Moving to Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley: A Guide

Every week our Los Angeles crews drive a family over the Newhall Pass with a truck full of furniture. Moving to Santa Clarita, or further north to Palmdale and Lancaster, is usually about space: a bigger home, a yard and a quieter street than the same budget buys in the LA basin. The trade-offs are the commute, the weather and, in many neighborhoods, HOA rules.

This guide compares Santa Clarita’s communities with the Antelope Valley, covers the SR-14 and I-5 commutes, and shares what we see on moving day north of Los Angeles. For city details, follow the links or visit our Los Angeles County movers hub.

Santa Clarita’s four communities

Santa Clarita is one city made up of four communities, and they feel quite different.

Valencia

Valencia is the master-planned heart of the valley, with a network of paseos (walking trails that pass under the streets), the Valencia Town Center area and Six Flags Magic Mountain on its western edge. Most homes are in HOAs, and many have shared walls or tight side yards. Expect move hours, truck-parking rules and gates.

Saugus

Saugus, north of the Santa Clara River, has established single-family neighborhoods and newer tracts in the hills. Many homes are two-story, so plan for stairs, but remember that on our hourly moves there are no extra stair fees.

Newhall

Newhall is the oldest part of the valley, with Old Town Newhall and its Main Street, older homes on larger lots and narrower streets. Some older properties have steep or narrow driveways that call for a smaller truck or a longer carry.

Canyon Country

Canyon Country runs along SR-14 on the east side, with a mix of older homes, condos, townhomes and newer hillside tracts. It is often where people find the most space for their budget inside Santa Clarita.

Nearby unincorporated areas such as Stevenson Ranch and Castaic are part of daily life in the valley, with similar housing and many HOAs.

Palmdale and Lancaster: the Antelope Valley

Continue north on SR-14 and you reach the Antelope Valley, part of the high desert. Palmdale is closer to Santa Clarita and home to Air Force Plant 42, a major hub of the region’s aerospace industry. Lancaster has a walkable downtown along The BLVD, Antelope Valley College, and the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve to the west.

Both cities offer larger lots, newer single-family tracts and usually more space for the money than anywhere closer to Los Angeles. Many homes are single-story, which makes moves straightforward once the truck is at the house.

Desert lots often come with long driveways, side gates and RV parking pads. Let us know where the truck can safely park, especially after rain or on unpaved shoulders.

Space and price compared with Los Angeles

From a mover’s point of view, the difference is easy to see: we load a one-bedroom apartment in the city and unload into a three-bedroom house with a garage. In general:

• Santa Clarita usually offers more space for the money than most of the LA basin, with newer, well-kept neighborhoods, parks and the paseo trail network.
• Palmdale and Lancaster usually offer the most house for the money in LA County, with a longer commute as the trade-off.
• HOA dues and special taxes are common in newer tracts in both areas, so include them when you compare homes.

Commutes: SR-14, I-5 and the Newhall Pass

• I-5 (Golden State Freeway): runs along the west side of Santa Clarita, south to the San Fernando Valley and downtown Los Angeles, and north toward Castaic and the Grapevine.
• SR-14 (Antelope Valley Freeway): joins I-5 at the Newhall Pass interchange and runs through Canyon Country to Palmdale and Lancaster.
• The Newhall Pass: where the two freeways meet, and the bottleneck most commuters talk about.
• Metrolink’s Antelope Valley Line: connects Lancaster, Palmdale and Santa Clarita’s stations with Los Angeles Union Station, a real option if you work downtown.

Drive the commute at rush hour before you commit. The miles look manageable, but the time depends on the pass.

Heat, wind and fire season

Santa Clarita summers are hot, and the Antelope Valley is hotter still, with cold winter mornings and strong winds much of the year. On moving day that means:

• Book an early start in summer, and keep heat-sensitive items (candles, medication, electronics, plants) in your car.
• On windy days, mattresses, glass tabletops and large mirrors take more care to carry, so allow a little extra time.
• In fall, Santa Ana winds and red-flag fire days can affect traffic and road closures. Keep an eye on conditions the week of your move.
• Make sure the AC (or the heat, in winter in the desert) is on at the new home before we arrive.

HOAs and new-build communities

Valencia, Saugus, Stevenson Ranch and many newer Antelope Valley tracts are in HOAs. Before you set a date, ask about allowed move hours, where the truck can park, gate access and whether trucks can stay on the street. For a new build, ask the builder to confirm the key date in writing; if it slips, overnight storage on our truck costs $129 per night for 1–2 bedrooms and $149 per night for 3–4.

In older parts of Newhall and on hillside streets in Saugus and Canyon Country, send us photos of the driveway and street when you book. A steep or narrow approach is easy to plan for in advance and much harder to solve on the morning of the move.

Military and aerospace families near Edwards AFB

Edwards Air Force Base, northeast of Lancaster, along with Plant 42 in Palmdale, brings many military and aerospace families to the valley. We are a private moving company and handle moves you arrange and pay for yourself, such as moving into an off-base home. We do not hold government moving contracts, and base access is controlled by the installation, so check the current access rules with the base before you plan any move that involves it.

What a move from Los Angeles costs

A move from elsewhere in Los Angeles County to Santa Clarita, Palmdale or Lancaster is a local hourly move, billed at the hourly rate for the time worked plus double drive time: the drive time between your old and new home, billed twice under the California rule instead of charging for our trip to you and back. Moves into the area from other Southern California counties are local hourly moves under California rules too.

• 2 movers and a truck: $119 per hour
• 3 movers: $159 per hour
• 4 movers: $199 per hour
• 5 movers: $239 per hour

These are weekday rates; weekends and month-end may differ. There are no stair or long-carry fees on hourly moves, and Released Value coverage at $0.60 per pound per item is included at no cost. See residential moving and local moving for the details, or compare with our Los Angeles movers page if you are leaving the city.

Planning a move to Santa Clarita or the Antelope Valley?

Tell us your addresses, home size and any access details, such as an HOA, a gate or a steep driveway, and we will give you a clear estimate. Request a free estimate or call (877) 671-3535, every day from 8am to 7pm.