Best Moving Companies in Texas 2025

How much you pay for your move depends on whether you move yourself or hire movers, the move distance, how much you’re moving and any additional services (like packing or storage) you choose.

Local movers typically charge by the hour, with a team of two movers costing $80 to $100 per hour as of publishing. Long-distance movers typically charge a flat fee, which may range anywhere from $2,000 to $8,000. Packing and unpacking services will cost you more. Tipping movers is optional but customary (10% to 20% of the total cost).

Estimates for moving services from Houston (77002)

The figures below are based on current (as of publishing) industry estimates for a three-bedroom home with no additional services.

There are ways to ease the stress of a move and simplify the process — it just takes some planning.

1. Get an idea of the scope of the move

Think about how much time, energy and money the move will require. Evaluate your time frame, the number of items you need moved and your budget. Set aside extra funds for unexpected costs.

» SMART MOVE: How to make a moving budget

2. Declutter in advance

Reduce the weight and volume of your belongings to save on moving costs. Consider donating or selling items you no longer need. Your city or town may have local or national charities that offer donation pickup, including for larger furniture items.

3. Start packing early

Begin packing items from less frequently used areas or seasonal items first. As you get closer to your move-out date, aim to pack one room per day and label boxes clearly.

» MORE: How to pack for a move

4. Make sure your essentials are easily accessible

Pack a box or bag for each person in your household containing essentials for moving day and the following day. Include a change of clothes, toiletries and any necessary medications — you don’t want to be without these during the move, especially if you’re driving a long distance.

5. Know how to contact your mover

Have a reliable contact for the moving company so you can communicate logistics, ask questions and track your move. Some companies offer tracking via an app; find out ahead of time so you can download it and be ready for moving day.

» MORE DETAILS: Moving checklist

ConsumerAffairs carefully collects in-depth, verified reviews to tell each customer’s experience with a company. We believe customer experiences are a crucial indicator when evaluating companies, so these reviews are a significant factor when selecting our top picks.

To choose the top moving companies in Texas, we started with the 80 popular providers listed in our main moving guide. First, we narrowed it down to the ones available in Texas. We then weighted several key features to get our final rankings:

• Storage options: We looked at the availability of storage units and any free storage periods.
• Packing services: We considered the types of packing services offered, including whether a company offers packing services and whether it offers both full and partial packing.
• Deposit requirements: We prioritized companies that ask for 20% or less down versus those with higher deposit requirements.
• Discounts: We outlined how many discounts each company offers and what types (e.g., senior, military, student).
• App: We gave a company preference if it has an app with a useful service, like requesting a quote or tracking a move.

Garnering attention for its high number of new residents, Texas offers a variety of locations with strong economies, affordable housing and a high quality of life. From Dallas to El Paso and everywhere in between, our research team analyzed the 50 largest cities in the Lone Star State across five categories—affordability, economic strength, safety, health care and education and quality of life—to determine the best places to live in Texas in 2025.

Top 5 places to live in Texas

According to census data, Texas is the fastest-growing state in the U.S., fueled by abundant job opportunities, especially in its booming tech industry. Despite this growth, the Lone Star State is still known for its affordability, offering a cost of living index lower than over 30 other states. If you're planning a move to Texas, here are the top cities to put on your list.

1. Sugar Land, Texas

Sugar Land earns its No. 1 spot on our list through strong affordability and safety scores. It ranks second in affordability; contributing most is its third-highest median household income ($133,144) compared with all other Texas cities. Sugar Land’s median housing costs consume only 19% of residents’ median household income, the fifth-lowest in our study. The city also has the second-least amount of violent crimes in Texas, with only 0.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents annually. Combined, these factors make Sugar Land a cost-effective and secure place to live.

Additionally, 93.4% of the population has health insurance, giving it the highest population of insured people on our list. All of these factors have allowed Sugar Land’s economy, including health care and education, to thrive.

2. Plano, Texas

Plano’s impressive affordability and quality of life rank it as the second-best place to live in Texas. While median housing costs are only 20.2% of the median household income ($108,594), the city’s slightly lower economy and safety scores prevented it from reaching the first-place spot.

However, Plano has the fourth-highest park score for having a high percentage of the city’s population living within 10 minutes of a park. It also has the highest walkability score on our top five list, giving it an impressive quality of life score. The lower-than-average unemployment rate also contributes to Plano’s impressive economic landscape.

3. Frisco, Texas

Frisco’s impressive affordability and economy scores earn high marks, but its unremarkable quality of life score prevents it from climbing further up the list. Frisco is the highest in our economy ranking due to an impressive 35.8% population growth in five years and an extremely low share of residents below the poverty level, at 4.1%.

4. Allen, Texas

Allen earned its title as the fourth-best place to move to in Texas by having the second-highest safety rating and the fourth-highest health and education rating. The property crime rate of 8.2 crimes per 1,000 residents annually is the lowest among the top 50 Texas cities, and the violent crime rate of 1.1 is also low.

Additionally, Allen has the fifth-highest health care worker score, with about 34 health care practitioners per 1,000 residents. The city also has a 95% high school completion rate, making Allen a safe and ideal place to live.

5. Leander, Texas

Ranked number one for safety and affordability, Leander is only held back by poor walkability and park access. The city had the highest population growth of 72% between 2018 and 2023, compared with any other Texas location. This growth is complimented by being the most affordable among the top five Texas cities, with 56.8% spending less than 30% of their income on rent. Leander also ranks as the safest place to live in Texas.

How do Texas cities compare?

The table below ranks the 50 largest cities in Texas across five key categories: affordability, safety, economy, health care and education, and quality of life. While our analysis weighted each category equally, we encourage you to consider what you care about most while using this data to pick your perfect Texas city.

Best places to move to in Texas methodology

To identify the best cities to live in in Texas, the ConsumerAffairs Research Team evaluated the 50 most populous cities in the state across five categories worth 20 points each. We then calculated overall scores, which are out of a maximum of 100 points.

• Affordability (20 points): This category includes median household income (5 points), median housing costs as a share of median income (7) and the percentage of households spending 30% or less of gross income on rent (8). Data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Economy (20 points): The economy score considers each city’s five-year population growth from 2018 to 2023 (5 points), poverty rate (5), unemployment rate (5) and home appreciation from 2022 to 2023 (5). Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Zillow.
• Safety (20 points): This score is based on rates of violent crime (10 points) and property crime (10)  per 1,000 residents. Data was sourced from the FBI.
• Health care and education (20 points): This category includes the percentage of residents with health insurance (5 points), the number of health care professionals per 1,000 people (8) and the high school completion rate (7). Data was sourced from the Census Bureau.
• Quality of life (20 points): The quality of life score considers walkability (10 points) and the percentage of residents within a 10-minute walk of green space (10). Data was sourced from the City Health Dashboard, a database of health measures maintained by NYU Langone Health.