Moving between states / Illinois

Flag of MaineMainetoFlag of IllinoisIllinois

Moving from Maine to Illinois for work

What moves with you from Maine to Illinois: 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

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

SalaryMaine state taxIllinois state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,002$1,980+$22
$60,000$3,003$2,970+$33
$90,000$4,505$4,455+$50

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 Illinois

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Maine certificate stays on the Maine Registry of Certified Nursing Assistants and Direct Care Workers; to work in Illinois you apply to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Health Care Worker 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 Illinois

Endorsement needed. Illinois is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so your Maine multistate licence does not work there. Apply to the Illinois Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement before you move; it commonly takes six to twelve weeks. Your Maine licence stays valid for compact states.

Electrician: Maine to Illinois

Licensed by the city. Illinois has no state electrician licence; the City and county building departments decide what card you need, and it can differ between cities. No state electrician licence; Chicago and most suburbs license their own, so the licence you need depends on where the job is. Ask the contractor hiring you which municipality the first job is in and apply to that one. Your Maine state licence is evidence of hours, not a licence there.

CDL: Maine to Illinois

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

No statewide program in Illinois 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 Illinois to Maine.

Openings filed in Illinois

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

Your own route from Maine to Illinois

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 Illinois employers.

Plan my move to Illinois

Same move, by trade

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

From Maine to the states next to Illinois

Wisconsin (progressive, top rate 7.65%) · Iowa (flat 3.8% state income tax) · Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%) · Kentucky (flat 4% state income tax) · Indiana (flat 3% state income tax)

To Illinois from the states next to Maine

New Hampshire

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

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