Movers for Every Jersey City Neighbourhood
We have been moving people across the Hudson since 1979, and Jersey City is the destination we are asked for most often. The job splits neatly in two: the waterfront towers, which run on paperwork and booked elevators, and everything west of them, which runs on staircases.
Jersey City Buildings Have Manhattan Rules
The towers along the Hudson — Newport, Exchange Place, Paulus Hook — run their move-ins the way Manhattan does, and often more strictly. Expect a Certificate of Insurance naming the building and its management company, a reserved freight elevator with a fixed time slot, a designated loading dock entrance, and a set of hours outside which moves are not permitted at all. Some buildings do not allow moves at weekends. Some do not allow them on the first or last day of the month, which is exactly when most leases turn over.
None of that is a problem if you know about it in advance. It becomes a problem when you find out on the day, because a crew that cannot get into the freight elevator is a crew standing in the lobby on your clock.
Our Certificate of Insurance is included and we issue it directly to the management company. Tell us the building when you book and we will ask for their requirements ourselves rather than leaving you to chase it. What we cannot do is book your elevator for you — buildings only take that from the resident. Do it the day your date is confirmed.
Away from the water it is a different job entirely. The brownstones in Van Vorst Park and Hamilton Park are walk-ups with narrow staircases and turns that a sofa does not always survive without being taken apart. The Heights sits on a genuine hill, and a building that looks like a two-storey walk-up from the front can be four from the back. Both are routine for us. Both take longer than a high-rise with a working freight elevator, which is worth knowing before you compare two quotes.
What a Jersey City Move Costs
Hourly starts at $150 an hour for two movers and a truck. A third mover starts at $195. No minimum hours. For a downtown studio with a working freight elevator at both ends, that is often the whole story.
Where a guaranteed price earns its keep is the awkward ones — a fourth-floor walk-up in the Heights, a brownstone with a turn in the stairs, or a building that will only allow the move between 9am and noon. All of that is priced in up front and itemised, and the number does not move afterwards.
| Move type | Crew | Typical time | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio, elevator building | 2 movers | 2–3 hours | $150/hr |
| One bedroom, elevator building | 2 movers | 3–4 hours | $150/hr |
| One bedroom walk-up | 2 movers | 4–5 hours | $150/hr |
| Two bedroom | 2–3 movers | 4–6 hours | from $195/hr |
| Brownstone or Heights walk-up | 3 movers | 5–7 hours | from $195/hr |
Starting rates for Jersey City moves. Times assume you are packed. Add roughly an hour per flight of stairs where there is no lift.
Every Jersey City Neighbourhood
Newport and Exchange Place
High-rise waterfront towers with freight elevators, loading docks and strict move-in windows. A certificate is required almost without exception.
Paulus Hook and Downtown
A mix of new towers and older low-rise buildings on narrow streets where truck access needs planning rather than luck.
Van Vorst and Hamilton Park
Brownstone walk-ups with narrow staircases. Furniture usually comes apart before it comes down.
Journal Square
Apartment blocks and family homes around the transport hub. Generally easier truck access than downtown.
The Heights
Steep streets and buildings that are taller at the back than the front. Worth telling us which entrance we are using.
Bergen-Lafayette and Greenville
Row houses and family homes with driveways and, mercifully, somewhere to actually park the truck.
Moving from Manhattan or Brooklyn to Jersey City
This is the single most common move we do into New Jersey, and it is shorter than most people expect. Downtown Manhattan to Exchange Place is barely a mile through the Holland Tunnel. It is a shorter drive than plenty of moves within Brooklyn.
The crossing itself is free in this direction. The Port Authority collects tolls only when entering New York — nothing is collected entering New Jersey — so a westbound move pays no toll at all. Tolls are included in your quote regardless, but it is worth knowing.
The real variable is the buildings at either end. A Manhattan building with a certificate requirement and a booked elevator, moving into a Jersey City tower with the same, means two sets of paperwork and two reserved time slots that have to line up on the same day. We handle both certificates. You handle both elevators, because buildings will only take that booking from the resident.
Timing matters more than distance here. The tunnels are heaviest 6am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm on weekdays. Starting a job at 8am on a Tuesday means part of your hourly bill is spent stationary. Starting at 10am usually does not. We will suggest a window that avoids it. If you are heading further into the state, our New Jersey moving page covers the rest, and Hoboken has its own rules worth reading before you book.
Jersey City Moving — Frequently Asked Questions
Rates start at $150 an hour for two movers and a truck, with no minimum number of hours. A third mover starts at $195 an hour. A downtown studio with elevators at both ends typically takes two to three hours; a walk-up or a Heights brownstone takes longer. You can also take a binding estimate for one guaranteed price.
Most waterfront and managed buildings do, and many will not allow a crew past the lobby without one. Ours is included at no extra charge and we send it directly to the management company. Give us the building details when you book.
Yes — it is our most requested New Jersey route. Downtown Manhattan to the Jersey City waterfront is about a mile through the Holland Tunnel, and no toll is collected heading into New Jersey.
No, and neither can any moving company. Buildings only accept elevator reservations from the resident or leaseholder. Book it as soon as your date is confirmed, because the popular waterfront buildings fill weeks ahead at the end of the month.
A studio in an elevator building is usually two to three hours and a one-bedroom three to four. Walk-ups add roughly an hour per flight. A Heights brownstone with a two-bedroom’s worth of furniture is more often a five to seven hour job.
Yes. Van Vorst, Hamilton Park and the Heights are routine for us. Furniture that will not make the turn in the staircase gets taken apart and reassembled at the other end, which is included rather than charged as an extra.
No. There is no minimum number of hours on any move we do. If it takes two hours, that is what you pay for.
Jersey City requires a permit for no-parking signage or meter bags on the street. Tell us the address when you book and we will talk you through what your block needs and plan the crew’s arrival around the access you have. Buildings with a loading dock make this much simpler.
Often yes, and sometimes the same day, depending on crew availability. End of month is the hardest window because New York and New Jersey leases turn over together. Call as early as you can.
Yes. If your Jersey City lease starts after your current one ends, we store your belongings and deliver when the new place is ready. Storage starts at $50 a month, climate controlled, and we handle both the collection and the delivery.
Get Your Jersey City Moving Quote
Tell us the building and what you are moving. We will quote you hourly and as a guaranteed price, and sort the Certificate of Insurance.
Or call 212-365-0707.
