Origin county · Iowa · 2026
Moving from Lee County, IA
Fort Madison and the rest of Lee County sits in Iowa's Midwest — about 32,565 residents in smaller country. This is the outbound picture: corridors, mileage, delivery windows, and engine-derived cost bands.
Residents
32,565
Cities & towns
2
Borders
2 states
Lee County is a lightly served origin market where lead time matters more, with roughly 32,565 residents concentrated around Fort Madison across 2 places the Census records here.
Outbound moves from the Plains skew long-haul: Colorado and the Mountain West, Texas, and the Southeast. Lower lane volume means allowing more lead time than a coastal shipper would.
What shapes an outbound move from Lee County
Lee County has lost roughly 2.9% of its residents since 2020, about 968 people. More households leave than arrive, so outbound capacity is rarely the constraint — the destination end of your corridor is what sets the delivery window.
Lee County is the 22nd-largest of Iowa's 99 counties, with about 1% of the state's residents. Outbound loads from counties this size are usually picked up by a carrier routed through the area, so a flexible load date is worth more here than it is in the state's biggest metro.
The largest county bordering Lee County is Des Moines County, with 38,253 residents, larger than this one, so agents based there often cover both. That move stays inside Iowa and is intrastate.
Lee County sits on the Iowa state line, bordering Illinois and Missouri. That matters more than it sounds: a move of twenty minutes across that line is legally an interstate move, so it needs a carrier with federal household-goods authority and it is priced on weight and distance rather than by the hour. Short interstate hops are the moves people most often assume are local, and they are not.
How far Lee County is from where people move
Measured from Iowa's population-weighted centre — this site holds metro coordinates only for its corridor cities, so treat these as corridor-scale rather than door-to-door figures. Delivery windows and cost bands are computed from that mileage by the same engine that prices every route page here.
| Destination | Miles | Drive | Delivery window | 2-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 782 | 14 hr 15 min | 2–5 days | $2,450–$4,950 |
| Texas | 936 | 17 hr 15 min | 2–5 days | $2,650–$5,375 |
| Georgia | 1,007 | 18 hr 45 min | 3–7 days | $2,750–$5,575 |
| North Carolina | 1,039 | 19 hr 15 min | 3–7 days | $2,800–$5,650 |
| Idaho | 1,266 | 23 hr 30 min | 3–7 days | $3,100–$6,275 |
| Florida | 1,316 | 24 hr 30 min | 3–7 days | $3,175–$6,400 |
| Arizona | 1,321 | 24 hr 30 min | 3–7 days | $3,175–$6,425 |
| Nevada | 1,441 | 26 hr 45 min | 3–7 days | $3,325–$6,750 |
Get a cost range for your Lee County move
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Cost by home size from Lee County
Anchored to 1,266 miles, the median distance from here to the destination states above. From a lean full-service quote to a premium, packing-heavy one.
| Home size | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,550 | $2,338 | $3,125 |
| 1 bedroom | $2,025 | $3,063 | $4,100 |
| 2 bedrooms | $3,100 | $4,688 | $6,275 |
| 3 bedrooms | $4,525 | $6,850 | $9,175 |
| 4+ bedrooms | $6,600 | $9,950 | $13,300 |
Licensing
A short move out of Lee County can still be interstate
A move that starts and ends inside Iowa is an intrastate move, governed by Iowa law rather than by the FMCSA. Different licence, different complaint process, and usually different pricing — intrastate work is commonly billed hourly while interstate work is billed on weight and distance. Verify a mover's state authority with the Iowa agency that oversees motor carriers before you book, and do not assume a USDOT number alone covers an in-state move.
The moment your shipment crosses the Iowa state line it is an interstate move under federal law. The carrier must hold active FMCSA operating authority — a USDOT number plus household-goods authority — must give you the federal "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move" booklet, and must price the move against a published tariff rather than an hourly rate. You can check any USDOT number yourself on the FMCSA SAFER system before you sign anything.
General information, not legal advice. See your rights on an FMCSA interstate move and how to avoid broker scams.
Cities and towns in Lee County
2 places the Census records here, largest first.
Neighbouring counties
Counties bordering Lee County. Ones marked with a state code outside IA are across the state line, so a move in that direction is interstate.
Moving from Lee County: common questions
Colorado is roughly 782 miles and delivers in a 2–5-day window, Texas is roughly 936 miles and delivers in a 2–5-day window, and Georgia is roughly 1,007 miles and delivers in a 3–7-day window. Those are measured from Iowa's population-weighted centre because Lee County has no metro in this site's coordinate set, so treat them as corridor-scale rather than door-to-door.
Population figures and the 2020-to-current change are US Census estimates. Distances are geometric road estimates from this site's documented model, not routed door-to-door mileage. Cost ranges are informational estimates from the published rate model — not quotes or binding estimates. See every county on the Iowa origin hub.