323-379-1382 Free estimate

Lane · 2,127 mi

Moving from San Francisco to Chicago

Every eastbound truck out of San Francisco crosses Donner Pass, and that is why a winter delivery window on this lane is a range rather than a date. I-80 over the summit closes several times a winter and chain control drops trucks to 30 mph. It is the reason the spread exists, and it is not weather trivia.

323-379-1382 Speak to a coordinator
  • 6–10 days written spread
  • One truck no partner transfer
  • Binding price after survey
  • USDOT 2138595 · MC-744411 checkable on FMCSA SAFER
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I-80 · Donner
chain control, Nov–Apr
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Distance
2,127 mi driving miles, door to door
Transit
6–10 days driving days once loaded
Typical 2-bed
4,000–6,000 lb shipment weight
Curb, both ends
$355 vs $25 SFMTA against CDOT

Weight is what an interstate price is built on, so it is the number worth getting right at survey. We do not put a dollar figure on a web page: a 4,000 lb studio and a 6,000 lb two-bed are different moves, and a headline price that ignores that is a price that changes later.

What changes between the two ends

The road is the story on this lane. Everything else follows from it.

Donner Pass, and why the window is a spread

Chain controls on I-80 run R-1, R-2 and R-3. A heavy truck needs link-type chain on at least the main drive axle and a trailer needs chains on at least one axle. Under chain control the speed limit drops to 30 mph. When conditions restrict traffic, trucks are held at Applegate on the west side or at the Nevada state line on the east — not diverted, held. The summit closes several times each winter, from a few hours upward.

That is the mechanical reason a November delivery estimate out of San Francisco is a range and a July one is tighter. A carrier quoting you a date rather than a spread on this lane in winter is quoting you something they cannot control.

An eleven-fold difference in the price of a curb

San Francisco has the most expensive curb on this site, and by a wider margin than this page used to say. SFMTA’s published fee table puts a temporary no-parking permit at $355 for one to four signs on a permit of up to three days, four to seven days adding $64, plus $21 per meter per day on a metered block — billed in five-day increments, so a one-day move against two meters is charged as ten meter-days. The application needs a minimum of five business days between filing and enforcement, seven to ten between May and September, and the signs go up 72 hours ahead at an unmetered curb and 24 at a metered one. Chicago sells an enforceable CDOT permit for $25, valid for the day of the move, with three to five business days the sensible lead time. Fourteen times the price for the same job, and both are ours to arrange.

And Chicago has a trap San Francisco does not

There are two kinds of no-parking sign in Chicago and only one of them works. Ward courtesy signs are free and, in the ward offices’ own words, non-enforceable — nothing parked in front of one can be ticketed or towed. A CDOT permit sign is ticket-and-tow enforceable, is issued to eligible moving companies and covers the day of the move. Somebody who has just paid $355 for an SFMTA permit reasonably assumes a sign is a sign, and in Chicago that assumption is the difference between a reserved curb and a long carry. The forty-eight-hour posting rule quoted all over the internet belongs to the free sign, incidentally: it is what the ward office asks a resident to do, not a condition of CDOT enforceability. And “dibs”, the local habit of claiming a shoveled space with a chair, is a norm and stops no tow either.

Where people land

The neighborhoods newcomers from the coast tend to choose are Lincoln Park, Lakeview, the West Loop, Wicker Park and Bucktown, River North, and — the two most often overlooked — Hyde Park and Pilsen. Access differs enormously between them: a West Loop loft with a service lift is a different job from a Lakeview walk-up, and that is priced at survey rather than guessed.

What the neighborhood decides, from our side of it

The places people from the coast land in are Lincoln Park, Lakeview, the West Loop, Wicker Park and Bucktown, River North, and — the two most often overlooked — Hyde Park and Pilsen. From a moving crew’s point of view they are not interchangeable. A West Loop conversion usually has a service lift and a dock, which is the easiest unload in the city. A Lakeview or Lincoln Park three-flat usually has neither, and a sofa goes up an external stair. River North is high-rise: a lift booking, a certificate of insurance for the building, and a time window the building sets rather than you. That difference is priced at survey, and it is the reason we ask which street before we ask how many rooms.

What your money does, without a number attached

Rent falls materially, and it is not only rent — groceries and eating out come down too, and buying a home stops being theoretical. We are not going to print an index: the honest comparison depends on the neighborhood at both ends and on whether you own or rent, and a figure on a web page goes stale the month after it is written. That is not a hypothetical — the SFMTA permit figures three paragraphs up had done exactly that, and correcting them is written down on our editorial standards page along with what else this site refuses to print. Our current San Francisco housing figures are on the city page, attributed. We have not gathered current Chicago ones, so we do not quote them.

Winter, and the one thing nobody warns you about

The cold is not the problem — the wind off the lake and the salt are. Furniture that has lived its whole life in a Californian climate meets humidity swings it has not met before, and solid wood moves. It is worth letting a load acclimatise before it is reassembled tight, which is a thing a crew does rather than a thing you have to know.

What decides this move

Three things set the day, and the distance is not one of them

The mileage never changes. These do, and all three are settled at survey rather than on moving day.

A conventional tractor and dry-van trailer standing on wet ground with snow banked behind

30 mph speed limit under chain control on I-80

Chain controls over Donner

Chain controls run R-1 to R-3 and trucks are held at Applegate when conditions restrict traffic. I-80 over Donner closes several times each winter. It is why the delivery window on this lane is written as a spread.

A mover setting down a carton hand-labeled KITCHEN

14× San Francisco against Chicago, same job

Fourteen times the price for one curb

SFMTA's published fee is $355 for one to four signs plus $21 per meter per day on a metered block, five business days minimum, signs up 72 hours ahead at an unmetered curb. Chicago charges $25 for the enforceable sign. Fourteen times the price for the same job, and both are ours to arrange.

A mover crouched at an appliance while a resident looks on

Two kinds only one is enforceable

The Chicago sign

A ward courtesy sign is free and nobody has to obey it. A CDOT permit sign is ticket-and-tow enforceable. No competitor page draws the distinction and it is exactly what decides whether the curb is there on the day.

What it costs

What a San Francisco to Chicago move involves

Weight and transit, which is the structure of the price. Not a dollar figure — a studio and a four-bedroom are thousands apart, and a headline number that ignores that is one that changes later.

Home size Typical weight Transit Winter allowance
Studio or 1 bed one bedroom of contents 2,000 – 3,500 lb 6–10 days +1 day
2 bedrooms the most common interstate move 4,000 – 6,000 lb 6–10 days +1 day
3 bedrooms usually most of a trailer 7,000 – 9,000 lb 6–10 days +1–2 days
4+ bedrooms often a truck of its own 10,000 – 14,000 lb 6–10 days +1–2 days

Weight ranges are an industry rule of thumb, not a measurement of your home. Transit is driving days once loaded and both ends of the spread go on your paperwork. The only number that binds is the one after a survey.

Get a binding price

How the run works

  1. Survey, and the access

    Video or in person. Fixes the inventory, the weight and the access — a West Loop service lift and a Lakeview walk-up are different jobs.

  2. SFMTA and CDOT permits

    SFMTA at least five business days out, seven to ten between May and September. CDOT at the Chicago end, with an enforceable permit sign rather than a ward courtesy one.

  3. Load, then east over Donner

    Loaded early, then east over Donner. In chain-control season the spread carries the allowance rather than the promise.

  4. Delivery inside the spread

    Inside the written spread, unloaded and reassembled, debris taken away.

Protection

Moving insurance: what your belongings are covered for

Two levels, and the one you get by default is the better one. Released value is free and pays 60 cents a pound — you have to ask for it. Full value protection is the federal default if you make no written choice, and it is what we quote.

Two movers drawing stretch film around an armchair in a living room
60¢ / lb
released value — free, but you have to choose it
Full value
the federal default if you choose nothing
$100 / lb
extraordinary value — declare it in writing

Full value protection is the federal default. Released value is the one you have to ask for.

What each level actually pays

Get a price for San Francisco to Chicago

Two ZIP codes and a date. A coordinator calls you back — no deposit, no call center.

323-379-1382 Get a quote

Other lanes we run

Transit is driving days once loaded, not calendar days from booking. Both ends of the spread go on your paperwork.

All lanes

On the road and at the door

Two movers passing a carton between them at the tail lift of a truck
A sofa and stacked cartons on the pavement beside a van, two movers working between them
Two movers manoeuvring a wrapped appliance on a hand truck through a kitchen
A mover loading stacked chairs into a trailer with its side curtain open

From customers on our long-haul lanes

“They were on time with pick up and delivery considering I was under a time constraint to leave Washington and settle in in Cali.”

Read every review

Both ends of this lane

San Francisco to Chicago

323-379-1382 All moving questions
How long does it take for my belongings to arrive?

Six to ten driving days once loaded, and both ends of the spread go on your bill of lading. In chain-control season, plan on the far end: the pass is the variable, not the mileage.

Is Chicago really that much cheaper than San Francisco?

On housing, substantially — and this page will not put a number on it, because the honest comparison depends on the neighborhood at both ends and on whether you own or rent. Our own figures for San Francisco are on the city page; we have not gathered current Chicago figures and will not guess them.

Do I need a car in Chicago?

Less than in California, and many people who arrive with two end up with one. The L and the bus network cover most of the neighborhoods newcomers choose. If you keep the car, shipping it beats driving it over Donner in winter.

When is the best time of year to move?

May to September is easier on the road and harder on the price — and San Francisco recommends seven to ten days of permit lead time in exactly that window. October and April are the compromise.

How do I get an accurate quote?

A survey. Weight and access are what the price is built on, and both need seeing. Ten minutes on the phone gets you a real range; a survey gets you a binding number.

Get a price for San Francisco to Chicago

Eight fields, and the last two are how a coordinator reaches you. Nothing here commits you to anything.