Moving between states / Florida
Massachusettsto
Florida, ElectricianMoving from Massachusetts to Florida as a journeyman electrician
What a journeyman electrician licensed in Massachusetts has to do to work in Florida, what the move does to your pay, and who in Florida is hiring from out of state.
Reciprocity likely. Florida licenses electricians at state level through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board, and Contractor licences are state-certified or county-registered; journeyman cards are county-issued, and several counties reciprocate with each other. Your Massachusetts licence comes from the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians, 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 Florida leaves you roughly $3,000 a year more than Massachusetts does, because Florida has no state income tax on wages.
| Salary | Massachusetts state tax | Florida state tax | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,000 | $0 | +$2,000 |
| $60,000 | $3,000 | $0 | +$3,000 |
| $90,000 | $4,500 | $0 | +$4,500 |
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 Massachusetts: plus 4% on income above about $1 million. Property and sales tax are not in it.
CNA: Massachusetts to Florida
Transfers by reciprocity. Your Massachusetts certificate stays on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Florida you apply to the Florida Board of Nursing (CNA certification by endorsement) for reciprocity. Endorsement for an active CNA from another state registry; Florida runs its own background screening before it certifies you. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.
RN and LPN: Massachusetts to Florida
Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Massachusetts is not in the compact, so your Massachusetts licence is single-state. Apply to the Florida board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because Florida is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.
CDL: Massachusetts to Florida
Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Florida resident you surrender the Massachusetts CDL at a Florida 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 Florida. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.
Does Florida pay you to come?
No statewide program in Florida 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 Florida
297 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Florida employers who could not fill them locally.
- Regulatory Reporting Operations ProfessionalBank of America · Jacksonville
- Markets Support AnalystBank of America · Jacksonville
- Senior Manager, Supply Chain Protection & Loss IntelligenceFlexport · Miami
- Manager, Claims Operations - ATFUSAA · Tampa
- Account Manager II, Eats EnterpriseUber · Miami
- Transaction Management Ops Analyst - BPRO Financial Transaction ReviewBank of America · Jacksonville
Your own route from Massachusetts to Florida
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CNA: Massachusetts to Florida · RN or LPN: Massachusetts to Florida · Truck driver: Massachusetts to Florida · All licences: Massachusetts to Florida
From Massachusetts to the states next to Florida
Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax) · Alabama (progressive, top rate 5%)
To Florida from the states next to Massachusetts
New Hampshire · Vermont · New York · Connecticut · Rhode Island
Everything about working in Florida · All moves between states · All 50 states