Moving between states / Tennessee

Flag of IowaIowatoFlag of TennesseeTennessee, Electrician

Moving from Iowa to Tennessee as a journeyman electrician

What a journeyman electrician licensed in Iowa has to do to work in Tennessee, what the move does to your pay, and who in Tennessee is hiring from out of state.

Reciprocity likely. Tennessee licenses electricians at state level through the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, and Electrical contractors are state-licensed; journeyman cards are local where required. Contractor reciprocity with a few neighbouring states. 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.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Tennessee leaves you roughly $2,280 a year more than Iowa does, because Tennessee has no state income tax on wages.

SalaryIowa state taxTennessee state taxDifference 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 Tennessee

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Iowa certificate stays on the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing); to work in Tennessee you apply to the Tennessee Department of Health, 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 Tennessee

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

CDL: Iowa to Tennessee

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

No statewide program in Tennessee 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.

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

Openings filed in Tennessee

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

Your own route from Iowa to Tennessee

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 Tennessee employers.

Plan my move to Tennessee

Same move, by trade

CNA: Iowa to Tennessee · RN or LPN: Iowa to Tennessee · Truck driver: Iowa to Tennessee · All licences: Iowa to Tennessee

From Iowa to the states next to Tennessee

Kentucky (flat 4% state income tax) · Virginia (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax) · Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax) · Alabama (progressive, top rate 5%) · Mississippi (flat 4.4% state income tax) · Arkansas (progressive, top rate 3.9%) · Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%)

To Tennessee from the states next to Iowa

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

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

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