Palo Alto Movers for Every Kind of Home

Professorville and Downtown North

Older Victorian, Craftsman and shingle homes close to University Avenue. Narrow doorways, steep stairs and original floors mean more disassembly and more protection. Our Professorville page covers these blocks in detail.

Old Palo Alto and Crescent Park

Large houses on big lots in ZIP 94301. Long driveways and full households; Old Palo Alto also has permit parking. See our Old Palo Alto and Crescent Park pages.

Midtown, Fairmeadow, Greenmeadow and Charleston Meadows

Eichler tracts and ranch homes. Single story, wide glass walls, flat lots and short driveways make loading fast, but floor-to-ceiling glass and radiant-heated floors deserve care.

Barron Park and College Terrace

A mix of older cottages, remodels and apartments on quieter streets, some without sidewalks in Barron Park.

Downtown and California Avenue

Condos and apartment buildings that usually want a certificate of insurance and a reserved elevator.

On residential streets, Palo Alto asks residents to request no-parking signs from the Police Department's Parking Enforcement at least one week before the move, so the curb in front of the house is clear for the truck. Commercial areas go through the city's Development Services instead. We help you plan the request around your date. In Old Palo Alto, also check the Residential Parking Permit time limits on your block. For condos and apartments, send us the HOA or management company name, mailing address and email and we provide the COI at no charge. Elevator waiting time is billed as part of the job, so reserve it in advance.

Palo Alto is about 15 miles northwest of downtown San Jose, one of the shorter Peninsula runs for our crews. Morning jobs arrive between 8 and 10 AM and get a call about 30 minutes ahead. Our drive to you is not billed.

A studio or one-bedroom usually takes three movers at $175 an hour; two movers at $145 is available for very small moves or if you prefer it. Larger homes, meaning three-bedrooms over about 1,800 square feet or anything with four bedrooms or more, get four at $235. Every job has a 3-hour minimum, then quarter-hour billing, and the rate does not change on weekends. Full service includes moving blankets, tape, wardrobe boxes, floor protection and furniture disassembly and reassembly. Packing materials are billed as used, stairs carry no extra charge, and a move between addresses more than 10 minutes apart has the drive between them doubled, as California requires.

Hours and cost by home size in Palo Alto

To show what the rate adds up to, we started from the billed time on moves we completed from mid-July to mid-October 2026 and turned them into the cost ranges below. Some moves finish faster and some run longer; the actual charge is the rate times the hours, counted in quarter hours.

Middle 50% of billed hours on recent local moves for direct customers (July to October 2026), with the drive between homes counted as billed. Account and partner-billed jobs and moves that included our full packing are not in these numbers. Packing supplies extra; 3-hour minimum.

Single-story Eichlers on flat lots load fast, while Professorville homes with steep stairs and narrow doorways need more disassembly and protection, and that shows in the hours.

• Request no-parking signs a week or more ahead, or confirm the driveway fits the truck.
• Book the elevator and send building contacts for the COI.
• In an Eichler, point out any glass walls, skylights or floors you want extra protection on.
• In an older home, mention pieces that came in through a window or were assembled in place.
• Ask for an in-person estimate for a house. We do not estimate by video.
• Plan payment: cash, money order, Visa or Mastercard (3% card fee). No checks.

• Old Palo Alto: period homes south of Embarcadero with permit parking.
• Crescent Park: large homes on curving streets along the creek.
• Professorville: historic houses a few blocks from University Avenue.
• Menlo Park: across San Francisquito Creek, with a container permit rule.
• Atherton: acre lots and long private drives.
• Los Altos: ranch homes and a small downtown to the south.

More: local moving, moving cost guide.