Moving between states / New Mexico

Flag of ArkansasArkansastoFlag of New MexicoNew Mexico

Moving from Arkansas to New Mexico for work

What moves with you from Arkansas to New Mexico: 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 New Mexico takes roughly $840 a year more than Arkansas does.

SalaryArkansas state taxNew Mexico state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,092$1,652-$560
$60,000$1,638$2,478-$840
$90,000$2,457$3,717-$1,260

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 New Mexico

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

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

Electrician: Arkansas 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 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 New Mexico

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 Arkansas 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.

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? Arkansas has Life Works Here (Northwest Arkansas). See moving from New Mexico to Arkansas.

Openings filed in New Mexico

63 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by New Mexico employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Arkansas 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 Mexico

Same move, by trade

CNA: Arkansas to New Mexico · RN or LPN: Arkansas to New Mexico · Electrician: Arkansas to New Mexico · Truck driver: Arkansas to New Mexico

From Arkansas 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 Arkansas

Missouri · Tennessee · Mississippi · Louisiana · Texas · Oklahoma

Everything about working in New Mexico · 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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