Best Time of Year to Move: Tips for Renters and Homeowners

This is it. This is when roughly 70% of all moves happen. This is the answer to “what month do most people move.” It’s July and August, hands down.

Why? It’s pretty simple. The weather is nice across most of the country, and most importantly, the kids are out of school. It’s the most logical time for families to relocate without pulling kids out of class.

But “peak” also means peak prices. Peak demand. Peak frustration.

Trucks are booked solid. The best moving companies are reserved months in advance. The moving crews are working overtime, six or seven days a week, in the blistering heat. Prices can be 30-50% higher than at other times of the year. It’s a seller’s market for moving services, and you’re just scrambling to get a slot. It’s stressful just thinking about it.

This is the rest of the year. This is when things slow down. Way down. Especially right after the holidays in January and February.

Demand plummets.

Suddenly, you have the power. Moving companies are hungry for business. Their best, most experienced crews are available. You can get better dates, more flexibility, and more personal attention from the customer service folks.

And, crucially, you get lower prices. This is the best month to move if your main concern is your bank account.

Let’s be real, this is the big one for most of us. Especially with an average income, saving a thousand bucks (or more) is a huge deal. When my wife and I moved to Nashville, we did it in late October. Why? Because the average normalized moving cost I was seeing for summer moves was just… no. We couldn’t stomach it.

The most expensive months to move are June, July, and August. Period.

Moving companies have fixed costs – trucks, insurance, storage, full-time staff. In the winter, they have to lower their prices just to keep those crews busy and those trucks on the road. A move in January might be half the price of the exact same move in July.

There’s nothing worse than getting a fixed-price estimate in the summer and then seeing a bunch of “adjustments” on the final bill because the job ran long. That’s a classic change order problem, and it happens all the time when crews are overbooked and schedules get thrown off. In the off-season, that’s far less likely.

I get frantic texts from my sister Megan about this all the time. “Jason, I called three places and no one can move me July 29th!”

Of course, they can’t. Everyone is trying to move on the last weekend of the month in the middle of peak season.

During the summer, you’re not choosing a mover; you’re hoping a mover chooses you. You have to book months in advance. Two, maybe three. And you’ll probably have to be flexible. “We can’t do that Tuesday, but we have a 4-hour arrival window on Thursday…” It’s maddening.

And you don’t just get a moving crew; you often get the last moving crew available. This can be a team that’s been pulled in from a partner company, maybe they don’t work together often. The communication is just… off. That’s how customer complaints start. Someone wraps the TV wrong, and no one else double-checks.

But in February? You call them on a Tuesday, and they’ll probably ask, “How about next week? Morning or afternoon?” The customer service is just… calmer. You get your pick of dates. You get their A-team, the seasoned pros, not the exhausted B-team running on fumes.

This is the big trade-off, especially for the winter.

Okay, so winter is cheap. But.

I grew up in Savannah and lived in Austin for years. My move to Chicago as a kid… I remember the cold. Moving in a blizzard is not just unpleasant; it’s dangerous. Ice makes loading ramps a nightmare. Sleet and snow can delay trucks for days.

I’m talking about a humid, 95-degree day in Nashville. That ‘antique’ dresser your grandmother gave you? The wood swells. The glue on particleboard furniture can get soft and brittle. And don’t get me started on electronics. Letting a $2,000 TV bake in a metal box that’s 120 degrees inside… it’s just not good.

In winter, it’s the opposite. Plastic tubs can get brittle and crack if they’re dropped in freezing temps.

This is why I love the “shoulder months.” April, May, late September, and October. This is the best time of year to move in my book. The weather is usually decent – not too hot, not too cold. It’s the Goldilocks solution. You get some cost savings and much better availability than in summer, without risking a snow-in.

Here’s the rub. For my family, and for my sister, this is the one that dictates everything.

You can’t just pull kids out of school mid-semester. Well, you can, but it’s tough. My boys are in 6th and 8th grade now, and disrupting their routine, their friends, their sports… it’s a last resort. This is why summer is peak season. For millions of families, it’s the only option.

And then there’s the rental trap.

Most leases end on the 31st or 1st of the month. This creates a massive bottleneck. Everyone is trying to move out and move in on the exact same two-day span. It’s absolute chaos. Elevators are jammed, parking is impossible, and moving crews are racing the clock.

Here’s a pro-tip for renters: Talk to your landlord now. (You can also check our apartment moving checklist for other tips). See if you can get a flexible end date. Can you prorate and stay until the 5th? Can you move out on the 25th? If you move mid-month, you’ll have the service elevator all to yourself. Try to do that on the 1st? You’ll be in a line of six other families, all just as stressed as you are.

Honestly? Sometimes the best time to move is just… when you can.

When can you get time off work without a major project blowing up? When can you have family in town to help watch the kids (and Max, our Lab, who just wants to “help” by being underfoot)?

Don’t discount your own stress level. A move is a huge personal project. If moving in May, even if it costs a bit more than March, means you won’t be a basket case, maybe it’s worth it.

• The end of the month. I mentioned this, but it’s worth repeating. Avoid the 31st, 1st, and 2nd. And avoid the 15th (another common lease turnover). It’s just like the peak season, but compressed into three days. Prices are higher, crews are rushed, and things get broken.
• Weekends. Everyone wants to move on a Saturday so they don’t have to take a day off work. I get it. But so does everyone else. Demand spikes. Prices spike. Again, you get the rushed crews. Fridays are just as bad, as people try to make a long weekend out of it.

The absolute best, cheapest, and calmest time to move is mid-week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) in the middle of the month.