Test whether realized crew-and-truck pricing can support the paid roster, one usable truck, route and loading time, claims recovery, standing costs, and the complete opening commitment. This California profile connects official wage and population benchmarks to a defined operating scenario.
Local household moving company with one straight or box truck, one paid three-person field crew, paid owner-manager and dispatch coverage, ordinary moving equipment, secure overnight parking or storage, and a defined local service area
State benchmarks: May / July 2025 · Page prepared September 21, 2026
We examined the available wage records for this local household moving company with one straight or box truck, one paid three-person field crew, paid owner-manager and dispatch coverage, ordinary moving equipment, secure overnight parking or storage, and a defined local service area, checked the Census population observations and calculated the staffing implications using the stated wage benchmarks. The results below show what that completed analysis establishes.
The same roster costs $19,514 at the selected California wage benchmarks versus $17,527 at national medians, including the stated employer-cost allowance. This isolates wage differences; it does not compare local rent or customer spending.
Inspect the roles and source rows →The reference operating month exceeds EBIT break-even by 1.2 completed local moves per month. That is the sales margin available before the modeled operating profit disappears.
See the calculation and cash results →| Component | What the evidence establishes | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Wage records and state population | Selected May 2025 occupational records and July 2024/2025 Census estimates, with exact fields and source rows. | Source records checked |
| Paid payroll and break-even | Calculated from observed wage benchmarks and the explicitly modeled roster, employer allowance, price and costs. | Derived result |
| Opening budget and commercial costs | Published fit-out, equipment, occupancy and other allowances define this comparison scenario. State-specific commercial quotes have not yet replaced them. | Reference assumptions |
| Revenue | $40,700 per mature month follows 22 completed local moves per month at the stated price. It is not observed sales or a researched state revenue average. | Modeled sales assumptions |
Each test changes one input from the published reference. These are sensitivity tests, not local market forecasts or probability ranges.
| Test | Monthly EBIT | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Published reference | $1,898 | The stated inputs on this page |
| 20% fewer sales units | -$5,017 | 17.6 completed local moves per month; other inputs unchanged |
| 25% higher occupancy cost | $1,273 | $3,125 per month; other inputs unchanged |
| 10% higher wage rates | -$53 | Same paid roster; employer allowance unchanged |
The completed research covers the source observations and analysis described here. The funding and revenue scenarios still contain commercial assumptions; they are not a completed local feasibility study. Read the evidence and its limits.
Published research and calculations support business planning and education. They are not personalized financial, investment, tax or legal advice, and they do not guarantee costs, revenue, profit or financing. Estimates depend on the stated format, location, source periods and assumptions. Check the requirements and commitments that apply to your circumstances.
For a California one-truck plan, first determine whether every target move remains intrastate and under 100 miles, then price the required BHGS authority, insurance and workers' compensation for the actual vehicle and crew. Test the $1,850 move only after confirming the lawful rate format, visual-inspection workflow, address-specific yard cost and attainable billed hours.
Statewide official wage and regulatory observations applied to the national assumed operating format. The page keeps the same one-truck, paid three-person field crew and paid management-coverage format so the wage effect remains visible. It does not treat statewide population or an industry count as completed-move demand.
| Paid role | SOC | Hourly median |
|---|---|---|
| Paid manager and dispatcher coverage | 11-1021 | $60 per hour |
| Paid driver and crew lead | 53-3033 | $23 per hour |
| Paid mover/helper | 53-7062 | $22 per hour |
With every nonwage input held at the national planning assumption, these wages produce $19,514 in loaded monthly payroll, $1,865 in monthly cash after maintenance and cash break-even at 20.81 completed moves. This isolates the wage change; it does not localize the truck, insurance premium, yard, achieved price, move duration, claims or demand.
The reference case assumes 22 completed moves per month at $1,850 each. It calculates $40,700 in monthly revenue and $3,851 in cash after maintenance, with cash break-even at 19.55 moves. The assumed physical ceiling is 24 moves, where the paid crew schedule is nearly full. A move count or quoted reservation counts only when the household move is completed and collected under the stated service scope.
The 2023 County Business Patterns file reports 9,436 employer establishments and 102,745 employees in NAICS 484210. Employer-industry structure only. Counts and payroll do not establish local demand, completed-move volume, realized tickets, profitability, or one-truck economics.
BLS May 2025 OEWS · California BHGS applicant requirements · California BHGS permit requirements · California household-moving consumer guide · California household-mover license maintenance · California minimum wage · Approved state research standard
This research supports business planning and education. It is not personalized financial, legal, tax or investment advice and does not guarantee costs, sales, profit, financing or regulatory approval.
This completed planning profile combines checked state wage and population sources with a transparent financial scenario. Use its opening-cost, operating-cost and revenue figures as planning inputs, then replace location-sensitive assumptions when evaluating a specific address or service area.
| Evidence family | Published basis | What to confirm locally |
|---|---|---|
| Opening costs | Published planning inputs — replace with local quotes | premises scope, fitout, equipment, installation freight tax, deposits, preopening training, opening inventory, contingency |
| Operating costs | Published planning inputs — replace with local quotes | occupancy, utilities, insurance, materials, payment fees, marketing, software administration, maintenance |
| Paid labor and employer costs | State wage benchmark used — confirm employer costs | paid roster, wages, wage floor overtime, employer taxes, benefits leave, workers compensation, owner role |
| Revenue and collections | Published planning inputs — validate price and demand locally | realized price mix, demand volume, capacity, industry cross check, launch ramp, seasonality, collections |
| Permissions and fees | Confirm for the selected address | activity address jurisdiction, initial fees, recurring fees |
National equipment prices can support the plan where configuration, delivery and taxes match the intended purchase. Confirm rent, selling prices, demand and permissions for the actual location instead of applying a generic state adjustment.
The Census estimate for California is 39,355,309 people. It declined by 9,465 between July 2024 and July 2025 (−0.02%). This statewide movement cannot identify a viable service area, completed-move mix or deliverable crew-and-truck schedule.
Using the same paid roster, California occupational wages produce $19,514 of monthly loaded payroll. That is +11.33% relative to the identical roster priced with national occupation medians ($17,527). Only wage benchmarks change in this comparison; it does not measure a state’s overall business attractiveness.
BLS wage source · Census population source · Exact fields and workbook rows
Local household moving company with one straight or box truck, one paid three-person field crew, paid owner-manager and dispatch coverage, ordinary moving equipment, secure overnight parking or storage, and a defined local service area. A one-truck local household moving company using a paid three-person field crew, paid dispatch and owner-manager coverage, and a defined service area.
The paid field crew supplies 520.00 monthly crew-hours and the one-truck schedule supplies 180.00 truck-hours. At 22 moves, the authored plan uses 474.60 crew-hours and 162.20 truck-hours after nonjob time and entered claim recovery. The 24-move ceiling uses 98.88% of paid crew-hours and 97.44% of truck-hours. This is a planning ceiling, not observed demand.
| Input | Reference assumption |
|---|---|
| completed local moves per month | 22 |
| Net selling price per completed local move | $1,850.00 |
| Trading days / month | Monthly recurring-account model |
| Variable cost share | 15% |
| Occupancy / month | $2,500 |
| Other fixed costs / month | $9,200 |
| Employer cost allowance | 18% above base wages |
$140.00 for fuel, tolls, and road cost plus $55.00 for consumables and disposal per completed move, 2.0% for payment and collection, and 2.5% for the entered claim, damage, and service-recovery allowance. The resulting 15.04% variable share excludes paid roster labor, which remains in payroll. Vehicle, general liability, cargo, and business insurance $3,000.00; recurring marketing $3,000.00; dispatch, CRM, phones, and software $650.00; utilities and small-office services $350.00; accounting, legal, licensing, and compliance $700.00; parking security, telematics, and registration $650.00; recruiting, uniforms, and safety $500.00; miscellaneous office and administration $350.00 per month. Occupancy or secure parking and the maintenance reserve are modeled separately. Insurance is an allowance, not a binder quote or statement of required limits.
| Role / SOC | Paid hours / month | Wage benchmark / hour | P25–P75 / hour | Base wages / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paid driver and moving-crew lead53-3033 · Light Truck Drivers · State observation | 173.3 | $22.50 | $20.27–$27.33 | $3,900 |
| Two paid mover/helpers53-7062 · Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand · State observation | 346.7 | $21.50 | $18.21–$23.53 | $7,453 |
| Paid owner-manager and dispatcher replacement-cost coverage11-1021 · General and Operations Managers · State observation | 86.7 | $59.81 | $39.24–$89.54 | $5,184 |
Base wages total $16,537 per month. An authored 18% allowance for employer costs adds $2,977, giving $19,514 of loaded payroll. The allowance is a planning shortcut; it is not a state-specific payroll tax calculation or benefits quote for California.
The May 2025 national median wage anchors are $21.57 per hour for the driver or crew lead, $19.35 for mover/helpers, and $50.85 for paid owner-manager and dispatch replacement coverage. These cross-industry observations do not establish company-specific hiring terms, driver eligibility, lawful scheduling, employer obligations, insurance acceptance, or unpaid capacity. Every operating role is paid, including management or supervision. If the owner performs a modeled role, their compensation occupies that role once; no additional owner draw is included in operating profit.
The middle 50% wage interval describes the occupation’s observed wage distribution. It is not a confidence interval for this business’s total payroll. Allocate the aggregate hours across an actual roster and check wage rules, overtime, leave and employer obligations for the chosen location.
| Use of funds | Cash paid |
|---|---|
| One late-model used box truck and basic moving-body upfit allowance | $70,000 |
| Moving equipment, dollies, pads, straps and ramp or liftgate service allowance | $10,000 |
| Opening packing consumables and cargo-protection stock | $5,000 |
| Yard and small office setup allowance | $8,000 |
| Licensing, insurance deposits, background, exam and professional setup allowance | $12,000 |
| Dispatch, CRM, phones, website and IT setup | $5,000 |
| Launch marketing allowance | $10,000 |
| Uniforms, PPE and training aids | $4,000 |
| Opening contingency | $15,000 |
| Refundable deposit (two months of occupancy) | $5,000 |
| Paid pre-opening training | $3,860 |
| Total payments before opening | $147,860 |
The equipment and premises allowances are the same in all 50 states for this operating format. They are a comparison baseline and must be replaced with local scopes and quotes. Training uses 120 aggregate paid hours at the modeled team’s weighted loaded rate. The refundable deposit is cash tied up, not an operating expense.
The cash schedule tests 60 months, with sales ramping through 40%, 55%, 70%, 82%, 90%, 96%, 100% of the volume assumption. Full payroll and fixed costs begin in month one. The reserve covers the deepest cumulative operating deficit plus the stated buffer. A buffer is retained cash, not spending and not part of project payback twice.
The shared model uses 1.50 receivable days as an authored cash-timing assumption. Keep estimates, deposits, completed work, earned revenue, invoicing, collection, refunds, claims, chargebacks, payroll, fuel, materials, tolls, parking, and vehicle payments in separate schedules. A deposit changes cash timing but is not a second move or immediate earned revenue. Asset purchases are depreciated over 60 months for this scenario. No sale or deposit recovery is assumed at the end.
At the assumed 22 completed local moves per month, the reference scenario produces $1,898 of mature monthly EBIT, a 4.7% operating margin. It requires 20.8 completed local moves per month for EBIT break-even. This result depends on unverified selling price, demand and premises inputs.
| Measure | Monthly amount |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $40,700 |
| Variable operating costs | $6,122 |
| Loaded payroll, including management | $19,514 |
| Occupancy assumption | $2,500 |
| Other fixed operating costs | $9,200 |
| EBITDA | $3,365 |
| Depreciation | $1,467 |
| Operating profit (EBIT) | $1,898 |
| Maintenance capital expenditure | $1,500 |
| Mature project cash flow | $1,865 |
EBIT break-even revenue is $38,466 per month: $32,680 of fixed costs plus depreciation divided by a 85% contribution margin. At $1,850.00 per completed local move, that means 20.8 completed local moves per month and 86.6% of the stated capacity.
| Measure | Months 1–12 | Mature month |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $420,431 | $40,700 |
| Operating profit (EBIT) | -$34,966 | $1,898 |
| Project cash flow | -$37,401 | $1,865 |
Project payback is not reached within the 60-month reference schedule. It measures recovery of actual pre-opening payments from cumulative project cash, with no financing or owner distributions. It does not measure cash paid back to an owner.
Quotes, deposits, cancellations, unfinished jobs, disputed invoices, claims, refunds, and chargebacks can make the calendar look productive without producing the collected contribution used by the model.
Stairs, elevators, long carries, parking, packing, disassembly, customer readiness, and inventory variance can consume crew and truck time beyond the quoted block.
Change the assumptions to see how this format responds. The sections above remain the published reference, so you can compare your scenario with the original. Use the browser-local export buttons below to save only the scenario you are working on.
Reference scenario. JavaScript enables editing and exports.
22 completed local moves per month × $1,850.00 = $40,700 revenue. Loaded payroll: $19,514 per month. Break-even uses 86.6% of capacity.
The download preserves the published scenario and its source references.
Describe the exact entity, ownership, local or interstate scope, household-goods activity, truck type and weight, drivers, employees, service area, parking or storage, estimates, pricing, minimums, deposits, valuation or liability choices, insurance, customer documents, advertising, claims, and any packing, storage, disposal, freight, commercial, or specialty work. Ask the responsible federal, state, and local offices, insurer, and counsel which carrier, mover, business, driver, vehicle, safety, weight, parking, employment, tax, consumer, estimate, custody, insurance, and claim requirements apply.
| Workstream | Official starting points | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Business and activity | Which entity, name or activity registrations apply, and which local or specialist office also has responsibility? | |
| Tax | Which registrations and treatment apply to the actual goods or services, location and staffing arrangements? | |
| Employers | Which employer accounts, reporting steps and labor obligations apply to the planned paid roster? |
Take the activity, address, proposed equipment and staffing plan to the relevant office. Record applicability, supporting documents, fees, dependencies and renewal terms from the actual official response.
Agency routes were listed on the IRS California directory when retrieved September 5, 2026. Links identify starting offices; they do not verify a permit, tax treatment, fee or opening time for this business. Open the full California opening checklist →
Define a narrow local household scope and service area, then run authorized paid tests. Record completed moves, realized charges, every paid crew-hour and truck-hour, access conditions, direct costs, collection, claims, and work declined.
Confirm the entity, local versus interstate scope, carrier or mover requirements, driver and vehicle requirements, insurance, estimates, deposits, valuation or liability choices, parking or storage, and customer documents before accepting work.
Build whole job blocks, claim recovery, ordinary downtime, ramp loss, maintenance, and cash buffer without assuming that every inquiry becomes a completed move or that one average move duration fits every inventory and address.
Damage or loss handling, repeat travel, repair coordination, documentation, refunds, and insurer work belong to the original move and reduce future crew or truck availability.
For a selected address or service area, collect an evidence pack covering premises and equipment quotes, paid demand, staffing, collection terms and the responsible authorities. The state wage and population evidence on this page does not supply those location-specific inputs.
State: California, FIPS 06. Cross-industry, ownership 1235. H_MEDIAN supplies an available hourly benchmark; H_PCT25 and H_PCT75 describe the occupational distribution. 53-3033 (Light Truck Drivers), state workbook row 3520; 53-7062 (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand), state workbook row 3548; 11-1021 (General and Operations Managers), state workbook row 2730. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
The national comparison uses the same paid roster and these national H_MEDIAN observations: 53-3033, national workbook row 1332; 53-7062, national workbook row 1389; 11-1021, national workbook row 8. Any national value substituted for a suppressed state value is identified separately. National observations do not become state observations.
SUMLEV 040; STATE 06; POPESTIMATE2025 and POPESTIMATE2024. July 1 estimates; change and percentage change are calculated within the same vintage. Population is context, not a customer forecast.
OEWS covers employee jobs across industries. It is a statistical benchmark, not a hiring quote or legal wage floor. Employer benefits and overtime premiums are outside the wage measure; tips can be included.
An official route to the state government and major agencies. This directory does not confirm the fees, permits or approval times for a particular address or business.
All selling prices, demand, paid hours, employer allowance, premises, startup allowances, cost shares, ramp and cash buffer are authored planning inputs. No commercial quote or researched state total is implied.
A business format and a state record are joined by stable IDs. The shared calculation computes the outputs, and the template publishes static HTML with the source fields and original inputs. A change to evidence or a format triggers recalculation and review before republication.
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