How much do movers cost in Minneapolis?

It goes without saying that moving companies, not just in Minneapolis, can cost a lot. Even moving to a small studio apartment can cost you several hundred of dollars or even something close to one grand, depending on your destination. It’s a considerable investment and something you want an estimate for long before you actually proceed with the move.

 To help with that and get you a rough quote of how much do movers cost in Minneapolis, we did some research and compiled all the factors that will affect your moving bill while working with local movers in the Twin Cities - Minneapolis St Paul, MN. Let’s get right into it.

Move Distance

There are two types of distances that your moving services will have to cover; intrastate and long distance moves. Intrastate moves, also called local moves, are the cheaper of the two since they’re covering a much lesser distance.

For instance, a move between the Twin Cities from Saint Paul to Minneapolis is considered a local move. Such a move within the state will cost you around $500-$1,500 depending on the number of bedrooms and household goods. 

 The price will be fairly close whether you hire Minneapolis movers or movers in Saint Paul.

On the contrary, long-distance moves are fairly expensive, and prices can go up to anything between $3,000-$5,000 covering a distance up to1000 miles. Local moves don’t really factor in the weight of the cargo.

They mostly just take the number of bedrooms and belongings into account. However, long distance moves use the weight of your cargo as well. Long distance moving companies will need a full inventory of your belongings and they weigh all the shipment components before the move to give you a quote. The overall distance will also be a huge factor in pricing for long distance moves.

Number of Movers

The City of Minneapolis is the bigger and more populated of the Twin Cities, so bearing that in mind, a lot of moves occur in Minneapolis.



With most locally owned movers in Minneapolis, MN, the moving company will send a team of movers consisting of 2-3 movers depending on how big or small is your move. In contrast, a long-distance move, you can expect to have 4-5 crew member in a team of movers, that will come in to service your move.

If you think these numbers aren’t enough, you do have the option to request more movers. Each mover will cost you anywhere from $50-$100 extra depending on the details of your move. Usually, people just completely skip this option since they want to save money.

However, if you’re looking to save time instead of money, hiring extra professional movers will get the job done faster. This speeds up the loading and unloading tremendously as well. Talk to your moving company beforehand about the number of movers that will be sent to do the job. They might have to move things around due to availability.

Alternate Moving Routes

The price of how much do movers cost in Minneapolis can be affected by alternate moving routes.

Trucks fall under the heavy vehicle category, and there’s no guarantee that the route you’re taking to and from Minneapolis/Saint Paul and even anywhere within the Twin Cities can be driven by a truck driver. State and city regulations may prevent the truck from hitting those roads and low clearance bridges.

 This would force the moving company to take alternative and longer routes that will add quite a bit of time and cash to your total bill.

Moving Storage

If you want the moving company to hold your household goods for a few hours/days or months until you can reach the destination and get yourself ready to take in all the cargo in the new home, you’re going to have to find a company that has moving storage services in their package. This option certainly will affect how much do movers cost in Minneapolis.

 Lots of moving companies don’t have their own storage containers/storage vaults. However, they have agreements in place with third-party storage companies to hold your items temporarily. Storage solutions will cost you a daily fee depending on the amount of cargo you have.

There are few options to consider for moving storage:

1. Storage vault - 7' x 5' x 7' (store within moving company warehouse) $55 - $75 per vault per month
2. Uhaul U-box
3. PODS - 16'x8'x8'
4. Dart portable storage container - 8'x20'

Moving Date

This is something that a lot of moving companies probably won’t mention. There are certain dates and times of the year when moving will be extra costly.

In Minneapolis, moving companies will charge extra during Christmas holidays, public holidays, weekends and especially during summer months which is the peak moving season. If you want to avoid those costs, you can schedule your move to avoid these days or season and end up paying a lot less.

Specialty Moving Items

Most common household items like couches, coffee tables, TVs, etc., can be shipped normally. These are usually items that almost every house contains in Minneapolis. However, there are certain items like antiquities that require extra care and equipment to move without incident into your new home.

 If you have an expensive or rare item, the moving company will definitely charge you extra to move and ship them. The exact charges depend on the weight of the item you are shipping but keep in mind it maybe costly to move and ship such an item.

 If you have a lot of such rare/heavy items, it is highly recommended using a certified crew with years of experience under their belt within the professional moving business.

Moving Insurance

If you’re planning on shipping your possessions cross-state, you should look into insurance. The extent of the insurance primarily covers the more expensive items, but you can get the entire shipment insured if you want. However, only certain vendors support insurance like that, so you will have to make several phone calls to find the right company.

If you do not get your household goods insured, the moving company will assume general liability, if there is any damage done to your belongings.

There is also a full value protection plan that cost extra and there is deductible if you file a damage claim. It do cover repairs, replacements or settlement of the current market value of the item(s). With insurance, you make sure that none of your possessions are damaged during your move and be fair and honest as it an be pre-existiting damage that a team of movers may missed to let the home owner know  during loading but get blame for it at the end, we have seen this happen quite often. Even if something does happen, make sure the moving company or a third party insurance got you covered base on the moving contract. At end of the day, mistakes happen within the moving industry but it more so if or how an issue is rectified.

Inaccessible Moving Locations

If the distance between the parking space in your driveway and your door is greater than 100 feet, you may have to pay extra to your moving company to accommodate the manpower required to lift objects from the truck to your door and your move may take longer because of excessive walking or stairs.

Similarly, if the street is blocked, the company might need to bring in a smaller vehicle to ship things to your door. In case these situations happen, you will have to pay extra accommodation fees to the moving company for the full service.
Read more: How much does full service move cost in Minneapolis and Features to look for in Minneapolis

Closing Thoughts 

To sum up the conversation, you can get close to accurate estimate on how much do movers cost in Minneapolis, MN  talking to a local moving company.

There are too many variables at play that change according to your specific set of requirements. So, if you’re looking for a free moving quote, talk to a local moving company today and ask them for a hourly move estimate or a flat rate quote that they can’t change if there is no unforeseen circumstances which is common with long distance but not local moves.