Moving from Dallas-Fort Worth to Reno

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area holds about 7.8 million people, and the Census counts about 641 people a year moving from the five North Texas counties on this route to Washoe County (2016 to 2020 estimates, with a margin of error), so households travel both ways. For a household leaving Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis or Tarrant County, the move to Reno is one of the longer hauls in the country.

The drive: 1,651 miles on four main roads

The road distance from our Sparks warehouse to Dallas is about 1,651 miles. A straight line across the map would be about 1,361 miles, so the highways add roughly 290 miles. Free-flow driving time is about 29 h 54 min, and at 500 miles a day that works out to four days on the road. That is a road-time figure, not a delivery promise; your written estimate sets the delivery window.

I-40 is the long middle of this route at 761 miles. US 95 adds 272 miles on the Nevada end, US 287 adds 172 miles and US 82 adds 98 miles. Those four roads make up 1,303 of the 1,651 miles. The rest is a patchwork of shorter highways that link them.

Terrain and weather on the way

The route starts at 483 feet above sea level in Dallas and ends in Reno at 4,930 feet. The routing tool finds no named mountain pass on this route, so the climb is gradual across the plains and the high desert instead of one steep summit.

Texas and the southern plains can bring severe spring storms, and Nevada's desert roads can see snow in winter. Before any move, check DriveTexas (the state's road conditions map) for the Texas end and the NDOT site for Nevada. Late spring and early fall steer clear of both the worst weather and the busiest summer months.

Reading the road numbers

Split into 500-mile days, the 1,651 miles are three full days and a fourth day of about 151 miles. Free-flow driving of 29 h 54 min over 1,651 miles implies a pace of about 55 miles per hour, and it assumes no stops, no traffic and no weather. That is why the number describes the road and not the delivery.

I-40 alone is about 46 percent of the distance. If you plan to follow the truck in your own vehicle, that long interstate stretch is where fuel, food and rest stops are easiest to find, while the 272 miles of US 95 at the Nevada end deserve a full tank before you start them.

What changes when you arrive

The Census median rent in Dallas is $1,472 a month and the median home value is $320,700; in Reno they are $1,556 and $548,300. Median household income is $70,518 in Dallas and $80,760 in Reno. The table above puts both ends side by side.

The weather is a bigger change than most people expect. Dallas has a July high near 96.9 degrees and a January low near 37.9, with about 38 inches of rain a year. Reno has a July high near 93.9, a January low near 26.1, about 7 inches of rain and about 21 inches of snow. Texas and Nevada both collect no personal income tax, so that part of your tax picture stays familiar.

How the move works with O'Brien's

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

Long-distance moves are priced by weight, and your estimate is itemized and in writing. You start with a phone ballpark or an online request, and you get an itemized inventory and condition report before packing. If your Reno or Sparks home is not ready on delivery day, the shipment can go into our 30,000 square foot Sparks warehouse; vault storage starts from $40 per month.

Getting settled in Reno

Nevada gives new residents 30 days to register a vehicle and 30 days to get a Nevada driver's license. Utilities, schools and county services are covered in our moving to Reno guide, and the Texas to Reno page covers the state-level changes.