Moving between states / Virginia

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Moving from Kentucky to Virginia for work

What moves with you from Kentucky to Virginia: 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

Kentucky and Virginia take about the same from a $60,000 salary; the difference is under $150 a year either way.

SalaryKentucky state taxVirginia state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,600$1,610-$10
$60,000$2,400$2,415-$15
$90,000$3,600$3,622-$22

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 Kentucky: many cities and counties add an occupational tax. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Kentucky to Virginia

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Kentucky certificate stays on the Kentucky Board of Nursing, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Virginia you apply to the Virginia Board of Nursing, Certified 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: Kentucky to Virginia

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

Electrician: Kentucky to Virginia

Reciprocity likely. Virginia licenses electricians at state level through the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Board for Contractors, and reciprocity for journeymen and masters licensed in a state with a comparable exam. Your Kentucky licence comes from the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Electrical Licensing, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Kentucky to Virginia

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

No statewide program in Virginia 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 Virginia

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

Your own route from Kentucky to Virginia

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 Virginia employers.

Plan my move to Virginia

Same move, by trade

CNA: Kentucky to Virginia · RN or LPN: Kentucky to Virginia · Electrician: Kentucky to Virginia · Truck driver: Kentucky to Virginia

From Kentucky to the states next to Virginia

Maryland (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · West Virginia (progressive, top rate 4.82%) · Tennessee (no state income tax) · North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax)

To Virginia from the states next to Kentucky

Indiana · Ohio · West Virginia · Tennessee · Missouri · Illinois

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

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