What a Long Island move costs, from the only figures anyone publishes

• 34 of 38Long Island movers that print no price for a movefirst party
• $390Charles Wood Moving’s printed local flat price for 2 movers and 1 truckfirst party
• $2,340 to $5,7402 to 3 bedroom New York to Florida move, from 1,221 quotes over 90 daysmarketplace: moveBuddha, 13 October 2026
• 7 lb/cu ftweight factor New York fixes for a weight-rated estimateNYSDOT record, 17 NYCRR 814.3(b)

The other place to look is the movers themselves. Of the 38 Long Island companies in our file, 34 print no price at all for moving or hauling work (first party, each site read 21 October 2026). The four that do are LIM Movers, Charles Wood Moving, Safeway Moving, a Florida and Indiana company with a Nassau County page, and Samonas Prime Moving, which prices liability only. College Hunks prints junk removal prices and no moving rate. Everyone else sends you to an estimate form. So this guide does two things. It prints every number that is actually published, and it explains the parts of a quote that move the number: hourly or weight based billing, travel, minimums, stairs, packing, valuation and deposits.

No government or trade body publishes a Long Island moving average

On 21 October 2026 we searched for a published average for Long Island local moves and for New York to Florida moves from a government or industry body. We looked at moving.org and trucking.org for Moving and Storage Conference cost statistics, tried the HomeAdvisor cost guide (the page would not load), and searched for a Nassau County specific figure. Nothing came back from a primary source.

That leaves marketplace estimates, compiled by quote sites from their own users. We print them because they are the only numbers that exist, each labeled with its source and date.

One figure we left out on purpose. HireAHelper’s page for Nassau, NY prints $446.34 average labor only and $92.02 an hour, but appears to describe Nassau in Rensselaer County near Albany (marketplace: HireAHelper, read 21 October 2026).

Marketplace figures exist, and they do not agree with each other

moveBuddha’s New York to Florida page, last modified 13 October 2026, says it drew on 1,221 quotes given to its users over the prior 90 days, at an average quoted distance of about 1,150 miles (marketplace: moveBuddha). Its page body gives 2 to 3 bedroom moves as $2,340 to $5,740, while the same page’s meta description shows $2,250 to $5,750. Both appear in the table.

moveBuddha’s separate 2026 cost guide gives national local averages by home size; it is national, so treat it as a reference point.

GoodMigrations, updated October 2026 and attributed to 152 New York mover records, puts New York to Florida at $1,020 to $7,189 with an average of $2,850 (marketplace: GoodMigrations). NerdWallet, updated 3 December 2024, relays HomeAdvisor’s local range of $880 to $2,570 and Angi’s national local average of $1,714. That is a secondary relay, nearly two years old, and we cite it as such (marketplace: NerdWallet citing HomeAdvisor and Angi, 2024).

Only four of the 38 companies print a price for a move or its liability

We read every company site in our file on 21 October 2026 looking for an hourly rate, a minimum, a travel charge, a deposit rule or a valuation figure. Thirty four of the 38 print no price for moving or hauling work. The table holds everything the other four print, plus adjacent figures from three more, all first party. The rates page prints each figure beside the company’s federal record.

Two of the four deserve a note. LIM Movers Long Island, Valley Stream, is the only Nassau site that prints long distance prices; its Washington DC 1 bedroom line reads $100, which we print as the site prints it. Charles Wood Moving, Bohemia, prints flat prices for 2 movers and 1 truck without defining what each covers. We found no federal record for either company under the names we searched.

Safeway Moving prints its ranges on a Nassau County page, but its site places the company in Fort Lauderdale and its FMCSA record in New Chicago, Indiana. College Hunks prints prices for junk removal only. Men On The Move’s figures are storage prices, and Samonas prints a liability add on, which is a coverage cost.

Hourly or weight based billing decides how the bill is built

New York recognizes three kinds of bill of lading for a household move: hourly rated, weight rated, and written binding estimate (NYSDOT Mover’s Guide PDF, page 45, read 21 October 2026). Which one you sign determines how much you must have ready at delivery. The estimates guide walks through each.

Transportation Law 196 requires carriers to offer a written estimate if you ask at least seventy two hours ahead, given only after a physical examination (read 21 October 2026). The Mover’s Guide adds that the on site estimate must be free (page 46).

Stairs, elevators, packing and valuation change the number after the walk through

For an interstate move, FMCSA names stairs, elevators and required parking permits as unforeseen conditions. When one turns up, the mover must prepare a new binding estimate (FMCSA binding estimate page, last updated 26 October 2023, read 21 October 2026). Within New York, added services you request may be charged and collected in full at delivery (Mover’s Guide, page 47).

Packing is priced per item where it is priced at all; the only Long Island price list we found is LIM Movers’, in the table above.

Valuation is where the published numbers are firmest, because federal law sets them. Under released value, the mover is liable for no more than 60 cents per pound per article; FMCSA’s own example is a 25 pound television that returns $15 (FMCSA liability protection page, read 21 October 2026). Claims must be filed in writing within 9 months of delivery.

Full value protection carries a minimum of $6.00 per pound under the October 2022 Rights and Responsibilities handbook. FMCSA’s glossary still shows an older minimum of $5,000 or $4.00 per pound, whichever is greater. Both are printed because the two FMCSA pages disagree (read 21 October 2026). The valuation guide goes through both.

New York’s minimum cents per pound figure is not in the statute. Transportation Law 199 lets a carrier limit liability to the value declared in writing, and the number lives in each mover’s filed tariff (read 21 October 2026). Three Long Island movers print their own figure. Samonas covers local moves at $0.30 per pound per article and long distance at $0.60. Maffucci includes released value at $0.60 per pound at no added cost. LIM Movers says basic liability is about $.30 to $.60 per pound per item (all first party, read 21 October 2026).

New York sets no deposit cap, but 814.2(d) bars rates built on prepayment

We found no NYSDOT rule that caps or bans deposits. We looked at the NYSDOT Moving and licensing pages, the Summary of Information booklet, Transportation Law 196, and 17 NYCRR 814.2 and 814.3 on 21 October 2026. The closest provision is 17 NYCRR 814.2(d), which says no rates or charges shall be established based upon prepayment of charges.

The New York Department of State’s consumer alert of 19 August 2025 adds that deposits vary but reputable companies generally do not require significant advances. It warns against large upfront or full payments in advance. What the movers themselves publish is thin.

At the door in New York, the most you owe before the truck unloads is the estimate plus 25 or 10 percent