What a move out of Chicago to another city costs
Relocating beyond the metro? Forrester Moving handles interstate and cross-region jobs starting in Chicago, reaching across the Midwest and a good deal farther, and every item travels padded, catalogued, and covered by a written promise against damage. Get a fast bracket from the calculator here, then ask us to work up a full quote off the actual contents of your home.
Estimate Your Long-Distance Cost
Estimate only. What you ultimately pay turns on the full inventory and how access works at each end. Get your quote — no charge, and no one leaning on you.
Flat-rate pricing on our busiest routes
Listed below are the destinations Chicago customers reach out about most. Each number is a single fixed band, and bundled into it you’ll find your private truck, the movers, the diesel, the wrapping blankets, and standard packing stock.
| Destination | Miles | Studio / 1BR | 2 Bedroom | 3 Bedroom | 4+ Bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | ~110 | $975 – $1,510 | $1,625 – $2,380 | $2,475 – $3,580 | $3,675 – $5,075 |
| Louisville | ~114 | $1,030 – $1,570 | $1,735 – $2,475 | $2,605 – $3,675 | $3,775 – $5,305 |
| Columbus | ~175 | $1,415 – $2,110 | $2,275 – $3,250 | $3,450 – $4,855 | $4,975 – $6,900 |
| Chicago | ~181 | $1,510 – $2,275 | $2,475 – $3,450 | $3,675 – $5,075 | $5,305 – $7,350 |
| St. Louis | ~243 | $1,735 – $2,605 | $2,700 – $3,775 | $4,000 – $5,600 | $5,705 – $8,000 |
| Nashville | ~288 | $1,940 – $2,805 | $3,025 – $4,200 | $4,425 – $6,150 | $6,350 – $8,850 |
Road hours and arrival timing for each corridor
| Route | Drive | Delivery window | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago → Cincinnati | ~1h 50m | Same day | Run on I-74 east, loaded and dropped inside a single day |
| Chicago → Louisville | ~1h 55m | Same day | Straight down I-65 south |
| Chicago → Columbus | ~2h 50m | Same day | East on I-70 over the state line |
| Chicago → Chicago | ~3h 5m | Same day to next day | I-65 north; mind downtown dock rules and permits |
| Chicago → St. Louis | ~3h 45m | 1–2 days | West on I-70 by way of Terre Haute |
| Chicago → Nashville | ~4h 45m | 1–2 days | Southbound on I-65, with DOT rest rules in play on full loads |
Want a firm delivery date, or need it to arrive in a hurry? For an added fee we’ll crew the truck with a second driver and keep it rolling without an overnight stop. Flag that when you request your price, or phone (888) 711-4778.
Everything folded into the long-haul price
- Your own exclusive truck. What you ship rides solo. Because it isn’t pooled with anyone else’s load, your delivery never sits parked while another customer’s drop-off gets sorted out.
- One company end to end. Whoever loads the truck in Chicago is the same outfit that carries your things off it on the other side — you’re not handed to some local agent you’ve never spoken to at arrival.
- Diesel and toll roads. The cost of fuel and any turnpike charges is already sitting inside the fixed figure.
- Padding and itemization. Each item is blanketed, secured, and written onto the manifest, all of it covered by our damage-free guarantee.
- Furniture taken apart and put back. Bed frames, dining tables, desks, and bookcases get broken down for the road and reassembled once we reach the new place.
- Coverage on your goods. Standard protection runs at $0.60/lb per article and is included automatically; if you want full-replacement coverage, we’ll factor it in at quoting time.
How a Forrester cross-country job actually runs
- Survey and item list. Before anything is booked, we tour the home — on-site or by video call — and write down what’s coming. Your fixed quote is calculated off that list, which is why there are no last-minute additions.
- Loading. On move day the crew pads and disassembles, then stacks the truck with ratchet straps and load bars holding everything in place against highway movement.
- On the road. Your goods ride a single dedicated truck with GPS the entire trip. Dispatch keeps tabs on conditions, particularly the lake-effect snow and ice that hit the routes leaving Chicago in winter.
- Arrival. At the far end we carry everything in, drop each item in its room, put the furniture back together, and take the used wrapping away. You don’t sign until you’ve walked through and you’re happy.
- A single contact. The same coordinator stays on your move start to finish, from the opening quote to the final carton — never a relay between departments.
Long-haul cost questions we get asked
What makes interstate pricing different from a local job?
Around town, we charge against hours and headcount. Over distance, three things drive it: the size of the load, the road miles, and how reachable each door is. Since we lock in a fixed flat rate, you never get blindsided by a scale-ticket adjustment at the far end.
Will our belongings sit in a warehouse mid-trip?
They won’t. The load runs nonstop from your Chicago address to the new one aboard the same truck. Should you need a holding spot on either side, that’s available via our short-term storage option.
Are you able to ship a vehicle as well?
Transporting cars isn’t something we do in-house, but we’ll book a licensed auto carrier and time it so the vehicle turns up around the same window your furniture does.
Do you take a deposit?
Reserving your date takes a modest deposit, generally 10 to 15 percent of the total, which is credited against what you owe. You settle the balance on delivery, after you’ve gone over everything.