Moving between states / New Mexico
Alaskato
New Mexico, Truck driverMoving from Alaska to New Mexico as a CDL holder
What a CDL holder licensed in Alaska has to do to work in New Mexico, what the move does to your pay, and who in New Mexico is hiring from out of state.
Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a New Mexico resident you surrender the Alaska CDL at a New Mexico 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 New Mexico. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.
What the move does to your paycheck
On a $60,000 salary New Mexico takes roughly $2,478 a year more than Alaska does, because you are leaving a state with no income tax on wages.
| Salary | Alaska state tax | New Mexico state tax | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $0 | $1,652 | -$1,652 |
| $60,000 | $0 | $2,478 | -$2,478 |
| $90,000 | $0 | $3,717 | -$3,717 |
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 New Mexico
Transfers by reciprocity. Your Alaska certificate stays on the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide program); to work in New Mexico you apply to the New Mexico Department of Health, 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: Alaska to New Mexico
Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Alaska is not in the compact, so your Alaska licence is single-state. Apply to the New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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.
Electrician: Alaska to New Mexico
Reciprocity likely. New Mexico licenses electricians at state level through the New Mexico Construction Industries Division, and reciprocity for journeymen from states with an equivalent exam, mostly the western group. 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.
Does New Mexico pay you to come?
No statewide program in New Mexico 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 New Mexico to Alaska.
Openings filed in New Mexico
63 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by New Mexico employers who could not fill them locally.
- Agricultural Equipment OperatorsWalther Farms LLC - NM · Farmington · $12.35/hr
- Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck DriversRorros Trucking LLC · Artesia · $19.85/hr
- Agricultural Equipment OperatorDesert Diamond Trucking LLC · Loving · $15.96/hr
- Breeding AssistantMJ Farms · Veguita · $15.96/hr
- Farm WorkerBilly the Kid Produce · Deming · $12.35/hr
- Agricultural Equipment OperatorMimbres Ranch, LLC · Deming · $12.35/hr
Your own route from Alaska to New Mexico
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 New Mexico employers.
Plan my move to New MexicoSame move, by trade
CNA: Alaska to New Mexico · RN or LPN: Alaska to New Mexico · Electrician: Alaska to New Mexico · All licences: Alaska to New Mexico
From Alaska to the states next to New Mexico
Colorado (flat 4.4% state income tax) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%) · Texas (no state income tax) · Arizona (flat 2.5% state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax)
To New Mexico from the states next to Alaska
Everything about working in New Mexico · All moves between states · All 50 states