Rent a Truck or Hire Movers? New Data Shows Fuel Now Makes Up to 40% of DIY Moving Costs
Nov 4, 2026
FLUSHING, N.Y. - Nov. 3, 2026 - PRLog -- Deciding whether to rent a truck or hire movers now depends heavily on fuel prices: new data from Move Price (move-price.com) shows fuel makes up as much as 40% of a do-it-yourself cross-country move, and for a one-bedroom from New York to Los Angeles, movers can cost less than a rental truck.
Using EIA national averages of $6.29 for diesel and $4.15 for gasoline (week of November 2, 2026), Move Price compared rental truck costs, including fuel and tolls, with mover estimates on 10 routes.
Key findings:
- Short moves favor DIY: under about 400 miles, renting a truck cost 55–70% less than hiring movers.
- Fuel's share grows with distance: 9–13% of the DIY cost from New York to Philadelphia, but 33–40% from New York to Los Angeles.
- Cross-country, a one-bedroom move was estimated at $2,664–$3,330 with movers, versus about $3,950 by truck, before hotels.
New York to Philadelphia (97 mi): truck $476 | movers $1,133–$1,345
Dallas to Houston (241 mi): truck $690 | movers $1,565–$1,777
New York to Los Angeles (2,959 mi): truck $4,395 | movers $4,212–$5,268
"Most people assume renting a truck is always the cheap option," said Bojan Mladenovic, founder of Move Price. "On a short move it usually is. Cross-country, fuel, tolls and hotels add up, and movers can come out ahead for smaller homes."
Compare both options for your route, with live fuel prices, at https://www.move-price.com/rent-a-truck
Methodology: Estimates from Move Price's calculators on November 4, 2026. Truck costs are the cheapest of U-Haul, Penske and Budget, with fuel and tolls, excluding hotels. Long-distance mover estimates are priced by volume and destination region. Actual prices vary.
About Move Price: Move Price (https://www.move-price.com) is a free U.S. moving cost calculator with guaranteed quotes from licensed, insured movers.
Photos: (Click photo to enlarge)
Source: Move-Price.com
Read Full Story - Rent a Truck or Hire Movers? New Data Shows Fuel Now Makes Up to 40% of DIY Moving Costs | More news from this source
Press release distribution by PRLog
Recommended
YOUR NEWS, OUR NETWORK.
Do you have Great News you want to tell the world?
Be it updates about your business or your community, you can make sure that it’s heard by submitting your story to our network reaching hundreds of news sites across 6 verticals.
More News
Revealed: Charities that called for Mahmood's immigration U-turn received more than £1billion in taxpayers' cash
Charities that lobbied the Home Office to water down tougher immigration rules received more than £1billion in taxpayer cash, it can be revealed.
Debris from doomed Learjet scattered for miles across Palm Beach as plane fell apart in downward spiral before final impact
The tail of the doomed Learjet that nosedived into a street in Greenacres, Florida, near West Palm Beach, was recovered miles away from the crash site, investigators have revealed.
Two teenage boys, ages 13 and 15, identified as victims of horror shooting on California beach that left two more injured
The sheriff's office identified the victims on Tuesday afternoon as Marco Antonio Perez, 15, and Nathaniel Flores, 13. Both of the teens were from Salinas.
Paramedics forced to wait outside with patients as leaked memo exposes hospital strain
One union described the leaked directive as pitting hospital workers and ambulance officers against each other in a “Hunger Games fight for beds”.
So it's not just us they pick on! Greedy seagull steals fish... from a SEAL
But a seagull in Northumberland has been pictured turning his attention to a seal and wrestling a fish from its mouth.
Jon Ossoff humiliates Trump-backed Mike Collins in Georgia Senate rout as Democrat's crushing victory fuels 2028 speculation
Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff has won re-election in Georgia, defeating Republican challenger Mike Collins after a brutal race.
How an Aussie teacher's Halloween night out ended in tragedy after she died climbing a pub drainpipe - as friends speak out: 'Out of character'
Tragic new details have emerged about the teacher who died on Halloween night.
Votes pour in in US midterms
Votes are being counted in the US midterm elections, with Democrats looking like they are having a good night.
Midterm results in full: maps and vote counts as America delivers its verdict on Trump in House and Senate races
As voters across 50 states cast their ballots on a critical night for Trump and the country, view our live-updating maps and charts to bring this historic election to life - and see what America decides.
LA mayoral race descends into polling day catfight as incumbent Karen Bass released blooper reel of woke challenger Nithya Raman's worst gaffes
Democrats Bass and Raman are facing off for mayor of Los Angeles after they both came out on top of Spencer Pratt during the city's jungle primary.
President Jon Ossoff? As Obama whispers the magic words and America thirsts over 'jacked' Georgia Senator... all the signs that 2028 is already a done deal
On Tuesday night, Ossoff was easily re-elected, with independent election results monitor Decision Desk first projecting an Ossoff victory a mere 18 minutes after the polls had closed.
Will US midterm results lead to disruption in Washington’s ties with China?
Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here: High voter turnout as US midterm results test Trump’s grip on Congress The United States’ midterm elections are unlikely to deliver a “disruptive” shock to relations between Beijing and Washington despite potential volatility over the issue of Taiwan, according to a prominent Chinese expert in US studies. Chen Dongxiao, president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said any shift in the make-up of the US Congress would mainly complicate...