By Francois Brown, Owner — The Moving Genie LLC
If you've searched "how much does it cost to move in Queens" and landed on five different answers, you're not alone. Most moving cost guides online are written by content farms with no idea what a Queens walk-up actually costs to move out of. I'm Francois Brown, owner of The Moving Genie, and I've been running crews through Queens, Nassau County, and the NYC metro since 2021. Here's what moves actually cost right now — no ranges pulled from a national average that ignores our stairs, our parking, and our traffic.
Local moves (within Queens, Brooklyn, or Nassau County)
Most local moves are priced hourly with a crew size based on your home. A studio or 1-bedroom apartment typically runs 3-5 hours with a 2-person crew. A 2-3 bedroom house usually needs a 3-4 person crew and runs 5-8 hours. Walk-ups add time — a 4th-floor walk-up with no elevator takes meaningfully longer than a ground-floor move, and any honest mover will tell you that before the day of, not after.
What changes your price
- Number of flights of stairs (each flight adds real time)
- Distance from truck to door — NYC street parking isn't guaranteed
- Bulky or specialty items (pianos, safes, gym equipment)
- Packing services — full pack, partial pack, or you-pack
- Time of month — end-of-month and weekends are busiest and book up first
Long-distance and Tri-State moves
These are priced differently — typically by weight/volume and mileage rather than hourly. A long-distance move from Queens to New Jersey or Connecticut factors distance, total load size, and any tolls or logistics specific to the route.
Junk removal pricing
Junk removal is usually priced by volume — how much of the truck your items fill — rather than by the hour, so a single-item pickup costs far less than a full apartment clean-out.
The upfront-quote promise
Every quote we give includes a written breakdown before the truck shows up. No "surprise" fees added on moving day. If something changes your quote (extra items you didn't mention, an extra flight of stairs), we tell you before we load the truck, not after.
The honest answer to "how much will my move cost" is: it depends on your specific apartment, your stuff, and your date — which is exactly why we quote based on a quick conversation, not a generic online calculator that doesn't know your building has no elevator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Local moves in Queens are typically priced by crew size and hours needed, based on home size, stairs, and parking access. Most 1-bedroom moves run a few hours with a 2-person crew; larger homes need bigger crews and more time.
Most legitimate local movers price hourly because NYC moves vary too much (stairs, parking, elevator access) for a fair flat rate. Long-distance moves are more commonly flat-quoted based on load size and mileage.
Stairs add time to a move, which affects an hourly quote, but we tell you this upfront when you book — it's factored into your estimate, not added as a surprise fee afterward.
Junk removal is typically priced by how much space your items take up in the truck, so a single item costs far less than a full clean-out. We give a firm price after a quick look at what's being removed.
Weekdays and the middle of the month are typically less busy and more flexible than weekends and month-end, which are the most requested times for movers across NYC.