As the third-largest state in the United States, California offers everything from beautiful beaches to mountains for skiing. However, that larger footprint also means that moving within the state can still be considered long-distance. As a result, moving to, from or within California can be exceptionally demanding and require some extra planning.

Whether you’re looking to move within the same ZIP code or from San Francisco to San Diego, there are many options to help make your West Coast move as painless as possible. No matter the style of move you’re looking to make, there’s something on our list of the best California moving companies for you.

Atlas Van Lines: Best overall

Whether your California move spans the Pacific Coast Highway or just within Los Angeles County, Atlas Van Lines is our pick for the best overall moving company. Featuring over 350 interstate moving agents in the United States and Canada, this option has a substantial infrastructure to help it sustain and manage everything from local to international moves.

Atlas provides clients with the choice of full-service moves and storage nationwide. Additionally, it can handle fragile and oversized items and auto transport. If you’d prefer to do some of the packing yourself, you can purchase moving materials from Atlas and do the packing on your own.

On the downside, some reviews on sites — such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) — have indicated that Atlas’s claims processes (for lost or damaged items) can be slow. It’s also important to note that your initial quote is non-binding, meaning it may be inaccurate or change at the time of your move.

Atlas Van Lines is best for an all-service moving company that allows for complete customer control and input.

*BBB ratings are accurate as of October 2024.

North American Van Lines: Best for flexible pricing

Since its beginnings in 1933 in Ohio, North American Van Lines (NAVL) has grown over the past 90 years into a worldwide company with over 500 agents and agent affiliates. What separates and elevates North American Van Lines is its customizability, which encourages price flexibility.

By offering options like 24-hour customer service, auto shipping, fragile-only options, white-glove services and temperature-controlled storage options, North American Van Lines leaves it in the consumers’ hands to determine what they want from their moving company. If you’re willing to spend more money, you can choose full-service features like packing, unpacking and debris pickup. Additionally, you can purchase specialty boxes and moving supplies from NAVL.

These features aside, NAVL failed to provide a timely quote in my secret shopping experience. Additionally, North American Van Lines relies quite a bit on third parties to accomplish the moves. This means the service you receive may differ depending on the third-party mover hired by NAVL.

NAVL is best for cost-conscious movers looking to be hyper-specific with their demands.

Mayflower: Best for large moves

With agents in 46 states and over 150 countries, Mayflower has the infrastructure to handle small, local moves and larger cross-country and international moves. Mayflower provides full-service moves that can handle everything, including electronic installation and appliance hookups. Additionally, larger moves will generally mean larger amounts of trash, so I appreciate that Mayflower can handle debris removal to alleviate the stress of disposing of bulky items.

Long-distance moves that include moving your cars can be handled through open or enclosed car carrier equipment with Mayflower. And, as may be the case with larger moves, you may not have ample space for all your belongings. Fortunately, Mayflower also offers storage options. Ultimately, all of these features are left up to you and your specific budget so you can hone in on what you need from Mayflower.

Despite the larger infrastructure, Mayflower brokers some moves to third-party companies. Additionally, full-value protection is built into quotes, which can inflate the cost.

Mayflower is my pick if your Golden State move is large and demanding.

United Van Lines: Best for liability coverage

Over 90 years of experience, close to 500 movers across the United States and customizable insurance options helped secure United Van Lines a spot on our list. The company offers two moving insurance options to reimburse you if your belongings are lost or damaged: minimum liability valuation or full-value protection.

With full-value protection — built into every initial quote — the value is generated by multiplying the shipment’s weight per pound by $6. You can increase this valuation up until the shipment has been loaded. The minimum liability value is 60 cents per pound.

Unlike traditional insurance, such as home insurance, proving United Van Lines’ negligence isn’t the customer’s responsibility. This extra protection is particularly enticing because United Van Lines moves fragile items like mirrors and antiques.

I struggled to contact United Van Lines for a quote, and there have been 54 reported complaints to the Federal Motor Carrier Association (FMCSA) over the past three years for issues such as claim settlements and damaged belongings. Additionally, you must fill out a high-value inventory form for anything in your shipment valued at $100 or more per pound.

Because of its high liability insurance limits, United Van Lines is best for people who have high-value items.

Suddath Relocation Services: Best for Military Moves

California is home to 151,939 active-duty service members and has more than double the number of military defense installations than any other state, with 30 total. Suddath Relocation Services annually supports over 38,000 service members in their relocations across the United States and internationally.

The company’s website also features helpful resources like a military move checklist and an FAQ page for Permanent Change of Station (PCS). What elevates Suddath even further is that all crew and drivers are background checked, and the movers have undergone 250+ hours of mentored training.

Suddath does have higher quotes than other options I’ve surveyed, and if you’re looking to move from Alaska or Hawaii to California, you’ll have to choose another mover.

I recommend Suddath Relocation Services to active military members making a PCS move who want excellent, high-quality service.

Allied Van Lines: Best for full-service moves

As a full-service mover with 500 agent locations across the United States, Allied Van Lines has facilitated more than 750,000 moves over the past 15 years.

When you hire Allied Van Lines, you can kick your feet up and relax because it can handle packing, unpacking, reassembling your furniture and even transporting your cars. Furthermore, Allied offers temporary, long-term and permanent storage to accommodate your full-service move.

While I like all of Allied’s offerings to support full-service moves, I find it somewhat disappointing that Allied doesn’t offer junk removal. Additionally, it has a number of FMCSA complaints for loss and damage.

I recommend Allied Van Lines to any California homeowner overwhelmed by other moving factors to ease the stress of moving logistics. Allied can help alleviate this stress so you can focus on other essential moving tasks.

Good Greek Moving & Storage: Best for junk removal

Good Greek Moving & Storage prides itself on junk removal. The company offers attic clean-outs, estate clean-outs and clean-outs for senior downsizing. The company will sort your items and use the proper forms of transportation to dispose of them properly — be it through recycling or waste facilities — all according to California local legal and safety regulations.

In addition to junk removal, Good Greek offers full-service moving. If you’d prefer to self-pack, the company also sells specialty boxes for fragile items, tape and other supplies.

It’s worth noting that Good Greek only has physical locations in Florida. When I spoke with a customer service representative, they told me the company can handle moves to California from out of state, but local moves in California are a bit trickier. The company can offer them, but only if Good Greek movers are already in the area for a recently completed move.

Additionally, despite an A+ rating on the BBB, there are consumer complaints regarding Good Greek’s customer service.

If your move threatens to leave a mess behind, Good Greek is the best choice to help you downsize and eliminate waste before the move.

Our research and intensive surveying of the best moving companies in California helped us narrow our choices to seven options that best suit a wide range of needs.

A few factors will impact your moving cost, namely the distance traveled and the weight of your items. On average, moving in California will cost around $111 per hour. Below are the specific costs for local, long-distance and international moves.

Moving companies providing intrastate moves within California must have a permit from the Bureau of Household Goods and Services (BHGS) and proof of public liability and cargo insurance with the BHGS. If you’re moving from out of state, it’s important to note that interstate movers must have a permit from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Use this license search feature to ensure that your moving company is licensed to operate in California. Additionally, do not accept telephone or email estimates, as binding estimates can only be provided after an inspection of your goods.

When receiving your quote, inquire about discounts, including a discount for paying with cash instead of a credit card. Certain companies, like North American Van Lines, may provide discounts for veterans, while Allied Van Lines offers discounts for military service members. Other companies like Suddath and Atlas Van Lines offer discounts for AAA members.

Expect to pay more for a full-service moving company to pack and unpack for you. Conversely, you can save money by doing some of these tasks yourself.

Read online reviews and speak with anyone who recently moved to California. They’ll be less likely to sugarcoat their bad experiences and be honest about their positive experiences, so be sure to ask around.