Stadiums of Stuff: America’s Billion Box Moves

Americans are on the move – and they’re bringing their stuff! moveBuddha data has revealed that Americans use a jaw-dropping estimated one billion moving boxes each year.

It’s no secret that we love filling our homes with things that make us happy. From the things that bring us joy like treasured family heirlooms and modern family comforts, to clothes, furniture and appliances; we fill every nook and cranny of our homes with possessions we love as well as a lot of stuff we just can’t bear to part with.

According to U.S. Census data, more than 15.8 million households moved within the United States in 2021, each hauling an incredible amount of belongings with them from place to place. According to moveBuddha estimates, the average family home needs about 60 medium-sized moving boxes to pack their belongings for a move, resulting in a huge amount of moving boxes being carted around America every year. In fact, moveBuddha research shows a huge amount of cardboard moving boxes are used each year: Americans use nearly a billion moving boxes every year for moving!

“We researched the amount of moving boxes used to move American households to not only show the eye-watering mass of belongings being shifted around the country every year, but to highlight the environmental impact of these moves,” said moveBuddha co-founder Ryan Carrigan.

“There are several things people can do to make their moves more sustainable, before they even start to pack their first box. It all starts with decluttering before the move as the less you have to move, the fewer resources you’ll consume during your move. Additionally, choosing green moving companies, eco-friendly packaging materials and purchasing reusable moving containers will all help cut the ecological footprint of your move. Also, with some precise planning, you can ensure your moving truck space is fully maximized, which will require fewer trips to your new home. Remember, every step – no matter how small – positively contributes to reducing the carbon footprint of your move.”

To visualize the incredible number of boxes used, moveBuddha researchers have analyzed moving data to find just how much stuff is moved by households in each state and has shown that our stuff can fill entire sports stadiums several stories high.

1. California

According to U.S. Census data, over 4 million people moved to and within California in 2021. With an average number of 2.86 people per household, that’s almost 1.5 million households.

The average family home needs about 60 medium-sized moving boxes, each measuring 2.13 square feet. Movers in California used nearly 88 million boxes that year. That means a total of 186.4 million square feet of boxes is needed!

If an average city block is 100,000 square feet, then that’s enough boxes to fill 1,864 city blocks, or to make a nearly 6-story tall stack of boxes in SoFi Stadium.

2. Texas

More than 3.9 million people, or 1.45 million households, moved to and within Texas in 2021.

Movers in Texas estimated that they used almost 87.5 million boxes over that year. If the average family home needs approximately 60 boxes (2.13 square feet), that means nearly 186 million square feet of boxes needed to make those moves.

That’s enough boxes to fill 1,858 city blocks, or to make a nearly 6-story tall stack of boxes in AT&T Stadium!

3. Florida

Movers in Florida used an estimated 69.4 million boxes to move over 1.1 million households in 2021.

According to our calculations, the average household needs about 60 medium-sized moving boxes, each measuring 2.13 square feet, to pack up all their belongings.

That means that a total of 147.5 million square feet of boxes was needed over one year, which is enough to fill 1,475.37 city blocks, or to make a 9.43 story tall stack of boxes in TIAA Bank Field.

4. New York

According to U.S. Census data, almost 2 million people moved to and within New York in 2021. With an average number of 2.52 people per household, that’s 775,379.37 households that moved.

Movers in New York estimated that they used over 46.5 million boxes across the state that year, which equates to a total of 98.86 million square feet of boxes.

That’s enough boxes to make an 11.56 story tall stack in Madison Square Garden, or to fill nearly 989 city blocks!

5. Ohio

U.S. Census data indicates that more than 1.4 million people, making up 593,594 households, moved to and within Ohio in 2021. Movers in Ohio say they used approximately 35.6 million boxes in total.

Based on the fact that an average family uses about 60 medium-sized boxes, each measuring 2.13 square feet, we can estimate that more than 75.6 million square feet of boxes are used each year to move in Ohio.

That’s enough boxes to make a 3.92 story tall stack of boxes in Paul Brown Stadium, or to fill 757 city blocks.

6. Illinois

According to U.S. Census data, over 1.3 million people moved to and within Illinois in 2021. With an average number of 2.48 people per household, that’s 562,875 households that moved.

Movers in Illinois say more than 33.7 million boxes were used, which translates to 71.7 million square feet of boxes in total.

The average city block is 100,000 square feet, so that’s enough boxes to fill 717.67 city blocks, or to make a 4.78 story tall stack of boxes in Soldier Field.

7. Pennsylvania

More than 1.34 million people, or 558,403 households moved to and within Pennsylvania in 2021, based on Census data of approximately 2.4 people per household.

The average family home needs about 60 medium-sized moving boxes, each measuring 2.13 square feet. Movers in Pennsylvania used an estimated 33.5 million boxes to move. That means a total of 71 million square feet of moving boxes are needed each year.

That’s enough boxes to fill 712 city blocks, or to make a 4-story tall stack of boxes in Lincoln Financial Field.

8. North Carolina

More than 1.3 million people moved to and within North Carolina in 2021. With an average number of 2.46 people per household, that’s 556,380 households that moved, according to U.S. Census data.

Movers in North Carolina used an estimated 33.3 million boxes to move. If a medium-sized box is 2.13 square feet, then that’s a total of almost 71 million square feet of boxes used each year.

That’s enough boxes to make a 4-story tall stack of boxes in Bank Of America Stadium, or to fill 709 city blocks.

9. Georgia

The average family home in Georgia is made up of 2.64 people.

Census data reveals that 1.4 million individuals moved to and within Georgia in 2021. This makes about 533,974 households, each needing 60 medium-sized boxes to pack up their home.

Movers in Georgia used an estimated 32 million boxes to move. That means a total of 68 million square feet of boxes are used each year in Georgia.

If an average city block is 100,000 square feet, then that’s enough boxes to fill 680.82 city blocks, or to make a 3.26 story tall stack of boxes in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

10. Washington

Movers in Washington used an estimated 27 million boxes to move in one year.

Over 1 million people moved to and within the state in 2021, which equates to approximately 452,049 households, based on data that estimates there are 2.51 people per household in the state of Washington.

That means a total of 57.6 million square feet of boxes is needed, which is enough boxes to fill 576 city blocks, or to make a 6-story tall stack of boxes in CenturyLink Field.

Sources and Methodology

This report uses moving data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. To find how many moving boxes would fit into a stadium in each state, we used moveBuddha data which shows the average American household uses 60 medium-sized boxes measuring 16 x 17 x 18 inches (2.13 square feet) to move. We then calculated the square footage of the total number of boxes used in each state, and then the square footage of a stadium in the relevant state.

Stadiums of Stuff: America’s Billion Box Moves by moveBuddha is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.