Moving between states / Colorado

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Moving from Arizona to Colorado for work

What moves with you from Arizona to Colorado: your licence, your take-home pay, and the programs that pay people to come. Every line below is computed from the two states' rules.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Colorado takes roughly $1,140 a year more than Arizona does.

SalaryArizona state taxColorado state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,000$1,760-$760
$60,000$1,500$2,640-$1,140
$90,000$2,250$3,960-$1,710

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: Arizona to Colorado

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Arizona certificate stays on the Arizona State Board of Nursing (CNA and LNA certification); 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: Arizona to Colorado

Works on day one. Both Arizona and Colorado are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from Arizona 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.

Electrician: Arizona to Colorado

Exam likely. Colorado licenses at state level through the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA) 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 Colorado journeyman exam.

CDL: Arizona 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 Arizona 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.

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 Arizona 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: Arizona to Colorado · RN or LPN: Arizona to Colorado · Electrician: Arizona to Colorado · Truck driver: Arizona to Colorado

From Arizona 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%) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax)

To Colorado from the states next to Arizona

California · Nevada · Utah · New Mexico

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

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