How Much Money Do You Need to Move to Another State?

Three numbers, not one

Ask how much a move costs and you will get a quote for movers. That is one number. A useful budget has three: the cost of moving your things, the cash it takes to get into a new home, and the change in your monthly costs once you live there. The first two are paid once. The third keeps going, so over a few years it usually matters most.

Part one: moving your things

This depends on two things: how far you go and how much you take. A cross-country move with a full house is a different job from a one-bedroom move to the next state. Get at least three written quotes from licensed interstate movers, and ask whether each is binding or an estimate that can rise on the day.

The cheapest way to cut this line is to take less. Sell or give away furniture that is cheap to replace, and price a rental truck or a moving container against full-service movers. Add travel for you and any pets, and a night or two in a hotel if the dates do not line up.

Part two: getting into a home

Landlords usually want the first month's rent and a security deposit before you get the keys. The deposit is often a month's rent and can be more; some states cap it. Add application fees, utility deposits and setting up internet. If you are buying, the down payment and closing costs replace all of this and are far larger.

Rent is the figure that sets the size of this part, and it varies a lot by state. On HUD's state averages, a two-bedroom costs $1,039 a month in West Virginia, the lowest in the country, and $2,632 in California, the highest. A one-bedroom runs from $840 to $2,151 across the same two states.

Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents, population-weighted state averages. City rents can be well above or below these.

The overlap nobody budgets for

Leases and closings rarely line up. Many people pay for two homes for a few weeks, sometimes longer, while they break a lease or wait for a sale. If your income pauses during the move, or a new job's first paycheck comes a few weeks after you start, plan for that gap too. A cushion of a few months of the new rent is a common target.

Part three: what changes every month

This is the number that decides whether the move pays off. Rent, state income tax and, if you buy, property tax all change at the border. Moving from California to Texas lowers the average two-bedroom rent by $13,728 a year. Moving from Texas to Colorado raises it by $5,136 a year.

Taxes move too. The top income-tax rate is 13.3% in California; Texas and Florida do not tax wages at all. Taken together, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay 14.6% of it in state and local taxes in New York and 4.7% in Florida. If you plan to buy, the effective property-tax rate runs from 0.27% of a home's value in Hawaii to 1.92% in Illinois.

Put the one-time costs next to the monthly change and you get the real answer: how many months until the move pays for itself, or whether it ever does. The Net-Impact Report in Premium, a one-time $39, works this out with your own pay, home and household, then turns it into a plan.

A quick checklist

• Three written moving quotes, or a truck and container price if you will do it yourself.
• First month's rent, the deposit and fees for the place you want, or the down payment and closing costs if you are buying.
• The overlap: any weeks of paying for two homes, and any gap in pay.
• The yearly change in rent, state income tax and property tax between where you live now and where you are going. The state comparisons show it for common moves.
• A cushion for the things that go wrong: a deposit returned late, a car that needs registering, furniture you end up replacing.

This guide gives information to help you decide. It is not tax, financial or legal advice. Deposit rules, taxes and moving regulations differ by state and change over time.