A 57% drop in home price, and the dates that come with it
The median home in Los Angeles sells at $879,500 and the median home in Phoenix at $381,900, a drop of 57%. If you own in Los Angeles, that gap shapes what you can do with the sale: buy outright, carry a smaller loan, or keep a cushion for the first year in Arizona.
It also decides the order of your planning. Do not book a moving date until you know when you close on both ends, because a sale that slips by two weeks leaves a truck with nowhere to unload. Ask the mover for a delivery window that starts a few days after your Phoenix closing, and ask what storage-in-transit would involve before you sign anything. Get those terms in writing.
The gap also works in the other direction. If you are going from a Los Angeles condo to a larger Phoenix house, you may land with more rooms than furniture. Wait a month before buying new pieces, and sell or donate the ones that were only there to fit a tight floor plan.
Leaving a Los Angeles lease, signing a Phoenix one
In Los Angeles, 64% of households rent. In Phoenix, 43% do. That matters if you are moving from a rental to an owned home for the first time, and it matters if you are simply swapping one lease for another.
If you rent in Los Angeles, read your lease for notice rules before you set a date, and walk the unit with your landlord early so the deposit conversation does not land on moving week. If you plan to rent in Phoenix first, a lease of a few months lets you look at neighborhoods before you commit. Median rent is $1,879 a month in Los Angeles and $1,458 in Phoenix, which is 22% less, so a Phoenix lease leaves room to look at a place with a garage or a second bedroom.
What moves the price, and what the taxes change
The price range at the top of this page is the place to start for the cost of the move itself. Your own quote will shift with four things:
- Total weight of what you take.
- Access at both addresses, including long carries from a Los Angeles unit to the truck.
- Packing services and storage.
- Specialty items such as a piano, and the time of year you pick.
On the housing side, the federal price index for 2024 (U.S. = 100) puts the Phoenix area at 103 and the Los Angeles area at 114, so Phoenix runs roughly 9% to 10% less expensive overall. Incomes barely differ: the median household earns $80,366 in Los Angeles and $77,041 in Phoenix. Because pay is close, the rent or home-price change is what rewrites your budget, and it is worth setting that savings aside before deciding how much of the move to hand to professionals.
State income tax is the other change. California's top marginal rate of 13.3% is the highest in the nation, while Arizona replaced its progressive brackets with a flat 2.5% income tax. If you work remotely or run a business, that gap can add up to thousands of dollars a year. Arizona also does not apply its state income tax to Social Security, and property taxes there are modest.
What the federal rules mean between California and Arizona
Los Angeles and Phoenix are in different states, so FMCSA's interstate rules (49 CFR 375) cover the move. Five of them come up before the truck is loaded or after it is unloaded:
- Valuation. Full Value Protection is what you carry unless you sign a written waiver for Released Value, which pays 60 cents per pound per article. Read that page twice before signing, especially if you own a TV or a piece of furniture that weighs little but costs a lot. Valuation is the mover's liability level, not insurance, and separate moving insurance is optional.
- Estimates. Every written estimate must say whether it is binding or non-binding. With a binding estimate, you pay the estimate at the Phoenix door, plus any services you added after signing, plus up to 15% for impracticable operations; anything above that is billed later. A non-binding estimate rests on actual weight, and the mover must release your goods once you pay 110% of the estimate at delivery. Any remaining balance is billed after 30 days from delivery, so 110% is what is due at the door, not a ceiling on the bill. A not-to-exceed price is a common kind of binding estimate and a good one to ask for.
- The survey. A written estimate should come from a look at your home, in person or by live or recorded video, unless you waive that in writing. A quote from a phone call alone is an FMCSA red flag.
- The bill of lading. You must receive it at least 3 days before loading and can cancel within 3 days. Never sign it blank, and put the agreed delivery window on it.
- Claims. File in writing within 9 months of delivery. The mover must acknowledge within 30 days, then pay, decline or make an offer within 120 days. A note on the delivery receipt is not a claim.
There is no federal cap on deposits, but a large cash deposit is a red flag.
Finding a carrier on either side of the border
Every carrier on this route needs an active USDOT number, and you can look it up on FMCSA's search. The same search shows whether a company is listed as a Motor Carrier of Household Goods, which means it moves you, or a Broker of Household Goods, which means it hands your move to someone else.
A short list built the careful way looks like this:
- Collect three written estimates for the same inventory, each from a company that surveyed your home.
- Ask each one for a binding or not-to-exceed price.
- Read the reviews on third-party review sites for repeated themes; a single complaint says less than the same one appearing again and again.
- Ask who will physically carry your belongings, and whether that crew works for the company that signed the paperwork.
- Get the delivery window and the number to call if it slips.
Majestic Moving Companies is a directory, not a moving company, and we do not move, pack or store anything.
Our team has 35+ years of hands-on service-provider experience, including an operator who ran a moving company for 18 years.
Look through movers in Los Angeles and movers in Phoenix to see who works each end, or use find movers to start a list. To compare against other moves, browse by state.
From apartment stairwells to driveways
Nearly half of Los Angeles homes (49%) sit in buildings of five or more units. In Phoenix that share is 26%, and detached houses make up 60% of homes there but only 36% in Los Angeles. If you are leaving a building and arriving at a house, moving day looks different at each end.
In Los Angeles, the questions are about the building:
- Reserve the elevator with your property manager.
- Ask whether the loading area is shared with other tenants.
- Find out whether a truck can legally stop at the curb.
- Tell your mover about long carries from the unit to the truck, since that is time on the clock and can shape the quote.
A Phoenix house usually removes the elevator but brings its own questions: a driveway slope, a gate, a narrow street where a large truck cannot turn, or a second floor with a tight stairwell. Photograph both ends and send the pictures to whoever is quoting you, so the crew arrives with the right plan.
Two climates, and what June through September does to the schedule
Los Angeles summers are warm and dry with low humidity, and its winters are mild and mostly sunny with brief rainy periods. Fall brings a risk of wildfire smoke, and Santa Ana winds can create fire conditions across the region. Phoenix summers are extremely hot and dry from June through September and routinely push past 110°F, winters are mild and sunny, and drifting wildfire smoke from fires across Arizona, New Mexico and California is part of the picture. If you have respiratory sensitivities, keep an air quality app open in the weeks around the move.
That makes the Phoenix summer the hard part. It is a safety question for everyone carrying boxes, not only an inconvenience:
- Load and unload early in the day and keep water on hand.
- Make sure the air conditioning at the new house is fully running before the truck arrives.
- Keep candles, some plastics and electronics out of any unconditioned storage.
- Ask your mover how they handle a truck that sits in the heat, and what their heat protocol is for crews.
Winter and early spring are gentler on crews and belongings. If your date is fixed for summer, build the schedule around the cool hours, and if you have a choice, avoid a fall move that overlaps with smoke warnings in Los Angeles. Whatever the month, start early and keep your date flexible by a day or two if you can.
Six Phoenix areas to look at before you sign a lease
Phoenix is a large, sprawling metro, so it pays to understand its distinct areas first. You are also moving to a city less than half the size of Los Angeles, which has 3,857,897 residents to Phoenix's 1,624,832, and 15% of Phoenix residents changed address in the last year against 11% in Los Angeles.
- Arcadia: an upscale, lush neighborhood between Scottsdale and central Phoenix, walkable and full of mature trees, a luxury in the desert.
- Downtown Phoenix and Roosevelt Row: the urban core, with arts, restaurants and light rail.
- Scottsdale: next door to Phoenix, with a strong restaurant scene, good schools and a more suburban feel, plus luxury options.
- Tempe: home to Arizona State University, with excellent bike infrastructure and lower prices than Scottsdale.
- Gilbert and Chandler: Southeast Valley suburbs with excellent schools, newer housing stock and a strong sense of community.
- Peoria and Glendale: Northwest suburbs that give you more space for the dollar, farther from downtown.
Four questions for the Phoenix end of the move
When does the truck reach my Phoenix door after loading in Los Angeles?
No law sets a number of days. The window is whatever you and the mover write on the bill of lading, and the mover must give 24 hours' notice before delivery and tell you as soon as it knows of a delay. Windows on this route are often a range of one to three business days after the agreed first available delivery date, so confirm yours in writing before anything is loaded.
What do I do if a haboob rolls in on delivery day?
A haboob is a massive dust storm that arrives during Arizona's monsoon season, July through September. Walls of dust can climb thousands of feet and cut visibility to near zero within minutes, and most pass within 30 to 60 minutes. Driving a loaded truck or a rental truck through one is dangerous, so pull over and wait, and check weather and air quality forecasts the night before and the morning of the move.
Can my houseplants make the trip from California to Arizona?
Possibly, with restrictions. Arizona has agricultural inspection stations at major entry points, and California has rules about removing certain plants. Check current USDA and Arizona Department of Agriculture guidance, and ask your mover whether they carry live plants at all before loading day.
What does Arizona want from a new resident with a California license and plates?
You will need an Arizona driver license and a new vehicle registration after you establish residency. Deadlines and fees change, so check with the Arizona MVD, which handles many transactions online as well as in its offices.