Rhode Island is a major tourist destination, especially during the summer months — a record 27.7 million tourists visited the state in 2022. This can make for crowded roadways and more work for movers, especially if you’re moving in or around a popular vacation spot along the state’s 400 miles of shoreline.
To prepare, we recommend getting quotes from Rhode Island moving companies at least six to eight weeks ahead of time. After detailed research, we’ve determined that the best providers for long-distance moves in Rhode Island are Allied Van Lines and North American Van Lines (NAVL).
Allied’s small-move service, Allied Express, makes it a great option for customers with small vacation homes or college students moving to attend one of Rhode Island’s 13 colleges and universities. NAVL’s not-to-exceed and bottom-line pricing options — plus its service portfolio that includes antique moving and white glove service — make it a top choice for most interstate relocations.
We graded each of the following moving companies against our proprietary rating system, focusing on availability, services and quote processes, to help you book with a qualified professional mover.
Popular moving companies
The following moving companies earned the highest scores on our proprietary rating scale.
Long-distance:
Our top choices for Rhode Island movers
We chose the best long-distance and local moving companies based on pricing, customer review scores and more. See how our top picks compare:
Best long-distance movers in Rhode Island
The following movers offer direct service to and from Rhode Island for long-distance and interstate moves.
Best movers for a local Rhode Island move
The following providers rated well when evaluated against our grading scale. They all have high customer review scores on Google Reviews and other platforms.
A guide to professional movers: Making an informed choice
Investigating a moving company’s reputation and understanding its pricing structure can help you avoid a stressful situation during your move, such as added fees after the delivery of your goods. Keep the following factors in mind when you get quotes from Rhode Island moving providers.
Moving services
One of the first steps in the moving process is determining your service needs. To do this, compile a full inventory of your home. List all items you plan to take with you and all that you plan to get rid of. Separate this list by room and note all the basic and add-on services you may need. These can include the following:
- Packing services
- Unpacking
- Crating for antiques, fragile items and specialty items
- Storage services
- Vehicle shipping
- Piano moving
- Junk removal
- Home staging
Carriers vs. brokers
Be aware of a moving company’s service model before gathering quotes. All moving companies operate as either brokers or carriers. Carriers are traditional moving companies that directly carry out all services they book. Brokers act as middlemen between clients and carriers. They handle the actual booking process and take a large upfront payment as a convenience fee and deposit.
Moving regulations
All moving companies must comply with certain federal and state-specific regulations. Rhode Island movers must have the following registrations to operate legally.
Regulations for interstate and long-distance movers
All long-distance and interstate moving companies in Rhode Island must maintain active United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Motor Carrier (MC) numbers. You can use these to look up a moving company’s registration status on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration database.
Regulations for intrastate and local movers
Local movers in Rhode Island are regulated by the state Public Utilities Commission. This governing body maintains a list of all registered moving companies that operate primarily within the state. Check the site to ensure your mover can legally operate in Rhode Island.
Moving costs
Moves are billed differently depending on your move distance. Most national movers offer binding estimates, while local movers typically offer ballpark quotes based on hourly rates.
Long-distance moving costs
Long-distance moves are billed according to total move distance and shipment weight. With these in mind, all longer relocations are assigned “line-haul fees,” which are all-inclusive rates. Such moves are eligible for binding estimates, meaning your quote will not shift between quote day and moving day unless your moving inventory or service needs do.
We got several quotes from nationwide moving companies for three-bedroom, 1,800-mile relocations. In all, our average rate was $7,329 with no add-ons included. Full-service packing increased the average cost to $9,155.
Local moving costs in Rhode Island
Local moves are billed at hourly rates determined by the number of movers assigned to your move. Moves with more than one moving truck will either have a flat fee assessed at the beginning of the move or will have higher hourly rates.
In many cases, movers will have minimum charges; these help ensure that moving crew members are paid well, even if they have to come in to work for a one- or two-hour job. Minimum charges commonly total between two and four hours at your set hourly rate.
Moving insurance
All moving companies provide released-value protection for lost or damaged goods. This provides 60 cents per pound per item in reimbursement if this happens during a move, and is given with no additional price. Beyond this, all movers offer full-value protection at an additional cost. Some even offer coverage for items of “extraordinary value” ($100 per pound per item) at similarly increased rates.
Final take: Get quotes from Correira Brothers Moving & Storage or Allied Van Lines for your Rhode Island moving needs
Based on our research into dozens of moving companies, we recommend Allied Van Lines and Correira Brothers Moving & Storage Inc. for your Rhode Island move.
Allied’s offices near Rhode Island provide service for long-distance moves, including its Allied Express option for smaller moves — perfect for students and vacationers. For a move within the state, Correira Brothers is one of the highest-rated moving companies in the Providence area.
Get three or more quotes around four to six weeks ahead of moving day. This will ensure your move stays within your budget and that you can book with your preferred provider, especially during the peak season of May through September. Full-service movers experience heightened demand during this time, which can increase costs and affect availability.
Our rating methodology for moving companies
Our moving recommendations are all backed by our detailed rating methodology. To fairly assess both interstate and local movers, we have tailored two sets of review standards for long-distance and intrastate movers.
Both sets of review standards assess factors including reputation and customer satisfaction, availability and range, services offered, pricing and quote practices and customer service. We rate each moving company out of 100 possible points. We then divide the final score by 20 to obtain the 5-star rating we feature in our reviews.
BBB and Google Reviews ratings are accurate as of April 2024.
Top local moving companies near you
Editorial note: The name “Homefront” refers to the alliance between USA TODAY and Home Solutions that publishes review, comparison, and informational articles designed to help USA TODAY readers make smarter purchasing and investment decisions about their home. Under the alliance, Homefront provides and publishes research and articles about home service and home improvement topics.
Homefront has an affiliate disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Homefront editorial staff alone (see About Homefront). Homefront adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is believed to be accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
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