Moving between states / Idaho

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Moving from Arkansas to Idaho as a certified nursing assistant

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

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Arkansas certificate stays on the Arkansas Office of Long Term Care, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Idaho you apply to the Idaho Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare) 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 Idaho takes roughly $1,542 a year more than Arkansas does.

SalaryArkansas state taxIdaho state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,092$2,120-$1,028
$60,000$1,638$3,180-$1,542
$90,000$2,457$4,770-$2,313

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: Arkansas to Idaho

Works on day one. Both Arkansas and Idaho are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from Arkansas is valid in Idaho the day you arrive. Once Idaho is your primary residence, apply there for a Idaho multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

Electrician: Arkansas to Idaho

Reciprocity likely. Idaho licenses electricians at state level through the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, Electrical Board, and Idaho reciprocates with most western states for journeymen who tested there and worked a year. 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 Idaho

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

No statewide program in Idaho 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 Idaho to Arkansas.

Openings filed in Idaho

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

Your own route from Arkansas to Idaho

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 Idaho employers.

Plan my move to Idaho

Same move, by trade

RN or LPN: Arkansas to Idaho · Electrician: Arkansas to Idaho · Truck driver: Arkansas to Idaho · All licences: Arkansas to Idaho

From Arkansas to the states next to Idaho

Washington (no state income tax) · Oregon (progressive, top rate 9.9%) · Nevada (no state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax) · Wyoming (no state income tax) · Montana (progressive, top rate 5.9%)

To Idaho from the states next to Arkansas

Missouri · Tennessee · Mississippi · Louisiana · Texas · Oklahoma

Everything about working in Idaho · 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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