How many boxes do I need to move?
A studio runs about 30 boxes. A five-bedroom house runs closer to 150. The table below breaks either number down by box size, which is how you'll actually be buying them. Answer a few questions in the tool further down and the count adjusts to your own place: how long you've lived there, how much you've accumulated, whether there's a garage waiting to surprise you.
| Home size | Small | Medium | Large | Extra-Large | Wardrobe | Dish Pack | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 9 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 30 |
| 1 Bedroom | 16 | 18 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 55 |
| 2 Bedroom | 24 | 26 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 78 |
| 3 Bedroom | 32 | 35 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 101 |
| 4 Bedroom | 40 | 43 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 126 |
| 5 Bedroom | 47 | 51 | 23 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 150 |
Count your own move
The interactive counter needs JavaScript. The table above answers by home size without it.
How this works
The counts come from published box-count guidance — what U-Haul, the big-box stores, and national movers tell people to buy for each home size — reconciled where they disagree and then split into sizes by what actually goes in a small box versus a large one. A kitchen produces mostly medium boxes and dish packs. Bookshelves produce smalls, because a large box of books is a box nobody can lift.
Getting the split wrong is the expensive mistake, not getting the total wrong. Run out of mediums with a week to go and you're back at the store, buying whichever size is left instead of the one you need. That's the number worth checking twice.
Two things push every count up: time and space. A household that's lived somewhere ten years or more needs roughly 40% more than one that just moved in, and a garage, basement, or attic each add their own pile on top of the bedroom count. The tool below asks about both, so its count reflects your actual place instead of the average one.
Frequently asked questions
How many boxes do I need for a 1-bedroom apartment?
Plan on about 55 boxes for an average 1-bedroom apartment: 16 small, 18 medium, 8 large, 5 extra-large, plus 4 wardrobe boxes and 4 dish packs for the kitchen. That's the count for someone who moved in within the last two years — living there longer adds more, mostly in small and medium.
How many boxes do I need for a 3-bedroom house?
About 101 boxes for an average 3-bedroom house: 32 small, 35 medium, 15 large, 9 extra-large, 4 wardrobe boxes, and 6 dish packs. Add a garage and that climbs to around 117 — a garage alone adds close to 16 boxes worth of stuff.
What size boxes do I actually need?
Out of every 100 standard boxes, expect roughly 35 small, 38 medium, 17 large, and 10 extra-large. Small boxes carry books and anything dense enough to make a large box impossible to lift. Medium is the workhorse size for everyday kitchen and closet items. Large and extra-large hold bedding, lampshades, and bulky things that weigh less than they look.
Are wardrobe boxes worth it?
For a closet with real hanging space, yes. A wardrobe box takes clothes straight off the rod onto a built-in bar, so nothing gets folded, wrinkled, or unpacked item by item at the other end. Most homes need 4 of them, a studio needs 2, and a house with four or more bedrooms usually needs 6. Skip them for closets that are mostly folded clothes — those go in small or medium boxes instead.
How many boxes do I need for a studio apartment?
About 30 boxes: 9 small, 10 medium, 4 large, 2 extra-large, 2 wardrobe boxes, and 3 dish packs. That's the smallest count on the chart, and it still runs higher than most people guess before they start packing.
Does living somewhere longer really mean more boxes?
Yes, and the model accounts for it directly: a household that's lived somewhere 2 to 5 years needs about 12% more standard boxes than one that just moved in, 5 to 10 years needs about 25% more, and 10 or more years needs about 40% more. For an average 2-bedroom home, that pushes the total from about 78 boxes fresh off a move to about 106 after a decade in place.
Answers to specific things
- When should I start packing for a move? — published advice runs three weeks to two months because none of it accounts for home size. Ours does: three weeks for a studio, eight for a five-bedroom house.