Moving between states / Wisconsin

Flag of MassachusettsMassachusettstoFlag of WisconsinWisconsin, Truck driver

Moving from Massachusetts to Wisconsin as a CDL holder

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

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

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Wisconsin takes roughly $213 a year more than Massachusetts does.

SalaryMassachusetts state taxWisconsin state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,000$2,142-$142
$60,000$3,000$3,213-$213
$90,000$4,500$4,819-$319

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 Wisconsin

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

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

Exam required. Wisconsin licenses electricians through the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services and does not reciprocate with any state. Your Massachusetts hours count toward eligibility, so get them certified in writing by the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians before you move and book the Wisconsin exam early.

No statewide program in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

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

Your own route from Massachusetts to Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin employers.

Plan my move to Wisconsin

Same move, by trade

CNA: Massachusetts to Wisconsin · RN or LPN: Massachusetts to Wisconsin · Electrician: Massachusetts to Wisconsin · All licences: Massachusetts to Wisconsin

From Massachusetts to the states next to Wisconsin

Michigan (flat 4.25% state income tax) · Minnesota (progressive, top rate 9.85%) · Iowa (flat 3.8% state income tax) · Illinois (flat 4.95% state income tax)

To Wisconsin from the states next to Massachusetts

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

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

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