Every fall we get the same phone call: someone got three “quotes” over the phone, picked the lowest number, and watched it turn into a much bigger bill on move day once stairs, a piano, or an extra hour got added on. Local moves in New Jersey are billed by the hour, not off a flat number a company reads from a chart — and once you know what actually drives that hourly number, it’s a lot harder for anyone to surprise you with it.
How Hourly Pricing Actually Works
At Cardinal Moving, the hourly rate covers the crew, the truck, fuel, and all our standard equipment — dollies, moving blankets, floor runners, shrink wrap for upholstered furniture, and basic disassembly and reassembly of beds and large furniture. The clock starts when the crew arrives and stops when the truck is unloaded and the last piece is placed. Nothing else gets folded into that number and nothing gets tacked on afterward — the hourly rate you agree to at booking is the hourly rate on the invoice.
2026 Crew Sizes and Rates
Crew size moves the needle on your total more than the hourly rate itself. A 2-person crew working six hours on a job that needed four people will look cheaper per hour and still cost more in the end. Here’s roughly what Central Jersey homes run in 2026:
| Home Size | Crew | Typical Hours | Hourly Rate | Typical Total* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio or 1-bedroom apartment | 2 movers | 3–4 hrs | $135/hr | $400–$550 |
| 2-bedroom apartment or townhouse | 3 movers | 4–6 hrs | $175/hr | $700–$1,050 |
| 3-bedroom single-family home | 4 movers | 6–8 hrs | $215/hr | $1,300–$1,700 |
| 4+ bedroom single-family home | 5 movers | 8–10 hrs | $260/hr | $2,100–$2,600 |
*Totals assume a local move within Middlesex, Union, or Somerset County. Long-distance moves out of New Jersey are priced separately, by weight or cubic footage and mileage — ask our office for a written long-distance estimate if your move is leaving the state for good.
What the Hourly Rate Doesn’t Cover
A few things are billed separately, and we’d rather you know that going in than find out on move day:
- Packing materials. Boxes, paper, tape, and wardrobe boxes aren’t included unless you book full or partial packing labor. We sell materials by the piece if you’re packing yourself, or the crew brings and bills what’s used if you book our packing service.
- Full-value protection upgrade. Basic released-value protection rides along on every job at no cost. If you want the higher payout ceiling of full-value coverage, that’s a separate line item Darnell will price out at your estimate.
- Short-term storage beyond what’s quoted. If your move needs to sit in our Edison warehouse for a stretch between homes, that’s billed at a flat monthly rate, not folded into the moving-day hourly.
- Tips. Never required, always appreciated, never added automatically to your invoice.
The Deposit
Booking a date takes a $150 deposit, which comes straight off your final invoice — it’s prepayment, not an extra fee. Cancel more than 72 hours before your move and it’s fully refunded. Inside 72 hours, especially during a busy stretch like late May or Labor Day weekend when we’ve turned away other jobs to hold your slot, the deposit isn’t refundable.
Why Two Estimates for the Same House Can Come Out Different
The biggest swing in accuracy isn’t a company’s rate card — it’s whether anyone actually looked at your stuff before writing the number. Darnell Osei, who’s handled our in-home and video estimates since 2019, walks every job before it’s quoted: counts the stairs, notices the piano nobody mentioned on the phone, sees that the garage has three sealed boxes for every one visible from the living room. A quote built off a five-minute phone call and a guess at square footage is a guess. A quote built off an actual walkthrough is a number you can plan a Saturday around.
Want an accurate number for your own move? Call our office or request a walkthrough — Darnell can usually get you a written estimate within a day or two.