Moving between states / Nevada

Flag of CaliforniaCaliforniatoFlag of NevadaNevada

Moving from California to Nevada for work

What moves with you from California to Nevada: 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 Nevada leaves you roughly $5,586 a year more than California does, because Nevada has no state income tax on wages.

SalaryCalifornia state taxNevada state taxDifference a year
$40,000$3,724$0+$3,724
$60,000$5,586$0+$5,586
$90,000$8,379$0+$8,379

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 Nevada

Transfers by reciprocity. Your California certificate stays on the California Department of Public Health, Aide and Technician Certification Section; to work in Nevada you apply to the Nevada State Board of Nursing, Certified Nursing Assistant program 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 Nevada

Endorsement needed. Neither California nor Nevada is in the Nurse Licensure Compact. You apply to the Nevada Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement: verification of your California licence through Nursys, a fingerprint background check and the fee. Start before you give notice; six to twelve weeks is normal.

Electrician: California to Nevada

Licensed by the city. Nevada has no state electrician licence; the Nevada State Contractors Board decide what card you need, and it can differ between cities. Contractor licences are state-issued; journeyman cards are county-issued in Clark and Washoe counties where required. Ask the contractor hiring you which municipality the first job is in and apply to that one. Your California state licence is evidence of hours, not a licence there.

CDL: California to Nevada

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

No statewide program in Nevada 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 Nevada

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

Your own route from California to Nevada

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 Nevada employers.

Plan my move to Nevada

Same move, by trade

CNA: California to Nevada · RN or LPN: California to Nevada · Electrician: California to Nevada · Truck driver: California to Nevada

From California to the states next to Nevada

Oregon (progressive, top rate 9.9%) · Idaho (flat 5.3% state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax) · Arizona (flat 2.5% state income tax)

To Nevada from the states next to California

Oregon · Arizona

Everything about working in Nevada · All moves between states · All 50 states

Moving for a job? Start with your state.

Licence transfer, what the state takes from your pay, and who pays you to come. Free, no account.

Pick the state