Moving from Minnesota to Texas as a journeyman electrician
What a journeyman electrician licensed in Minnesota has to do to work in Texas, what the move does to your pay, and who in Texas is hiring from out of state.
Reciprocity likely. Texas licenses electricians at state level through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and TDLR reciprocates journeyman and master licences with a handful of states and otherwise waives the exam for nobody. Your Minnesota licence comes from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, 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 Texas leaves you roughly $4,137 a year more than Minnesota does, because Texas has no state income tax on wages.
| Salary | Minnesota state tax | Texas state tax | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,758 | $0 | +$2,758 |
| $60,000 | $4,137 | $0 | +$4,137 |
| $90,000 | $6,206 | $0 | +$6,206 |
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. Property and sales tax are not in it.
CNA: Minnesota to Texas
Transfers by reciprocity. Your Minnesota certificate stays on the Minnesota Department of Health, Nursing Assistant Registry; to work in Texas you apply to the Texas Health and Human Services, Nurse Aide Registry for reciprocity. Reciprocity for an active, unencumbered CNA from another state registry; Texas adds you to its registry rather than issuing a certificate. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.
RN and LPN: Minnesota to Texas
Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Minnesota is not in the compact, so your Minnesota licence is single-state. Apply to the Texas 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 Texas 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: Minnesota to Texas
Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Texas resident you surrender the Minnesota CDL at a Texas 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 Texas. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.
Does Texas pay you to come?
No statewide program in Texas 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.
Going the other way? Minnesota has Harmony new-home rebate. See moving from Texas to Minnesota.
Openings filed in Texas
609 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Texas employers who could not fill them locally.
- Application Support Engineer - Mid LevelUSAA · San Antonio
- Materials PlannerBechtel · Houston
- Lead Process EngineerBechtel · Houston
- Lead Process EngineerBechtel · Houston
- Expediting SpecialistBechtel · Houston
- Labor Relations SpecialistBechtel · Houston
Your own route from Minnesota to Texas
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CNA: Minnesota to Texas · RN or LPN: Minnesota to Texas · Truck driver: Minnesota to Texas · All licences: Minnesota to Texas
From Minnesota to the states next to Texas
New Mexico (progressive, top rate 5.9%) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%) · Arkansas (progressive, top rate 3.9%) · Louisiana (flat 3% state income tax)
To Texas from the states next to Minnesota
North Dakota · South Dakota · Iowa · Wisconsin
Everything about working in Texas · All moves between states · All 50 states