Moving from Los Angeles to San Diego

How much a Los Angeles to San Diego move costs

A price quoted in ninety seconds on the phone is a guess with a dollar sign attached. These are the figures this route usually starts from. They assume normal access at both ends and no packing service.

Four things move these numbers more than anything else on this route: how many stair flights sit between the door and the truck at the Los Angeles end, whether the San Diego building needs a freight elevator booking, how far the truck has to park from the entrance, and whether you want us packing.

Packing is billed hourly and materials are charged per item. Boxes start at $6.50, tape is $7 a roll, shrink wrap is $10 per item. An upright piano is $160 and a baby grand is $240. Items over 200 lbs start at $60, and hoisting is $40 per item per flight of stairs.

Why this move is priced by distance, not by the hour

Ask three moving companies for a Los Angeles to San Diego quote and at least one will give you an hourly rate. On this route that answer should prompt a follow up question, because California sets the rule and does not leave the choice open.

California's Maximum Rate Tariff 4 splits intrastate moves at 100 miles. At or under that distance a mover may price by the hour or by distance. Above it, distance rates apply. Distance is measured as the shortest mileage on any public highway route, and Los Angeles to San Diego is about 120 miles. It clears the line, so hourly billing is not the option here.

There is a clause behind that rule which does change your bill. When a California moving company does bill hourly, the same tariff puts double the driving time from origin to destination on the clock. On a two hour drive that is four billable hours before anyone lifts a box. A written price avoids the argument.

So the number to compare between companies on this route is the Not to Exceed price written on the moving services agreement, not an hourly rate. If a mover quotes you by the hour for Los Angeles to San Diego, ask which tariff item they are billing under before you sign anything.

How the move runs

Before move day

We go through the inventory and the access at both addresses, then issue the written estimate. In California the estimate follows the walkthrough, not the phone call, so this step is not optional paperwork. Send building rules as soon as you have them. A freight elevator that can only be booked between 9am and 12pm changes the plan, and it is far cheaper to know that in advance than at 8am on the day.

Loading in Los Angeles

The crew wraps furniture, takes apart what needs to come apart, and loads. Expect two to four hours for loading on a typical household, longer where the carry is long or the stairs are steep. We would rather you were on site or reachable for questions about what stays and what goes.

The drive

The truck runs I-5 south, or I-405 to I-5 depending on where in Los Angeles we start. It is roughly two to three hours clear, and closer to three or four if we hit the Orange County stretch in the afternoon. We build that into the day rather than treating it as a surprise.

Unloading in San Diego

Boxes go to the rooms you name, whatever the crew took apart goes back together, and the wrap leaves with us. If unpacking is on your estimate, that is where it starts. Anything that looks wrong should be raised with the crew there and then, while they can still write it into a damage report on site.

What the price covers, and what we confirm separately

The coverage question is the one that usually gets answered too late. Basic released value protection comes with the move at no extra cost, and it is limited to 60 cents per pound per article. That is weight based rather than value based: a 25 lb television is covered for $15, whatever the television cost. Full Value Protection costs extra, and it is the thing to ask about if the shipment holds anything worth more than its weight would return.

The move price covers the crew, the truck, fuel, tolls, the drive, and basic coverage. On top of that there is a $50 equipment charge for the blankets, dollies, and tools the crew brings. These are the things that are quoted separately once we know you want them: packing and unpacking, packing materials, custom crating, storage, extra stops, labor only help, piano and specialty item handling, heavy item handling, and hoisting. None of them are automatically in the price. Ask for the ones you want while we go through the inventory and we will tell you which we can crew on your date and what each one adds. They have to be on the estimate to be on the job.

Two limits to plan around. Our movers are not allowed to disconnect water or gas lines, so appliances that need disconnecting should be dealt with before we arrive. And we cannot carry flammable liquids, firearms, explosives, or containers of gasoline or propane.

If damage turns up after the crew has gone, call the office within 96 hours so we can open it while the move is still fresh.

Payment is easier to settle now than on the day. We take 5% off when you pay cash, and card is accepted at the quoted price. Tell us which you plan to use at the estimate, so the number you compare is the number you pay.

Delivery day in San Diego: parking, buildings, access

Read this part before you take any mover's word on parking. San Diego's parking permits do not reserve curb space for a move. The city's permit program covers overnight RV parking and residential permit parking, and neither one holds a curb for you. Temporary no parking signage is a city power rather than something a resident or a mover can book.

So if a mover offers to secure your curb in San Diego, ask which permit they mean and which office issues it before you take that on trust. What actually helps is simpler. Check your own street the week before, talk to neighbors about the frontage, and if you are in a building, book the freight elevator and the loading dock yourself as early as the building allows. Parking and building approvals are the customer's responsibility at both ends. We advise on them, and we plan around whatever you can get.

If the truck cannot get close, the move still happens. The crew parks further out and carries further, which takes longer. On a distance priced move that does not change your Not to Exceed price, but it does change how long your day runs, so give it an hour of planning.

Access is not the same across the city. Downtown towers and Little Italy mean freight elevators, booking windows, and a COI request from the property manager. North Park and Hillcrest are older blocks with narrow streets and permit parking districts. La Jolla and the beach communities have tight lanes where a full size truck sometimes has to stop short. Chula Vista, Escondido, Carlsbad and Oceanside are mostly the easy end of this: driveways, garages, and room to work. Tell us which one you are moving into so we can size the truck before the estimate is set.

If the building asks for a Certificate of Insurance, send us the requirements early: the building name, the property manager's contact, the certificate holder wording, the additional insured wording, the coverage limits, the move date, the address, and the email it goes to. Certificate holder and additional insured are not the same thing, so send us the wording the building actually asked for rather than the request in general. Not every building asks for a COI, so check before assuming you need it.

The I-5 run and when to book

This is a same state move, which changes the paperwork more than it changes the drive. There is no state line, no interstate transfer, and no long delivery spread where your shipment sits on a truck with other people's furniture. It loads in Los Angeles and it goes to San Diego.

Settle one more thing before you put a deposit down. The notice period for a deposit refund is written one way for local moves and another for interstate ones, and a Los Angeles to San Diego move is neither: it stays inside California but it prices as long distance. Ask which notice period is on your agreement and get that answer before you pay, not after.

Timing is the part most people can actually control. Month end and the first weekend of the month are when leases turn over at both ends, and those dates book out first. Summer is the busiest stretch in Southern California. If your dates are flexible, a midweek day in the middle of the month is easier to crew and easier to park at both ends.

Because both addresses are in California, this move is regulated by the state rather than by federal rules. That is worth knowing when you compare movers: household moving companies operating inside California are licensed by the Bureau of Household Goods and Services, which publishes a license search, and a USDOT number on its own is not the credential that governs an in state move. Check any mover you are considering against that search before you book.

Other California routes we run

We also move Los Angeles to San Francisco, Los Angeles to San Jose, Los Angeles to Sacramento, Los Angeles to Palm Springs and Los Angeles to Orange County. The same distance rule applies to every one of those that runs over 100 miles. Los Angeles to Orange County is under the line, so hourly rates are still an option there. If you are moving inside the Los Angeles area rather than out of it, our Los Angeles movers page covers local work, and the Irvine office is where the Southern California crews run from.