Moving between states / Colorado

Flag of AlabamaAlabamatoFlag of ColoradoColorado, Electrician

Moving from Alabama to Colorado as a journeyman electrician

What a journeyman electrician licensed in Alabama has to do to work in Colorado, what the move does to your pay, and who in Colorado is hiring from out of state.

Reciprocity likely. Colorado licenses electricians at state level through the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA), and endorsement for journeymen licensed in a state with a comparable exam and a year of licensed work. Your Alabama licence comes from the Alabama Electrical Contractors Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Colorado takes roughly $540 a year more than Alabama does.

SalaryAlabama state taxColorado state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,400$1,760-$360
$60,000$2,100$2,640-$540
$90,000$3,150$3,960-$810

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Alabama to Colorado

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Alabama certificate stays on the Alabama Nurse Aide Registry (Alabama Department of Public Health); to work in Colorado you apply to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Nurse Aide Registry for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

RN and LPN: Alabama to Colorado

Works on day one. Both Alabama and Colorado are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from Alabama is valid in Colorado the day you arrive. Once Colorado is your primary residence, apply there for a Colorado multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

CDL: Alabama to Colorado

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Colorado resident you surrender the Alabama CDL at a Colorado driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Colorado. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

No statewide program in Colorado pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Going the other way? Alabama has Remote Shoals. See moving from Colorado to Alabama.

Openings filed in Colorado

125 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Colorado employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Alabama to Colorado

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for Colorado employers.

Plan my move to Colorado

Same move, by trade

CNA: Alabama to Colorado · RN or LPN: Alabama to Colorado · Truck driver: Alabama to Colorado · All licences: Alabama to Colorado

From Alabama to the states next to Colorado

Wyoming (no state income tax) · Nebraska (progressive, top rate 5.2%) · Kansas (progressive, top rate 5.58%) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%) · New Mexico (progressive, top rate 5.9%) · Arizona (flat 2.5% state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax)

To Colorado from the states next to Alabama

Mississippi · Tennessee · Georgia · Florida

Everything about working in Colorado · All moves between states · All 50 states

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