Moving between states / Louisiana

Flag of MassachusettsMassachusettstoFlag of LouisianaLouisiana, Electrician

Moving from Massachusetts to Louisiana as a journeyman electrician

What a journeyman electrician licensed in Massachusetts has to do to work in Louisiana, what the move does to your pay, and who in Louisiana is hiring from out of state.

Reciprocity likely. Louisiana licenses electricians at state level through the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, and The state licenses electrical contractors; journeyman cards come from parishes and cities. Reciprocity exists at contractor level with a few states. 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 Louisiana leaves you roughly $1,200 a year more than Massachusetts does, because Louisiana's rate is lower.

SalaryMassachusetts state taxLouisiana state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,000$1,200+$800
$60,000$3,000$1,800+$1,200
$90,000$4,500$2,700+$1,800

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 Louisiana

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Massachusetts certificate stays on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Louisiana you apply to the Louisiana Department of Health, 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: Massachusetts to Louisiana

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Massachusetts is not in the compact, so your Massachusetts licence is single-state. Apply to the Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana

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

No statewide program in Louisiana 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 Louisiana

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

Your own route from Massachusetts to Louisiana

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 Louisiana employers.

Plan my move to Louisiana

Same move, by trade

CNA: Massachusetts to Louisiana · RN or LPN: Massachusetts to Louisiana · Truck driver: Massachusetts to Louisiana · All licences: Massachusetts to Louisiana

From Massachusetts to the states next to Louisiana

Texas (no state income tax) · Arkansas (progressive, top rate 3.9%) · Mississippi (flat 4.4% state income tax)

To Louisiana from the states next to Massachusetts

New Hampshire · Vermont · New York · Connecticut · Rhode Island

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

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