the typical base at around $360.
The Virginia wrinkle worth knowing: intrastate movers are licensed by the Virginia DMV as household goods carriers, and each carrier must file its own rate tariff with the state. There's no state-set price cap, but for moves over 30 miles, a mover is legally required to bill exactly the rates in its filed tariff, and standard liability in the Virginia mover's tariff is 60 cents per pound per item. Translation: for local hourly moves the quote is the whole game, so get it in writing.
Triangulated, a realistic 2026 planning number for a two-mover, one-truck crew in Richmond is $100–$180 per hour, with the data-driven average right around $100.
The Undergrads comparison: our Richmond crews work on an hourly rate locked before the move starts, with no stair fees, fuel surcharges, or travel-fee surprises. And because crew speed is the biggest variable in hourly moving, our university-athlete crews are staffed to finish in the 3–4 hour window. Most Richmond moves land at $200–$500 total.
Average moving cost in Richmond by home size
Local, full-service. The triangulated range weights moveBuddha's Richmond-specific tracking most heavily; Extra Space provides the low bound.
| Home size | Extra Space | moveBuddha (typical) | Triangulated 2026 range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $200–$400 | ~$511 (2 movers, 3 hrs) | $250–$550 (typical ~$450) |
| 1 bedroom | $300–$600 | ~$658 (2 movers, 4 hrs) | $350–$700 (typical ~$650) |
| 2 bedroom | $700–$1,400 | ~$981 (3 movers, 5 hrs) | $700–$1,400 (typical ~$1,000) |
| 3 bedroom | $1,000–$2,000 | ~$2,089 (4 movers, 8 hrs) | $1,000–$2,100 (typical ~$1,500–$2,000) |
| 4+ bedroom | $1,500–$3,000+ | ~$2,376 (4 movers, 9 hrs) | $1,500–$3,000+ |
The customer-report data backs up the middle of the table: Great Guys Moving's 82 Richmond cost reports show a median move of $1,157, with the middle half of customers paying $596–$1,607.
Studio and 1-bedroom moves
The triangulated full-service number for a Richmond studio is around $450, and around $650 for a one-bedroom. Small moves carry the industry's worst overhead-to-work ratio: even with Richmond's two-hour minimums, the base charge and travel time mean you're paying for hours nobody spends moving boxes.
Labor-only moving with Undergrads: studio and 1-bedroom moves with our crews typically run $200–$450. Rent the truck yourself (a 10- or 15-foot U-Haul for a cross-town move usually adds $50–$100 with mileage) and the all-in total lands around $250–$550. And a neutral referee on this one: HireAHelper's own marketplace data puts the average Richmond labor-only move at $426 versus $1,100 for local full-service. We didn't write that math; the industry did.
2-bedroom moves
The sources converge unusually well here: $700–$1,400 from Extra Space, $981 typical from moveBuddha, and Great Guys' $1,157 customer median all point at roughly $1,000 for a full-service Richmond two-bedroom, with a Fan apartment and a Chesterfield ranch bracketing either side of it.
Labor-only moving with Undergrads: 2–3 bedroom moves with our crews typically run $450–$700. Add a 20-foot rental truck (roughly $80–$150 for a local day with mileage; moveBuddha puts Richmond truck bases at just $19–$67/day) and the all-in lands around $550–$850, against a $700–$1,400 full-service range. That's the 40–60% savings the labor-only model exists to deliver.
3-bedroom and larger moves
Full-service pricing jumps here: moveBuddha's typical three-bedroom is $2,089 with a four-person crew working a full day. This is also the tier where full-service earns its price for many families: a 26-footer, a long pack, and real logistics.
Labor-only moving with Undergrads: larger homes sit at the edge of the labor-only sweet spot. Our crews handle plenty of 3-bedroom moves (typically at the top of the $450–$700 band, plus your 26-foot truck at roughly $100–$180 local), and your cost scales with hours, not with the size of the check the truck-and-overhead operation needs to clear. Remember that 26 feet is the largest truck you can rent without a commercial license. For a big household that won't fit in one load, consider multiple trips or a full-service operator.
Long-distance moving costs from Richmond
Past 30 miles, Virginia's filed-tariff rules kick in; past 100, pricing shifts to weight-and-distance:
| Distance | Typical range | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Regional (Charlottesville, Virginia Beach, DC, Raleigh) | $260–$4,600 depending on size | Extra Space |
| DC / Northeast corridor (NYC) | $1,050–$5,400 | Extra Space |
| Long-distance overall (100+ mi) | $1,425–$8,075+; $3,200–$4,300 typical for 2–3BR | moveBuddha |
| Cross-country | $2,450–$18,100 depending on size and coast | Extra Space |
The Undergrads comparison: who wants to take a road trip? The I-95 corridor moves (Richmond to DC, Raleigh, or Charlotte) are exactly the distance where driving a rental yourself makes sense, and our model puts a crew on each end: one loads at your Richmond door, a second unloads at the destination, with crews across the Carolinas and the Southeast. Labor on both ends plus a one-way truck typically totals well under half the full-service quote. Past a day's drive, be honest about whether you want to pilot a big truck. That's where full-service carriers earn their premium.
The costs that don't show up in the headline number
Packing. Full packing service in Richmond runs $475–$4,750 depending on home size per moveBuddha. Packing your own non-fragile items is the biggest controllable line item.
Peak-season premiums. May–September, weekends, and the last three days of the month run 20–30% higher per moveBuddha. VCU's August and January lease turnovers squeeze crew availability across the city, too.
Stairs and access. Full-service companies charge $50–$75 per flight and $50–$100 for elevator moves; shuttle fees (when a full-size truck can't reach your street, a real issue in the Fan and Church Hill) run $285–$2,280. (Undergrads charges no stair fees; a Fan walk-up's stairs are just part of the hours.)
Storage. $190–$1,140/month depending on unit size if your closing dates don't line up.
Insurance. The standard filed-tariff liability is 60 cents per pound per item, which is about $30 on a 50-pound TV. Full-value protection costs up to 2% of declared value and is worth pricing for high-value households.
Tips. Customary at $5 per mover per hour or 10–20% of labor. Same math whichever model you book.
How to keep your Richmond move cheap
The levers, in order of impact: move less stuff (declutter before you get quotes, not after), split the labor from the truck (the 40–60% lever this guide keeps returning to), pack your own boxes, avoid VCU move-week and month-end dates, and source free boxes from ABC stores, Nextdoor, and Richmond Buy Nothing groups instead of paying for new cardboard.
The bottom line
Compared across four sources, a full-service local move in Richmond in 2026 costs roughly $450 for a studio, $650 for a one-bedroom, $1,000 for a two-bedroom, and $1,500–$2,100 for a three-bedroom, at crew rates averaging about $100/hour under Virginia's filed-tariff system. The customer-reported median is $1,157.
The same moves with Undergrads' Richmond movers (locked hourly rate, background-checked university-student crews, $50 Show-Up Guarantee) typically run $200–$450 for a studio or 1-bedroom and $450–$700 for a 2–3 bedroom, plus a rental truck if your move needs one. Even the industry's own marketplace data says labor-only Richmond moves average $426 against $1,100 full-service. If that math looks right for your move, get a Richmond quote and check it against the table above.
