The Best Moving Companies in Milwaukee

If you’re considering a move to Milwaukee and you’re worried about the city’s affordability, put your mind to rest. The average resident of Milwaukee only pays $1,382 every month for their living costs,¹ making Milwaukee one of the 20 US cities where living costs are cheapest. Necessary expenses like rent, food, and utilities are all included in this total.

The average monthly rent for a single-bedroom Milwaukee apartment in 2021 was $770.67.² And while this reflects a 2.88% yearly increase in the city’s rental rates, it’s still remarkably affordable. Many cities with average rentals going for hundreds of dollars more than Milwaukee’s in 2020 also saw much bigger price increases in 2021.

Even if the current trends continue, Milwaukee will have some of the lowest rent in the nation for quite a while. If you want to see exactly how Milwaukee’s rent stacks up to the rest of the country, check out our report on apartment price hikes.

Hiring professional movers can cost anywhere from $550–$12,000 depending on how far you’re moving, the size of your home, and what services you get.

Local moves (100 miles or less) usually don’t cost more than $2,000, especially if you’re only moving an apartment’s worth of stuff. Of course, if you have a ton of belongings or you get deluxe services like professional packing, you could end up paying more than $2,000 in some cases.

For a long-distance move (100 miles or more), $2,000 is usually the least you’ll pay, though cheaper moves than this aren’t unheard of. Your price will usually go up from there, though, and there’s not a well-defined upwards limit to how much a long-distance move can cost if you get special services.

At the end of the day, you’ll only know precisely how much to budget for your move after you get moving estimates from a couple of movers. In fact, the more estimates you get, the better. Moving companies don’t all charge the same, so getting estimates from multiple companies is a great way to find the cheapest movers near you.

The best part is that getting a moving estimate is almost always free. Learn more by reading our guide to moving costs.

Offloading household items you don’t need is one of the best ways to make your move cheaper. Moving prices are largely determined by the combined weight of your household belongings, so selling and donating any household goods you won’t miss all but guarantees you a better rate.

Here are a few Milwaukee donation centers where you can drop off your donations:

• Goodwill Store & Donation Center
• The Salvation Army Family Store & Donation Center
• Purple Heart Pick Up Services and Donation Center
• Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity ReStore

This probably goes without saying, but don’t donate broken or useless items. Donation centers aren’t landfills, so only donate things that someone else would actually want. If you have things like broken furniture or dead appliances to throw away, hire one of our favorite junk removal companies to take it off your hands.