Moving between states / Colorado

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Moving from Arkansas to Colorado for work

What moves with you from Arkansas 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 $1,002 a year more than Arkansas does.

SalaryArkansas state taxColorado state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,092$1,760-$668
$60,000$1,638$2,640-$1,002
$90,000$2,457$3,960-$1,503

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: Arkansas to Colorado

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Arkansas certificate stays on the Arkansas Office of Long Term Care, Nurse Aide Registry; 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: Arkansas to Colorado

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

Reciprocity likely. Colorado licenses electricians at state level through the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA), and endorsement for journeymen licensed in a state with a comparable exam and a year of licensed work. Your Arkansas licence comes from the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Electrical Section, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Arkansas 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 Arkansas 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.

Going the other way? Arkansas has Life Works Here (Northwest Arkansas). See moving from Colorado to Arkansas.

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

From Arkansas 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%) · Arizona (flat 2.5% state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax)

To Colorado from the states next to Arkansas

Missouri · Tennessee · Mississippi · Louisiana · Texas · Oklahoma

Everything about working in Colorado · 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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