The Best Moving Companies in Oakland

Oakland joined seven other California metros on our list of the top 10 cities where living costs are the highest. Oakland residents pay an average of $2,416 every month for their utilities, rent, food, and gas.¹ Despite these high living costs, Oakland is still relatively affordable compared to other large Bay Area cities.

In 2021, the average monthly rent for a single-bedroom apartment in Oakland was $1,662.89.² If you can believe it, this actually represents a sizeable decrease to rental prices in the city. In 2020, Oakland’s rent averaged $1,875.67, so its rental rates went down by about 11% in that year.²

Oakland isn’t unique in this, either. While rental prices soared across much of the country, they actually decreased in other California cities, namely San Francisco and San Jose. To learn more, check out our list of 2021 rental price changes.

Moving prices are variable since they depend on factors that are unique to your move. That said, the average price to hire professional movers for a local move (100 miles or less) ranges between $550 and $2,000. For a long-distance move (a move over 100 miles), you’ll pay closer to $2,000–$12,000—possibly more if you move all the way across the country.

But like we said, there are a ton of factors that influence your price. Here are just a few of them:

• Add-on services like packing, junk removal, or custom crating
• Exactly how far you’re moving
• The total weight of your shipment
• When you book your moving service

Since these various factors are totally different for every moving customer, it’s impossible to predict the exact price of your move until you get a customized estimate from your movers. The good news is that getting an estimate is almost always free, so you can get estimates from multiple movers before you decide which moving company to hire. Some will be cheaper than others.

If you want to learn more about this process and the way different factors influence the price of your move, read our guide to moving costs.

Yes, Oakland is actually growing relatively quickly compared to other large cities in the Bay Area. Oakland’s annual growth rate in 2020 was 0.90%,³ which is higher than San Francisco where the annual growth rate stagnated to a mere 0.10%.⁴

However, both cities are experiencing more growth than San Jose which is currently shrinking by 0.62% annually.⁵ San Jose is still larger than Oakland and San Francisco, though, and it will be for a while even if the current trends continue.