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Route cost ledger · #9 of the top 100 routes
Moving from California to Washington: Costs & What Drives Them
California → Washington is the #9 busiest interstate route in America: 24,625 households made this move in the latest IRS migration file, carrying an average income of $111,507. This page is the cost ledger for the route — what you are actually paying for, and which choices move the price. MoveNoble is a publication, not a moving company: we publish route data and cost frameworks, and we do not sell your information to movers.
Ledger № 9 · Top 100 routes · IRS SOI 2022–2023
The route in numbers
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Households (tax returns, n1) | 24,625 |
| People (exemptions, n2) | 38,093 |
| Total income (AGI) that moved | $2,745,848,000 |
| Average AGI per household | $111,507 |
These counts come from the flagship study, Where Americans Moved — and the Money That Moved With Them. A "household" is a filed tax return; counts are tax filers, not every mover.
What kind of move this is
California → Washington is a long West Coast move. This route runs most of the West Coast. It is a long-distance move with multi-day transport; pricing leans on weight/volume, the season, and how much packing you hand over.
The three ways to make the move
| Method | What you are paying for | Biggest cost drivers |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service mover | Crew labor, packing (if ordered), transport, and delivery under one contract. Priced primarily by shipment weight (or volume) and distance. | Home size and weight; packing level; stairs, long carries, and elevator bookings at either end; your dates in the season. |
| Moving container | A container dropped at your door, loaded by you (or hired labor), then transported and delivered. Priced largely by container size and count, plus transport distance. | Number/size of containers; how long the container sits; hired loading labor; distance. |
| Rental truck (DIY) | The truck, mileage/fuel, and your own labor. Almost always the lowest cash price and the highest personal workload. | Truck size and rental days; fuel over the route; tolls; hired help at load/unload; your own travel alongside the truck. |
What drives the price on California → Washington
- Distance & transport
- Home size
- Season
- Packing
- Add-ons
Season, plainly: about 70% of U.S. moves happen between May and September, and capacity is tightest — and pricing firmest — in those months. The same California → Washington move booked for a mid-month, mid-week date outside the peak is the same job with less competition for trucks and crews. If your dates are flexible, flexibility is worth real money on a route this long.
How to read any number on this page
MoveNoble does not publish invented route quotes. The only dollar figures we anchor to are published national survey averages — an average move of about $3,020, with long-distance moves averaging about $3,129 — and those are national averages across all routes and home sizes, not a price for California → Washington. Your actual price comes from written estimates: for an interstate move, get the mover's estimate in writing and know whether it is binding or non-binding before you sign — federal rules (FMCSA's "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move") require movers to give you that paperwork. See Mover Vetting for how to verify a mover's USDOT registration before booking.
Run your own estimate
The moving cost calculator prices this route's framework by home size, method, and month, with a line-item breakdown. For the data behind the route — every state total, the top-100 ledger, and the methodology — read the flagship study.
Open the Moving Cost Calculator Vet a Mover Before You Book
Sources: IRS Statistics of Income, U.S. Population Migration Data 2022–2023 (route counts and incomes); published national moving-cost survey averages as cited above; FMCSA consumer guidance for interstate moves. Published by Moe Kahok.