Moving between states / Arkansas

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Moving from Iowa to Arkansas for work

What moves with you from Iowa 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 $642 a year more than Iowa does, because Arkansas's rate is lower.

SalaryIowa state taxArkansas state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,520$1,092+$428
$60,000$2,280$1,638+$642
$90,000$3,420$2,457+$963

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 Arkansas

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Iowa certificate stays on the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing); 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: Iowa to Arkansas

Works on day one. Both Iowa and Arkansas are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from Iowa is valid in Arkansas the day you arrive. Once Arkansas is your primary residence, apply there for a Arkansas multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

Electrician: Iowa to Arkansas

Reciprocity likely. Arkansas licenses electricians at state level through the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Electrical Section, and reciprocal agreements with a group of neighbouring and western states for journeymen with the required experience. 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.

CDL: Iowa 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 Iowa 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.

  • 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.

Going the other way? Iowa has Newton Housing Initiative. See moving from Arkansas to Iowa.

Openings filed in Arkansas

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

Your own route from Iowa 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 Arkansas

Same move, by trade

CNA: Iowa to Arkansas · RN or LPN: Iowa to Arkansas · Electrician: Iowa to Arkansas · Truck driver: Iowa to Arkansas

From Iowa 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 Iowa

Minnesota · Wisconsin · Illinois · Missouri · Nebraska · South Dakota

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

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