San Antonio to Des Moines Movers
Moving from San Antonio, Boerne, Kerrville, or anywhere in the Texas Hill Country to Des Moines, IA? RiverHills runs this 1010-mile corridor with one dedicated crew and truck — your goods, our truck, a confirmed delivery date.
Rated 5.0★ from 500+ Google Reviews across our Boerne & Kerrville locations. Licensed & insured — USDOT 3561425 · MC-1196218.
The San Antonio & Hill Country → Des Moines corridor
A RiverHills move from the San Antonio area to Des Moines is a long, disciplined pull straight up Interstate 35 North — about 1,010 miles from the edge of the Texas Hill Country to the point where I-35 crosses I-80 in central Iowa. Wherever your front door sits, the load funnels onto the same corridor: a San Antonio pickup merges onto I-35 near the 410 or 1604 interchange, a Boerne or Fair Oaks Ranch household rolls east on I-10 to catch I-35 on the north side of the city, a Kerrville load runs down the Guadalupe valley on I-10 to the same on-ramp, and a Fredericksburg move usually cuts across US-290 toward Austin to join in. That is exactly why a search for “Kerrville to Des Moines” or “Boerne to Des Moines” belongs on this page — it is all one northbound line. From San Antonio the highway climbs out of the limestone hills and threads the fast-growing I-35 belt through New Braunfels, San Marcos, Austin, Round Rock, and Georgetown, opens onto the Blackland Prairie past Temple and Waco, crosses the Red River into Oklahoma, and runs up through Oklahoma City onto the Kansas Turnpike, which carries the interstate through Wichita and up into the tallgrass Flint Hills before dropping into the Kansas City metro.
North of Kansas City is the leg that makes this a Des Moines move rather than a Kansas City one. I-35 leaves the metro, crosses the Missouri River, and climbs through the rolling farm country of northwest Missouri past Cameron and Bethany, then crosses the Iowa line near Lamoni and runs up through Osceola and the glaciated corn-and-soybean hills of southern Iowa into Des Moines — the crossroads of I-35 and I-80 near the top of the nation's road grid. The elevation drifts up only gently, from roughly 650 feet in San Antonio to around 900 feet in Des Moines, so there are no mountain grades; the challenge is distance and, in the colder months, weather. RiverHills runs a haul like this the way owner-operator Jackson Williams runs every long move: your goods are loaded once by our own crew onto our own truck and delivered by that same crew — no interlining, no swapping your belongings onto a stranger's trailer at a terminal. At roughly fifteen hours of steady driving, it is realistically a scheduled two-day trip with a planned overnight, which keeps the driver inside federal hours-of-service rules and gets the crew to your Des Moines door rested and ready to unload.
Your household on one truck, San Antonio to Des Moines.
Padded, blanket-wrapped, and carried by the same crew from load to delivery — no interlining, no strangers on your shipment.
About Des Moines, IA
Des Moines is the capital of Iowa and the anchor of the state's largest metro, laid out where the Raccoon River meets the Des Moines River and where I-35 and I-80 cross. The skyline is easy to read: the gold dome of the Iowa State Capitol on the east bank, and downtown's 801 Grand — Principal Financial's 45-story tower, the tallest building in the state — on the west. Around that core sit genuinely distinct neighborhoods. The historic East Village, just below the Capitol, has become the city's boutique-and-brunch district; Court Avenue downtown carries the nightlife; Sherman Hill is a preserved enclave of Victorian mansions; Beaverdale is famous for its tree-lined streets of “Beaverdale brick” Tudors; and the blocks around Drake University and the Ingersoll and Grand Avenue corridors give the near west side a walkable, established feel. Gray's Lake Park, the Principal Riverwalk, and the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park in the Western Gateway give the middle of the city real green space.
The economy is why the paychecks here are steadier than the metro's size suggests: Des Moines is one of the country's true insurance-and-finance capitals. Principal Financial Group, Nationwide, EMC Insurance, and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield are all headquartered here, Wells Fargo runs one of its largest employment hubs in West Des Moines, and Voya and Athene add to a deep white-collar financial-services base. That sits alongside a powerful agriculture-and-biotech cluster — Corteva's Pioneer seed operation in Johnston, Kemin Industries downtown, and John Deere's Des Moines Works in Ankeny — plus the convenience-store empire of Casey's (Ankeny) and grocery chain Hy-Vee (West Des Moines). A newer wave of tech has followed the cheap power and land, with Meta, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon all building data centers in the Altoona-to-Waukee ring, and the Meredith publishing legacy (Better Homes & Gardens) still rooted downtown.
For a family leaving San Antonio, the day-to-day math tends to favor Des Moines. Housing dollars generally stretch further — more character homes and real yard per dollar — and the metro is famous for some of the shortest average commutes in the country, a real change from the San Antonio–Austin I-35 grind. Des Moines routinely lands near the top of national “best places to live” and “best for families” rankings on the strength of affordability, schools, and low congestion. The trade-offs are honest ones: unlike Texas, Iowa levies a state income tax (now a flat 3.8%), property taxes run higher than you're used to, and you're swapping South Texas heat for a genuine four-season climate with real winter. In return you get the Iowa State Fair every August, one of the largest downtown farmers' markets in the Midwest, Iowa Cubs baseball at Principal Park, the Des Moines Art Center, and a compact, reinvented downtown.
trending_upWhy people move to Des Moines
- check_circleA concentrated insurance-and-finance job market rare for a metro this size — Principal Financial, Nationwide, EMC Insurance, and Wellmark are all headquartered here, and Wells Fargo runs one of its largest employment hubs in West Des Moines, giving finance, actuarial, IT, and back-office professionals a deep local ladder
- check_circleHousing that stretches further than a comparable San Antonio purchase, paired with commutes that are among the shortest of any U.S. metro — a daily-life upgrade over the San Antonio-to-Austin I-35 crawl
- check_circleA consistent top-of-the-list reputation for families: Des Moines and its suburbs (Ankeny, Waukee, Johnston, West Des Moines) repeatedly rank near the top nationally for schools, safety, and quality of life
- check_circleA second economic engine in agriculture and biotech — Corteva's Pioneer seed work in Johnston, Kemin, and John Deere's plant in Ankeny — plus a fast-growing data-center corridor with Meta, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon building in the metro's eastern and western suburbs
- check_circleA true four-season change of pace after South Texas: real autumn color, green springs, and snowy winters, with Gray's Lake, the river trails, and an extensive regional bike-trail network for people who want the outdoors back
- check_circleA compact, walkable, reinvented downtown — the East Village, Court Avenue, the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, and the huge downtown farmers' market — anchoring a city with big-city amenities and small-city traffic
location_cityDes Moines-area communities we serve
How a San Antonio-area to Des Moines move is quoted + timed
Every move is estimated for the specific shipment — no published rate card. These are the details RiverHills reviews before discussing price and schedule.
Weather & timing for your Des Moines move
Des Moines has a genuine humid-continental, four-season climate, so the weather that shapes your move looks nothing like South Texas. Summers are hot and sticky — July highs in the mid-80s with humidity that will feel familiar — but the hot stretch is far shorter than San Antonio's. Winter is the real moving-day factor: January and February turn seriously cold, with average highs around freezing, lows in the teens, wind chills that can drop well below zero during an Arctic outbreak, and roughly three feet of snow in a typical season, so ice and snow can glaze streets, driveways, and loading ramps for days at a time. Spring places central Iowa squarely in severe-weather country, so April through June brings thunderstorms, large hail, and tornado watches. The best windows to move are late spring — May, once the frost is gone but before peak storm season — and early fall, roughly mid-September through October, when the air dries out, temperatures are mild, and severe weather has faded for the smoothest loading and unloading. If your timeline forces a deep-winter move, RiverHills watches the forecast closely and plans around snow and ice days; our trucks are clean, padded, and blanket-wrapped for protection, not climate-controlled, so cold-sensitive items should be flagged in advance.
Tips for a San Antonio → Des Moines move
One accountable crew, San Antonio to Des Moines
Owner-operated by Jackson Williams, RiverHills coordinates the transportation plan, crew, access details, and selected services during the estimate — your goods stay on our truck with one crew from load to delivery, not consolidated with other households.
Whether you're leaving San Antonio, Boerne, Kerrville, Fredericksburg, or anywhere in the Hill Country, options to discuss for a Des Moines move include:
- In-home or virtual estimate walkthrough
- Full or partial packing and unpacking when selected
- Furniture disassembly, reassembly, and protection matched to the item
- Building, gate, elevator, loading-area, and storage details you share
Call (830) 329-7272 or use the estimate form to share your move details.
Real long-distance moves, in their words
A few of the 5.0★ reviews from families and businesses RiverHills has moved across state lines and long distances — the same crews that would handle your Des Moines move.
I used Riverhills Moving twice for my long distance move to Arkansas. Jackson and his team are top-notch, friendly, polite, and really know how to pack the truck. I was very pleased each time they helped me. Anthony did my move the second time, and it went great! A very nice person. Would definitely recommend this company for your moving needs.
Kathleen Beck Long-distance move to Arkansas · via Google Brandin did a great job got my stuff from California to Texas for the second time. River Hills is the only company moving me.
Jack Modisett California ↔ Texas move (twice) · via Google Our move from Arizona to Texas was a big one! River Hills Moving did a great job! Thank you Jackson and crew!
Lynette Roberts Arizona ↔ Texas long-distance move · via Google Everything your Des Moines move needs
One accountable crew handles it all — packing, loading, transport, and setup — for your San Antonio → Des Moines move.
Local Moving
Full-service local moving for homes, apartments, and condos across San Antonio, Boerne, Kerrville, and the Texas Hill Country.
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Long-Distance Moving
Interstate and cross-Texas moves out of San Antonio and the Hill Country under our own USDOT & MC authority.
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Commercial & Office Moving
Office, retail, and business relocations across San Antonio with minimal downtime.
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Packing Services
Full or partial professional packing, unpacking, and premium materials to protect what matters.
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Piano & Specialty Moving
Careful handling for pianos, gun safes, and heavy or high-value specialty items.
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Senior Moving
Patient, compassionate downsizing and senior relocation with full-service packing and setup.
Learn more arrow_forwardFrequently asked: San Antonio to Des Moines
How far is San Antonio to Des Moines, and how long does the drive take? expand_more
It's about 1,010 miles, almost entirely up Interstate 35 North to where it meets I-80 in central Iowa, which works out to roughly fifteen hours of steady driving. As a loaded household move that's realistically a two-day haul with a planned overnight, which keeps the driver inside federal hours-of-service rules and lets the crew arrive rested to unload. We confirm your exact delivery window in writing based on load size, crew, and season.
Is RiverHills actually licensed to move me across state lines from Texas to Iowa? expand_more
Yes. RiverHills is a genuine interstate household-goods carrier operating under USDOT 3561425 and MC-1196218, along with Texas intrastate authority TxDMV 009770506C. Your Texas-to-Iowa move is handled directly by owner-operator Jackson Williams and our own crew and truck under our own authority — we're a carrier, not a broker handing your belongings off to a third party, and there's no interlining at a terminal along the way.
What shapes the cost of my move to Des Moines? expand_more
Every RiverHills move is custom-quoted, never a flat rate. Your estimate is shaped by the volume and weight of your belongings, access at both the Hill Country and Des Moines ends (stairs, elevators, long carries, truck parking, and whether it's an open suburban driveway in Ankeny or Waukee versus a tight East Village or Sherman Hill street), any packing services you'd like, your timing, and whether you need storage-in-transit. We walk through your specifics so the number reflects your actual move rather than a guess.
What happens if my Des Moines home isn't ready when my things leave San Antonio? expand_more
That's exactly what storage-in-transit is for. On a one-way move of this length, closing and move-in dates often don't line up perfectly, so we can hold your belongings — blanket-wrapped and inventoried — in secure storage and deliver once your new place is ready, rather than forcing the two dates to match. Let us know your timing up front so we can build any storage window into the plan and the estimate.
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