Moving between states / Arkansas
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ArkansasMoving from Illinois to Arkansas for work
What moves with you from Illinois to Arkansas: 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 Arkansas leaves you roughly $1,332 a year more than Illinois does, because Arkansas's rate is lower.
| Salary | Illinois state tax | Arkansas state tax | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $1,980 | $1,092 | +$888 |
| $60,000 | $2,970 | $1,638 | +$1,332 |
| $90,000 | $4,455 | $2,457 | +$1,998 |
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: Illinois to Arkansas
Transfers by reciprocity. Your Illinois certificate stays on the Illinois Department of Public Health, Health Care Worker Registry; 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.
RN and LPN: Illinois to Arkansas
Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Illinois is not in the compact, so your Illinois 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: Illinois to Arkansas
Exam likely. Arkansas licenses at state level through the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Electrical Section and reciprocates with other state boards, but Illinois licenses locally through the City and county building departments, which is not a party to those agreements. Expect to document your hours and sit the Arkansas journeyman exam.
CDL: Illinois 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 Illinois 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 Illinois 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
CNA: Illinois to Arkansas · RN or LPN: Illinois to Arkansas · Electrician: Illinois to Arkansas · Truck driver: Illinois to Arkansas
From Illinois 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 Illinois
Wisconsin · Iowa · Missouri · Kentucky · Indiana
Everything about working in Arkansas · All moves between states · All 50 states