Moving between states / Minnesota

Flag of MaineMainetoFlag of MinnesotaMinnesota

Moving from Maine to Minnesota for work

What moves with you from Maine to Minnesota: 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 Minnesota takes roughly $1,134 a year more than Maine does.

SalaryMaine state taxMinnesota state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,002$2,758-$756
$60,000$3,003$4,137-$1,134
$90,000$4,505$6,206-$1,701

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 Minnesota

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

Endorsement needed. Minnesota is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so your Maine multistate licence does not work there. Apply to the Minnesota 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 Minnesota

Reciprocity likely. Minnesota licenses electricians at state level through the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, and reciprocity with a group of states for journeymen licensed by exam who worked a year in the trade. 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 Minnesota

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

  • Harmony new-home rebate: $5,000 to $12,000. For anyone building a new home in the city of Harmony.

Going the other way? Maine has Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit. See moving from Minnesota to Maine.

Openings filed in Minnesota

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

Your own route from Maine to Minnesota

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 Minnesota employers.

Plan my move to Minnesota

Same move, by trade

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

From Maine to the states next to Minnesota

North Dakota (progressive, top rate 2.5%) · South Dakota (no state income tax) · Iowa (flat 3.8% state income tax) · Wisconsin (progressive, top rate 7.65%)

To Minnesota from the states next to Maine

New Hampshire

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

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Licence transfer, what the state takes from your pay, and who pays you to come. Free, no account.

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