Moving between states / Alaska

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Moving from Arizona to Alaska as a certified nursing assistant

What a certified nursing assistant licensed in Arizona has to do to work in Alaska, what the move does to your pay, and who in Alaska is hiring from out of state.

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Arizona certificate stays on the Arizona State Board of Nursing (CNA and LNA certification); to work in Alaska you apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide program) 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.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Alaska leaves you roughly $1,500 a year more than Arizona does, because Alaska has no state income tax on wages.

SalaryArizona state taxAlaska state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,000$0+$1,000
$60,000$1,500$0+$1,500
$90,000$2,250$0+$2,250

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.

RN and LPN: Arizona to Alaska

Endorsement needed. Alaska is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so your Arizona multistate licence does not work there. Apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement before you move; it commonly takes six to twelve weeks. Your Arizona licence stays valid for compact states.

Electrician: Arizona to Alaska

Exam likely. Alaska licenses at state level through the Alaska Department of Labor, Mechanical Inspection and reciprocates with other state boards, but Arizona licenses locally through the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, which is not a party to those agreements. Expect to document your hours and sit the Alaska journeyman exam.

CDL: Arizona to Alaska

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

  • Permanent Fund Dividend: roughly $1,000 to $1,700 a year. For every resident after a full calendar year in the state; not a relocation grant, but paid every year.

Openings filed in Alaska

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

Your own route from Arizona to Alaska

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 Alaska employers.

Plan my move to Alaska

Same move, by trade

RN or LPN: Arizona to Alaska · Electrician: Arizona to Alaska · Truck driver: Arizona to Alaska · All licences: Arizona to Alaska

From Arizona to the states next to Alaska

To Alaska from the states next to Arizona

California · Nevada · Utah · Colorado · New Mexico

Everything about working in Alaska · 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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