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Moving Companies in Hickory, NC

53
Movers nearby
66%
Insured
28
Licensed
3.94
428 reviews

Average hourly rates and total local move costs in Hickory, NC

Labor-only moving help in the area typically averages around $81.16 per hour, with total labor-only jobs commonly ranging from $303 to $635 depending on the crew size and hours needed. Full-service licensed local moving companies operating with a truck generally charge standard statewide averages of roughly $100 to $150+ per hour for a standard multi-person crew.

Depending on the size of your home — from a small apartment to a larger 3-4 bedroom house — total local moves in North Carolina generally span from $400 to $3,500, with average local moves typically landing in the $800 to $2,000 range.

In Hickory and across North Carolina, local moves (typically defined as 35 miles or less) are billed hourly based on the size of the crew and truck. Intrastate moving companies are legally bound by the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), which establishes a Maximum Rate Tariff (MRT) cap on what companies can charge.

Typical hourly rates for 2-person vs. 3-person crews

While actual market rates fluctuate depending on the specific licensed local carrier, demand, and whether it’s peak moving season, standard averages and legal ceilings look like this:

Crew sizeTypical hourly rateNCUC legal max
2-person crew + truck$120 to $140 per houraround $188 per hour depending on the exact weight/tariff tier
3-person crew + truck$165 to $195 per houraround $243 per hour

Upgrading from a 2-person crew to a 3-person crew generally adds an extra $40 to $60 per hour to your bill. Even though a 3-person crew costs more per hour, it increases efficiency — especially for homes with heavy furniture, tight corners, or stairs. A 3-person team can often complete a 2-to-3-bedroom local move significantly faster than a 2-person team, meaning the total bottom line for both crews can end up being surprisingly close.

Most local movers in North Carolina enforce a minimum labor requirement — usually a 2-to-3 hour minimum — plus a standard one-time travel or fuel fee to cover transit to and from your locations.

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53 movers in this area · 28 licensed with the FMCSA · 428 reviews checked

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Best Movers in Hickory, NC

Ranked by popularity. Licensing, insurance and photos shown for each.

7 photos ★ 3.1
★★★★★★★★★★
8 reviews
MoversSelf Storage
✓ Licensed✓ Insured · $750K Cargo coveredActive carrier0 inspections
Get Quote View profile
7 photos ★ 1.5
★★★★★★★★★★
2 reviews
FurnitureassemblyMoversSelf Storage
✓ Licensed✓ Insured · $750K Cargo coveredActive carrier1 inspection
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★ 4.0
★★★★★★★★★★
8 reviews
✓ Licensed✓ Insured · $750K Cargo coveredActive carrier0 inspections
Get Quote View profile

What customers say in Hickory, NC

★★★★★★★★★★ Google
Affordable has done 4 moves for me now and I love them. Gotten different crews for each move, and they are all great. Roland and April take great care of you. Justin and Smokie are so experienced and fast. I would not hesitate to hire them again and again. The moving industry is full of shifty folk...
Dana C. Lanham
Aaa Moving & Storage LLC · Jan 2026
★★★★★★★★★★ Google
Detailed oriented, fast moving, hard-working movers that takes pride and care when moving your stuff. Office staff well organized, communicated well with every step of our move. Couldn't ask for a better job
Roger Abernathy
Aaa Moving & Storage LLC · May 2022
★★★★★★★★★★ Google
Friendly office staff that will keep you up to date every step of the way. Professional hard working movers that take time and care when moving your belongings while also moving in a timely manner to help save you money.
Roger Abernathy
Aaa Moving & Storage LLC · May 2022
★★★★★★★★★★ Google
Love this company. They came to my rescue when my other company flaked out on me. I couldnt thank them enough. Also the crew was an amazing group of guys
Chris Wood
Aaa Moving & Storage LLC · May 2022
★★★★★★★★★★ Google
Called first of week and they got me in to be moved by Thursday. The guys were on time, friendly, and very knowledgeable about packing and moving. They had our moved done in under the three hour time.
ROBYN GILBERT
Aaa Moving & Storage LLC · Sep 2021
★★★★★★★★★★ Google
All three men were great! Got the job done quickly and were so polite.
Nancy Stanford
Aaa Moving & Storage LLC · Jun 2020

Who's moving to Hickory, NC

Federal tax-filer migration data for Catawba County.

+761 net households
What kind of mover will you need?
Moving in
4,965 households arrived
55% under 50 mi 7% 50–250 mi 0% over 250 mi 38% not attributed

66% arrived from elsewhere in North Carolina. Most arrivals are in-state moves, so a regional company will usually cover it — check interstate authority only if you're crossing a state line.

See licensed movers
Moving out
4,204 households left
55% under 50 mi 10% 50–250 mi 0% over 250 mi 35% not attributed

55% of departures stayed under 50 miles. Short local moves are usually priced by the hour, so a regional company is often the cheaper call.

See the full picture — 5-year trend, state flows and top routes
Net household change, five years
+382
18–19
+353
19–20
+752
20–21
+828
21–22
+761
22–23
Which states Hickory trades with

Each bar shows that state's in/out split — rows are ranked by total volume.

South Carolina +1
108 in
107 out
New York +34
34 in
Florida -33
33 out
Nearby, under 50 miles
Lincolnton, NC 15 mi Morganton, NC 22 mi Lenoir, NC 19 mi Mooresville, NC 21 mi Charlotte, NC 40 mi Bethlehem, NC 14 mi Gastonia, NC 30 mi Concord, NC 41 mi
Beyond 50 miles
Raleigh, NC 144 mi Winston-Salem, NC 62 mi Asheville, NC 74 mi Greensboro, NC 82 mi Monroe, NC 58 mi Myrtle Beach, SC 186 mi Wilmington, NC 217 mi Leland, NC 206 mi

Households arriving from another state report $72,873 in average annual income; those relocating from elsewhere in North Carolina report $60,997. Long-distance arrivals are the higher-budget half of the market.

How this works: IRS SOI County-to-County Migration Data, 2022-2023. The IRS compares the address on consecutive tax returns, so every move here is a real filed household. The catch: it publishes annually with about a two-year lag, counts Catawba County rather than city limits exactly, misses people who don't file a return, and leaves 37% of moves unattributed to a specific county, because flows too small to publish are grouped into regional buckets instead. See the whole state on the North Carolina migration page →

How much truck space do you need?

I’m moving a that’s .

A moving truck filling up as you change the options
1,150
cubic feet — what a local crew loads
8,050 lb what a long-distance carrier quotes on
26 ft rental truck, if you drive it yourself

Industry rules of thumb — about seven pounds per cubic foot, and published rental-truck capacities. Not our carrier records, not a quote. Bring both numbers to the call and what you get back will finally be comparable.

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