Californiato
IdahoMoving from California to Idaho for work
What moves with you from California to Idaho: 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 Idaho leaves you roughly $2,406 a year more than California does, because Idaho's rate is lower.
| Salary | California state tax | Idaho state tax | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $3,724 | $2,120 | +$1,604 |
| $60,000 | $5,586 | $3,180 | +$2,406 |
| $90,000 | $8,379 | $4,770 | +$3,609 |
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.
CNA: California to Idaho
Transfers by reciprocity. Your California certificate stays on the California Department of Public Health, Aide and Technician Certification Section; 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.
RN and LPN: California to Idaho
Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. California is not in the compact, so your California licence is single-state. Apply to the Idaho 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 Idaho 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 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 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 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 California 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.
Does Idaho pay you to come?
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.
Openings filed in Idaho
39 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Idaho employers who could not fill them locally.
- Farm/Irrigation/Livestock Worker24/7 Farms 365, LLC · Caldwell · $13.34/hr
- Farm/Irrigation/ Livestock WorkerJared Pilkerton · Salmon · $13.34/hr
- General Farm/Irrigation WorkerEscobedo Dairy, LLC · Hagerman · $13.34/hr
- Farm/Irrigation/Livestock WorkerHull Farms, Inc. · Filer · $15.83/hr
- Farmworkers, Farm & Ranch AnimalsBelliston Bros Apiaries Inc · Burley · $13.34/hr
- General FarmworkerEgan Ranch, LLC · Arimo · $13.34/hr
Your own route from California 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 IdahoSame move, by trade
CNA: California to Idaho · RN or LPN: California to Idaho · Electrician: California to Idaho · Truck driver: California to Idaho
From California 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 California
Everything about working in Idaho · All moves between states · All 50 states