Moving between states / Iowa

Flag of AlaskaAlaskatoFlag of IowaIowa, Electrician

Moving from Alaska to Iowa as a journeyman electrician

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

Reciprocity likely. Iowa licenses electricians at state level through the Iowa Electrical Examining Board, and reciprocity with a list of states for journeymen who passed an equivalent exam. 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 Iowa takes roughly $2,280 a year more than Alaska does, because you are leaving a state with no income tax on wages.

SalaryAlaska state taxIowa state taxDifference a year
$40,000$0$1,520-$1,520
$60,000$0$2,280-$2,280
$90,000$0$3,420-$3,420

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 Iowa

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Alaska certificate stays on the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide program); to work in Iowa you apply to the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing) 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 Iowa

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Alaska is not in the compact, so your Alaska licence is single-state. Apply to the Iowa 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 Iowa 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 Iowa

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

  • Newton Housing Initiative: up to $10,000 toward a newly built home. For anyone building or buying a new home in Newton; a construction incentive rather than a hiring one.

Going the other way? Alaska has Permanent Fund Dividend. See moving from Iowa to Alaska.

Openings filed in Iowa

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

Your own route from Alaska to Iowa

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 Iowa employers.

Plan my move to Iowa

Same move, by trade

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

From Alaska to the states next to Iowa

Minnesota (progressive, top rate 9.85%) · Wisconsin (progressive, top rate 7.65%) · Illinois (flat 4.95% state income tax) · Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%) · Nebraska (progressive, top rate 5.2%) · South Dakota (no state income tax)

To Iowa from the states next to Alaska

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

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Licence transfer, what the state takes from your pay, and who pays you to come. Free, no account.

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