Moving from New York to Reno

The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area holds about 19.8 million people (Census ACS), so this is a large pool of potential movers. The Census counts about 132 people a year moving to Washoe County from Nassau County, New York, Morris County, New Jersey and Bergen County, New Jersey (2016 to 2020 estimates), but the margin of error is as large as the estimate, so the safest reading is that households travel in both directions. For a household in that area, Reno is 2,696 road miles away.

The drive: 2,696 miles from Sparks to New York

Measured from our Sparks warehouse to New York, the drive is about 2,696 miles. Free-flow driving time is 47 h 18 min, which works out to six days at 500 miles a day. A straight line across the map would be 2,396 miles, so the highways add about 300 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 2,636 miles, I-280 for 30 miles, US 6 for 13 miles and I-78 for 2 miles. Of those, I-80 alone is about 98 percent of the total.

Leaving the New York area, the first miles are short connectors, with I-78, I-280 and US 6 adding up to 45 miles, and then the route settles onto I-80 for nearly all of the rest. I-80 runs across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah before it reaches Nevada, so there are very few navigation decisions after the first hour. The part of this route that takes planning is the start, because a New York City address often means a building with a loading dock, a reserved elevator or a street where trucks need a permit.

Reading the road numbers

Divide the 2,696 miles into 500-mile days and you get five full days plus about 196 more miles. The routing tool's 47 h 18 min 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

The route starts only 55 feet above sea level and ends in Reno at about 4,930 feet, so the climb is spread over nearly 2,700 miles. The routing tool lists no named mountain pass. The weather risk sits in the middle, where winter storms and wind can close sections of I-80 in Wyoming. Check the state road-condition sites for the states you cross in the weeks before loading day.

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 2,696 miles from New York. 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 98 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 2,696 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, New York has a median home value of $777,600 and a median gross rent of $1,821 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 $80,483 in New York. The table above puts both ends side by side.

The NOAA normals give New York a January low near 27.9 degrees and a July high near 84.9, with about 50 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.

Many New York area apartment buildings set their own move hours and ask for a certificate of insurance or a reserved elevator. That is an origin-side detail to settle early with your building manager. On the Reno side, a Sparks or Reno home with a driveway usually makes delivery day simpler than a city loading dock does.

How the move works with O'Brien's

On a move from New York, you book the move with O'Brien's, the Bekins agent in Sparks, and we coordinate it from your New York 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 New York page.