Moving between states / Idaho

Flag of AlaskaAlaskatoFlag of IdahoIdaho, Electrician

Moving from Alaska to Idaho as a journeyman electrician

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

Reciprocity likely. Idaho licenses electricians at state level through the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, Electrical Board, and Idaho reciprocates with most western states for journeymen who tested there and worked a year. Your Alaska licence comes from the Alaska Department of Labor, Mechanical Inspection, 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 Idaho takes roughly $3,180 a year more than Alaska does, because you are leaving a state with no income tax on wages.

SalaryAlaska state taxIdaho state taxDifference a year
$40,000$0$2,120-$2,120
$60,000$0$3,180-$3,180
$90,000$0$4,770-$4,770

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: Alaska to Idaho

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Alaska certificate stays on the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide program); to work in Idaho you apply to the Idaho Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare) 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: Alaska to Idaho

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Alaska is not in the compact, so your Alaska licence is single-state. Apply to the Idaho board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because Idaho is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

CDL: Alaska to Idaho

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Idaho resident you surrender the Alaska CDL at a Idaho 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 Idaho. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

No statewide program in Idaho 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? Alaska has Permanent Fund Dividend. See moving from Idaho to Alaska.

Openings filed in Idaho

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

Your own route from Alaska to Idaho

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 Idaho employers.

Plan my move to Idaho

Same move, by trade

CNA: Alaska to Idaho · RN or LPN: Alaska to Idaho · Truck driver: Alaska to Idaho · All licences: Alaska to Idaho

From Alaska to the states next to Idaho

Washington (no state income tax) · Oregon (progressive, top rate 9.9%) · Nevada (no state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax) · Wyoming (no state income tax) · Montana (progressive, top rate 5.9%)

To Idaho from the states next to Alaska

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

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