Californiato
Texas, Truck driverMoving from California to Texas as a CDL holder
What a CDL holder licensed in California has to do to work in Texas, what the move does to your pay, and who in Texas is hiring from out of state.
Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Texas resident you surrender the California CDL at a Texas 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 Texas. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.
What the move does to your paycheck
On a $60,000 salary Texas leaves you roughly $5,586 a year more than California does, because Texas has no state income tax on wages.
| Salary | California state tax | Texas state tax | Difference 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 Texas
Transfers by reciprocity. Your California certificate stays on the California Department of Public Health, Aide and Technician Certification Section; to work in Texas you apply to the Texas Health and Human Services, Nurse Aide Registry for reciprocity. Reciprocity for an active, unencumbered CNA from another state registry; Texas adds you to its registry rather than issuing a certificate. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.
RN and LPN: California to Texas
Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. California is not in the compact, so your California licence is single-state. Apply to the Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas
Reciprocity likely. Texas licenses electricians at state level through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and TDLR reciprocates journeyman and master licences with a handful of states and otherwise waives the exam for nobody. 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.
Does Texas pay you to come?
No statewide program in Texas 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 Texas
609 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Texas employers who could not fill them locally.
- Application Support Engineer - Mid LevelUSAA · San Antonio
- Materials PlannerBechtel · Houston
- Lead Process EngineerBechtel · Houston
- Lead Process EngineerBechtel · Houston
- Expediting SpecialistBechtel · Houston
- Labor Relations SpecialistBechtel · Houston
Your own route from California to Texas
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 Texas employers.
Plan my move to TexasSame move, by trade
CNA: California to Texas · RN or LPN: California to Texas · Electrician: California to Texas · All licences: California to Texas
From California to the states next to Texas
New Mexico (progressive, top rate 5.9%) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%) · Arkansas (progressive, top rate 3.9%) · Louisiana (flat 3% state income tax)
To Texas from the states next to California
Everything about working in Texas · All moves between states · All 50 states