Moving between states / Maine

Flag of MichiganMichigantoFlag of MaineMaine

Moving from Michigan to Maine for work

What moves with you from Michigan to Maine: 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 Maine takes roughly $453 a year more than Michigan does.

SalaryMichigan state taxMaine state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,700$2,002-$302
$60,000$2,550$3,003-$453
$90,000$3,825$4,505-$680

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 Michigan: Detroit and some cities add a local income tax. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Michigan to Maine

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Michigan certificate stays on the Michigan Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs); to work in Maine you apply to the Maine Registry of Certified Nursing Assistants and Direct Care Workers 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: Michigan to Maine

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Michigan is not in the compact, so your Michigan licence is single-state. Apply to the Maine 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 Maine 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: Michigan to Maine

Reciprocity likely. Maine licenses electricians at state level through the Maine Electricians' Examining Board, and Maine reciprocates with New Hampshire, Vermont and a few other states for journeymen. Your Michigan licence comes from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Electrical Administrative Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Michigan to Maine

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

  • Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit: up to $2,500 a year against Maine income tax. For workers living and paying off student loans in Maine.

Openings filed in Maine

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

Your own route from Michigan to Maine

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 Maine employers.

Plan my move to Maine

Same move, by trade

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

From Michigan to the states next to Maine

New Hampshire (no state income tax)

To Maine from the states next to Michigan

Ohio · Indiana · Wisconsin

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

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