Moving between states / Virginia

Flag of MinnesotaMinnesotatoFlag of VirginiaVirginia, Electrician

Moving from Minnesota to Virginia as a journeyman electrician

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

Reciprocity likely. Virginia licenses electricians at state level through the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Board for Contractors, and reciprocity for journeymen and masters licensed in a state with a comparable exam. 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 Virginia leaves you roughly $1,722 a year more than Minnesota does, because Virginia's rate is lower.

SalaryMinnesota state taxVirginia state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,758$1,610+$1,148
$60,000$4,137$2,415+$1,722
$90,000$6,206$3,622+$2,584

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 Virginia

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Minnesota certificate stays on the Minnesota Department of Health, Nursing Assistant Registry; to work in Virginia you apply to the Virginia Board of Nursing, Certified 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: Minnesota to Virginia

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

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

No statewide program in Virginia 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 Virginia to Minnesota.

Openings filed in Virginia

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

Your own route from Minnesota to Virginia

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 Virginia employers.

Plan my move to Virginia

Same move, by trade

CNA: Minnesota to Virginia · RN or LPN: Minnesota to Virginia · Truck driver: Minnesota to Virginia · All licences: Minnesota to Virginia

From Minnesota to the states next to Virginia

Maryland (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · West Virginia (progressive, top rate 4.82%) · Kentucky (flat 4% state income tax) · Tennessee (no state income tax) · North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax)

To Virginia from the states next to Minnesota

North Dakota · South Dakota · Iowa · Wisconsin

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

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