Moving between states / Pennsylvania
Michiganto
PennsylvaniaMoving from Michigan to Pennsylvania for work
What moves with you from Michigan to Pennsylvania: 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 Pennsylvania leaves you roughly $708 a year more than Michigan does, because Pennsylvania's rate is lower.
| Salary | Michigan state tax | Pennsylvania state tax | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $1,700 | $1,228 | +$472 |
| $60,000 | $2,550 | $1,842 | +$708 |
| $90,000 | $3,825 | $2,763 | +$1,062 |
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 Pennsylvania: municipalities add an earned income tax, 1% in most places and 3.75% in Philadelphia. In Michigan: Detroit and some cities add a local income tax. Property and sales tax are not in it.
CNA: Michigan to Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania you apply to the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry (Pennsylvania Department of Education, administered by Credentia) 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 Pennsylvania
Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Michigan is not in the compact, so your Michigan licence is single-state. Apply to the Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
Licensed by the city. Pennsylvania has no state electrician licence; the City and county building departments decide what card you need, and it can differ between cities. No state electrician licence; Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and many municipalities license locally. Ask the contractor hiring you which municipality the first job is in and apply to that one. Your Michigan state licence is evidence of hours, not a licence there.
CDL: Michigan to Pennsylvania
Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Pennsylvania resident you surrender the Michigan CDL at a Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.
Does Pennsylvania pay you to come?
No statewide program in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
85 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Pennsylvania employers who could not fill them locally.
- Credit Support Associate II/III- Commercial CreditBank of America · Philadelphia
- Market Financial Center Manager - Philadelphia MarketBank of America · Philadelphia
- Relationship Banker - PA North MarketBank of America · Allentown
- FarmworkerBrian Campbell Farms · Berwick · $14.4/hr
- FarmworkerRivendale Farms Pittsburgh, LLC · Bulger · $14.4/hr
- Farmworkers, Farm & Ranch AnimalsYoung Apiaries Inc · Cogan Station · $18.45/hr
Your own route from Michigan to Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania employers.
Plan my move to PennsylvaniaSame move, by trade
CNA: Michigan to Pennsylvania · RN or LPN: Michigan to Pennsylvania · Electrician: Michigan to Pennsylvania · Truck driver: Michigan to Pennsylvania
From Michigan to the states next to Pennsylvania
New York (progressive, top rate 10.9%) · New Jersey (progressive, top rate 10.75%) · Delaware (progressive, top rate 6.6%) · Maryland (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · West Virginia (progressive, top rate 4.82%) · Ohio (progressive, top rate 3.5%)
To Pennsylvania from the states next to Michigan
Everything about working in Pennsylvania · All moves between states · All 50 states