Moving between states / Alaska
Iowato
Alaska, Truck driverMoving from Iowa to Alaska as a CDL holder
What a CDL holder licensed in Iowa has to do to work in Alaska, what the move does to your pay, and who in Alaska 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 Alaska resident you surrender the Iowa CDL at a Alaska 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 Alaska. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.
What the move does to your paycheck
On a $60,000 salary Alaska leaves you roughly $2,280 a year more than Iowa does, because Alaska has no state income tax on wages.
| Salary | Iowa state tax | Alaska state tax | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $1,520 | $0 | +$1,520 |
| $60,000 | $2,280 | $0 | +$2,280 |
| $90,000 | $3,420 | $0 | +$3,420 |
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: Iowa to Alaska
Transfers by reciprocity. Your Iowa certificate stays on the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing); to work in Alaska you apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide 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: Iowa to Alaska
Endorsement needed. Alaska is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so your Iowa multistate licence does not work there. Apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement before you move; it commonly takes six to twelve weeks. Your Iowa licence stays valid for compact states.
Electrician: Iowa to Alaska
Reciprocity likely. Alaska licenses electricians at state level through the Alaska Department of Labor, Mechanical Inspection, and State certificate of fitness for journeymen; Alaska takes part in the western reciprocity group, so a journeyman card from a partner state can be endorsed. Your Iowa licence comes from the Iowa Electrical Examining Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.
Does Alaska pay you to come?
- Permanent Fund Dividend: roughly $1,000 to $1,700 a year. For every resident after a full calendar year in the state; not a relocation grant, but paid every year.
Going the other way? Iowa has Newton Housing Initiative. See moving from Alaska to Iowa.
Openings filed in Alaska
11 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Alaska employers who could not fill them locally.
- Fish Roe TechnicianNorth Pacific Seafoods, Inc. · Kodiak · $20.62 to 37/hr
- Shop HelperInterior Alaska Roofing, Inc. · Fairbanks · $21.43 to 30/hr
- Surimi and Roe TechnicianPremier Pacific Seafoods, Inc. · Bering Sea and North Pacific · $21.31/hr
- Surimi and Roe TechnicianWestward Seafoods, Inc. · Unalaska · $24.65 to 40/hr
- Pollock Roe TechnicianWestward Seafoods, Inc. · Unalaska · $18.23/hr
- Assistant Store Manager Aurora CenterAT&T · Fairbanks
Your own route from Iowa to Alaska
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CNA: Iowa to Alaska · RN or LPN: Iowa to Alaska · Electrician: Iowa to Alaska · All licences: Iowa to Alaska
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