Moving between states / Colorado

Flag of MaineMainetoFlag of ColoradoColorado

Moving from Maine to Colorado for work

What moves with you from Maine to Colorado: 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 Colorado leaves you roughly $363 a year more than Maine does, because Colorado's rate is lower.

SalaryMaine state taxColorado state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,002$1,760+$242
$60,000$3,003$2,640+$363
$90,000$4,505$3,960+$545

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: Maine to Colorado

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Maine certificate stays on the Maine Registry of Certified Nursing Assistants and Direct Care Workers; to work in Colorado you apply to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, 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: Maine to Colorado

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

Electrician: Maine to Colorado

Reciprocity likely. Colorado licenses electricians at state level through the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA), and endorsement for journeymen licensed in a state with a comparable exam and a year of licensed work. Your Maine licence comes from the Maine Electricians' Examining Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Maine to Colorado

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

No statewide program in Colorado 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? Maine has Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit. See moving from Colorado to Maine.

Openings filed in Colorado

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

Your own route from Maine to Colorado

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 Colorado employers.

Plan my move to Colorado

Same move, by trade

CNA: Maine to Colorado · RN or LPN: Maine to Colorado · Electrician: Maine to Colorado · Truck driver: Maine to Colorado

From Maine to the states next to Colorado

Wyoming (no state income tax) · Nebraska (progressive, top rate 5.2%) · Kansas (progressive, top rate 5.58%) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%) · New Mexico (progressive, top rate 5.9%) · Arizona (flat 2.5% state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax)

To Colorado from the states next to Maine

New Hampshire

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

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