Massachusettsto
Iowa, CNAMoving from Massachusetts to Iowa as a certified nursing assistant
What a certified nursing assistant licensed in Massachusetts has to do to work in Iowa, what the move does to your pay, and who in Iowa is hiring from out of state.
Transfers by reciprocity. Your Massachusetts certificate stays on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Iowa you apply to the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing) 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.
What the move does to your paycheck
On a $60,000 salary Iowa leaves you roughly $720 a year more than Massachusetts does, because Iowa's rate is lower.
| Salary | Massachusetts state tax | Iowa state tax | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,000 | $1,520 | +$480 |
| $60,000 | $3,000 | $2,280 | +$720 |
| $90,000 | $4,500 | $3,420 | +$1,080 |
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.
RN and LPN: Massachusetts to Iowa
Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Massachusetts is not in the compact, so your Massachusetts licence is single-state. Apply to the Iowa 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 Iowa 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.
Electrician: Massachusetts to Iowa
Reciprocity likely. Iowa licenses electricians at state level through the Iowa Electrical Examining Board, and reciprocity with a list of states for journeymen who passed an equivalent exam. 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.
CDL: Massachusetts to Iowa
Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Iowa resident you surrender the Massachusetts CDL at a Iowa 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 Iowa. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.
Does Iowa pay you to come?
- Newton Housing Initiative: up to $10,000 toward a newly built home. For anyone building or buying a new home in Newton; a construction incentive rather than a hiring one.
Openings filed in Iowa
52 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Iowa employers who could not fill them locally.
- Truck DriverRoger Groth · Battle Creek · $21.04/hr
- Agricultural Equipment OperatorFarson Farms LLC · Hedrick · $19.52/hr
- Farmworkers/ LaborersLauritsen Cattle Company · Exira · $14.96/hr
- Farm WorkerHippen Farms · Aplington · $19.52/hr
- Ag Equipment OperatorBuffington Ag LLC · Swea City · $18.87/hr
- Farmworkers/LaborersWard Family Farms LLC · Walker · $14.96/hr
Your own route from Massachusetts to Iowa
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RN or LPN: Massachusetts to Iowa · Electrician: Massachusetts to Iowa · Truck driver: Massachusetts to Iowa · All licences: Massachusetts to Iowa
From Massachusetts to the states next to Iowa
Minnesota (progressive, top rate 9.85%) · Wisconsin (progressive, top rate 7.65%) · Illinois (flat 4.95% state income tax) · Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%) · Nebraska (progressive, top rate 5.2%) · South Dakota (no state income tax)
To Iowa from the states next to Massachusetts
New Hampshire · Vermont · New York · Connecticut · Rhode Island
Everything about working in Iowa · All moves between states · All 50 states