Moving between states / Arkansas
Californiato
Arkansas, CNAMoving from California to Arkansas as a certified nursing assistant
What a certified nursing assistant licensed in California has to do to work in Arkansas, what the move does to your pay, and who in Arkansas is hiring from out of state.
Transfers by reciprocity. Your California certificate stays on the California Department of Public Health, Aide and Technician Certification Section; to work in Arkansas you apply to the Arkansas Office of Long Term Care, 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.
What the move does to your paycheck
On a $60,000 salary Arkansas leaves you roughly $3,948 a year more than California does, because Arkansas's rate is lower.
| Salary | California state tax | Arkansas state tax | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $3,724 | $1,092 | +$2,632 |
| $60,000 | $5,586 | $1,638 | +$3,948 |
| $90,000 | $8,379 | $2,457 | +$5,922 |
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. In California: plus a 1.1% payroll tax for disability insurance. Property and sales tax are not in it.
RN and LPN: California to Arkansas
Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. California is not in the compact, so your California licence is single-state. Apply to the Arkansas board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because Arkansas is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.
Electrician: California to Arkansas
Reciprocity likely. Arkansas licenses electricians at state level through the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Electrical Section, and reciprocal agreements with a group of neighbouring and western states for journeymen with the required experience. Your California licence comes from the Division of Industrial Relations (certification) and Contractors State License Board (C-10), a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.
CDL: California to Arkansas
Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Arkansas resident you surrender the California CDL at a Arkansas 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 Arkansas. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.
Does Arkansas pay you to come?
- Life Works Here (Northwest Arkansas): up to $10,000 plus a bicycle. For remote and tech workers moving to the Bentonville and Fayetteville region; runs in rounds.
Openings filed in Arkansas
78 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Arkansas employers who could not fill them locally.
- Market Financial Center Manager - Arkansas MarketBank of America · Little Rock
- Nursery Worker (45-2092.00)Aydani Wholesale Nursery LLC · Magnolia · $13.95/hr
- FARM LABORERMATTHEW TOWNLEY · CROSSETT · $13.95/hr
- Agricultural Equipment Operator/General Farm WorkerFloyd Calhoun and Son Farms · Griffithville · $13.95/hr
- Farm Equipment MechanicMoncrief Ranch LLC · Hermitage · $25.66/hr
- Ag Equipment OperatorMcGraw Farms Partnership · Gould · $13.95/hr
Your own route from California to Arkansas
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 Arkansas employers.
Plan my move to ArkansasSame move, by trade
RN or LPN: California to Arkansas · Electrician: California to Arkansas · Truck driver: California to Arkansas · All licences: California to Arkansas
From California to the states next to Arkansas
Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%) · Tennessee (no state income tax) · Mississippi (flat 4.4% state income tax) · Louisiana (flat 3% state income tax) · Texas (no state income tax) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%)
To Arkansas from the states next to California
Everything about working in Arkansas · All moves between states · All 50 states