Route guides
The 250 busiest car shipping routes in the U.S.
Where Americans actually move their cars โ ranked from Census Bureau moving data โ with estimated prices, transit times, the best months to ship and the companies at each end of the route.
Top 25
Most popular state-to-state routes
Ranked by people moving between the states each year, weighted toward long moves where shipping beats driving.
| # | Route | People moving a year | Distance | Open carrier, sedan | Transit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California to Texas | 85,566 | ~1,470 mi | $1,000โ$1,450 | 3โ6 days |
| 2 | New York to Florida | 60,900 | ~1,290 mi | $950โ$1,375 | 3โ5 days |
| 3 | Florida to Texas | 51,366 | ~1,310 mi | $975โ$1,375 | 3โ5 days |
| 4 | Texas to California | 42,090 | ~1,470 mi | $1,000โ$1,450 | 3โ6 days |
| 5 | Texas to Florida | 41,520 | ~1,310 mi | $975โ$1,375 | 3โ5 days |
| 6 | Pennsylvania to Florida | 30,650 | ~1,210 mi | $925โ$1,325 | 3โ5 days |
| 7 | New Jersey to Florida | 27,936 | ~1,290 mi | $950โ$1,375 | 3โ5 days |
| 8 | California to Florida | 37,623 | ~2,770 mi | $1,400โ$1,975 | 6โ10 days |
| 9 | California to Washington | 42,398 | ~1,130 mi | $900โ$1,300 | 3โ5 days |
| 10 | Florida to New York | 26,415 | ~1,290 mi | $950โ$1,375 | 3โ5 days |
| 11 | Illinois to Florida | 25,760 | ~1,400 mi | $1,000โ$1,400 | 3โ6 days |
| 12 | California to New York | 31,232 | ~2,900 mi | $1,425โ$2,050 | 6โ10 days |
| 13 | Massachusetts to Florida | 22,918 | ~1,480 mi | $1,000โ$1,450 | 3โ6 days |
| 14 | Michigan to Florida | 22,535 | ~1,370 mi | $975โ$1,400 | 3โ6 days |
| 15 | New York to California | 29,995 | ~2,900 mi | $1,425โ$2,050 | 6โ10 days |
| 16 | New York to Texas | 28,922 | ~1,620 mi | $1,050โ$1,500 | 4โ6 days |
| 17 | Florida to Ohio | 19,539 | ~1,170 mi | $925โ$1,325 | 3โ5 days |
| 18 | Washington to California | 29,587 | ~1,130 mi | $900โ$1,300 | 3โ5 days |
| 19 | Florida to Pennsylvania | 19,230 | ~1,210 mi | $925โ$1,325 | 3โ5 days |
| 20 | Ohio to Florida | 18,943 | ~1,170 mi | $925โ$1,325 | 3โ5 days |
| 21 | Illinois to Texas | 23,845 | ~940 mi | $825โ$1,225 | 2โ4 days |
| 22 | California to Arizona | 53,303 | ~430 mi | $600โ$950 | 1โ3 days |
| 23 | Maryland to Florida | 16,899 | ~1,130 mi | $900โ$1,300 | 3โ5 days |
| 24 | Florida to Michigan | 16,759 | ~1,370 mi | $975โ$1,400 | 3โ6 days |
| 25 | Virginia to Florida | 28,564 | ~940 mi | $825โ$1,225 | 2โ4 days |
Prices are between the main car-shipping market in each state, for a running sedan with a flexible pickup date. Each route guide has city-to-city prices and a month-by-month chart.
All routes
Route guides by starting state
From Alabama
From Arizona
From Arkansas
From California
- to Texas
- to Florida
- to Washington
- to New York
- to Arizona
- to Tennessee
- to Colorado
- to Virginia
- to North Carolina
- to Georgia
- to Illinois
- to Oregon
- to Massachusetts
- to Michigan
- to Oklahoma
- to Pennsylvania
- to Maryland
- to Ohio
- to Idaho
- to Indiana
- to New Jersey
- to Missouri
- to South Carolina
- to New Mexico
- to Kentucky
- to Wisconsin
- to Alabama
- to Utah
- to Minnesota
- to Montana
- to Connecticut
- to Kansas
From Colorado
From Connecticut
From Florida
- to Texas
- to New York
- to Ohio
- to Pennsylvania
- to Michigan
- to Illinois
- to North Carolina
- to Virginia
- to California
- to Indiana
- to Massachusetts
- to New Jersey
- to Tennessee
- to Colorado
- to Maryland
- to Georgia
- to Arizona
- to Wisconsin
- to Connecticut
- to Minnesota
- to Washington
- to Alabama
- to Nevada
- to Missouri
- to South Carolina
- to Oklahoma
- to Kentucky
- to Maine
- to Arkansas
- to Iowa
From Georgia
From Idaho
From Illinois
From Indiana
From Iowa
From Kansas
From Kentucky
From Louisiana
From Maine
From Maryland
From Massachusetts
From Michigan
From Minnesota
From Mississippi
From Missouri
From Nebraska
From Nevada
From New Hampshire
From New Jersey
From New Mexico
From New York
From North Carolina
From Ohio
From Oklahoma
From Oregon
From Pennsylvania
From South Carolina
From Tennessee
From Texas
- to California
- to Florida
- to Georgia
- to Colorado
- to New York
- to North Carolina
- to Illinois
- to Washington
- to Tennessee
- to Virginia
- to Arizona
- to Pennsylvania
- to Michigan
- to Ohio
- to Maryland
- to South Carolina
- to Indiana
- to Missouri
- to Nevada
- to Louisiana
- to Utah
- to Alabama
- to Massachusetts
- to New Mexico
- to Arkansas
- to Wisconsin
- to Oregon
- to Iowa
- to Mississippi
- to Oklahoma
- to Minnesota
- to Kentucky
From Utah
From Virginia
From Washington
From Wisconsin
Method
How we picked these routes
There is no public count of cars shipped between states, but people who move usually take their car with them. We started from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey state-to-state migration flows for 2023 and 2024 and averaged the two years to smooth out sampling error.
Short moves between neighbouring states are mostly driven, so each pair was weighted by road distance: moves under about 250 miles count for nothing, and the weight rises to full at about 950 miles. Seasonal snowbird traffic between northern states and Florida or Arizona doesn't show up as a change of address, so those lanes got a 35% boost. Alaska, Hawaii and D.C. are left out โ cars to Alaska and Hawaii go by ship.
Prices come from the same model as our car shipping cost calculator: typical rates by road distance, adjusted for vehicle, trailer and month. Registration deadlines were checked against each state's official motor vehicle agency.
