Moving from Boston to Reno

The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area holds about 4.9 million people (Census ACS), so this is a large pool of potential movers. The Census counts about 111 people a year moving to Washoe County from Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and Middlesex County, Massachusetts (2016 to 2020 estimates, with a margin of error), against about 244 a year going the other way. For a household in that area, Reno is 2,896 road miles away.

The drive: 2,896 miles from Sparks to Boston

Measured from our Sparks warehouse to Boston, the drive is about 2,896 miles. Free-flow driving time is 51 h, which works out to six days at 500 miles a day. A straight line across the map would be 2,517 miles, so the highways add about 378 miles. Those are road-time figures, not a delivery promise; your written estimate sets the delivery window.

Four roads account for most of the trip: I-80 for 2,538 miles, I-84 for 231 miles, I-90 for 56 miles and I-81 for 35 miles. Of those, I-80 alone is about 88 percent of the total.

Boston begins with the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) for 56 miles, then I-84 for 231 miles and I-81 for 35 miles, and then settles onto I-80 for the remaining 2,538. It is the only route on this page that starts by crossing New England on interstates other than I-80. Triple-deckers in Dorchester and brownstones in the Back Bay can have narrow stairs, street-permit rules and short windows for parking a truck, so the origin end of the trip often takes the most planning.

Reading the road numbers

Divide the 2,896 miles into 500-mile days and you get five full days plus about 396 more miles. The routing tool's 51 h implies about 57 miles per hour, a number that leaves out fuel, food, rest and weather. Reno is on Pacific Time, so the trip also moves your clock back three hours.

If you follow the truck in your own vehicle, the long I-80 stretch is where fuel, food and rest stops are easiest to find.

Terrain and weather on the way

Boston is at 5 feet, and Reno is about 4,930. The routing tool lists no named pass on the route, but New England winters add snow to the first leg and Wyoming adds wind to the last. Boston averages about 49 inches of snow a year, more than twice Reno's 21, so a February departure is the time to check both ends.

Before loading day, check the state road-conditions site listed below for the start of the route and the Nevada road map (NDOT) for the finish.

Timing the trip and planning your own drive

Late spring through early fall is the easiest season for the 2,896 miles from Boston. December through February is the slow part of the year, because wind and snow on the plains and in Wyoming can hold a truck for a day, and summer is the busiest moving season, so book early.

With 88 percent of the miles on I-80, one slow stretch there can set the pace for the whole shipment, which is why the delivery window in your written estimate has room in it. For your own car, treat the 2,896 miles as six days on the road, and keep your documents, medications and a few days of clothing with you in the car.

What changes when you arrive in Reno

On the Census measures, Boston has a median home value of $731,700 and a median gross rent of $2,147 a month. Reno city has a median home value of $548,300 and a median rent of $1,556. The Census median household income in Reno city is $80,760, against $97,344 in Boston. The table above puts both ends side by side.

The NOAA normals give Boston a January low near 23.1 degrees and a July high near 82.1, with about 44 inches of precipitation a year. Reno has a January low near 26.1, a July high near 93.9, about 7.3 inches of precipitation and about 21 inches of snow.

Median household income is $97,344 in Boston and $80,760 in Reno city, and the Boston metro is higher still at $115,863. Massachusetts collects a state income tax and Nevada does not tax wages. Boston's July highs run near 82 and Reno's near 94, with Reno's nights dropping to about 60.

How the move works with O'Brien's

On a move from Boston, you book the move with O'Brien's, the Bekins agent in Sparks, and we coordinate it from your Boston home through the Bekins Van Lines network, then handle delivery, unpacking and storage in Sparks. Your written estimate sets the delivery window.

Pricing for an interstate move is by weight, with an itemized written estimate. There are three ways to a price: a phone ballpark, an online request or a free in-home estimate by an O'Brien's estimator, and the in-home visit comes with 10 free heavy-duty boxes. An itemized inventory and condition report comes before packing.

When the closing date and the delivery window do not line up, the shipment can wait in our 30,000 square foot warehouse in Sparks, with vault storage from $40 per month. The interstate move guide covers the sequence.

Getting settled in Reno

Nevada's new-resident rules give you 30 days for vehicle registration and 30 days for a driver's license. For the rest of the checklist, see the moving to Reno guide, and for state-level differences the Massachusetts page.