Moving between states / Arizona

Flag of MississippiMississippitoFlag of ArizonaArizona

Moving from Mississippi to Arizona for work

What moves with you from Mississippi to Arizona: 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 Arizona leaves you roughly $1,140 a year more than Mississippi does, because Arizona's rate is lower.

SalaryMississippi state taxArizona state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,760$1,000+$760
$60,000$2,640$1,500+$1,140
$90,000$3,960$2,250+$1,710

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: Mississippi to Arizona

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Mississippi certificate stays on the Mississippi State Department of Health, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Arizona you apply to the Arizona State Board of Nursing (CNA and LNA certification) 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: Mississippi to Arizona

Works on day one. Both Mississippi and Arizona are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from Mississippi is valid in Arizona the day you arrive. Once Arizona is your primary residence, apply there for a Arizona multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

Electrician: Mississippi to Arizona

Licensed by the city. Arizona has no state electrician licence; the Arizona Registrar of Contractors decide what card you need, and it can differ between cities. No state journeyman licence; contractors license through the Registrar and cities run their own electrician cards where they require one. Ask the contractor hiring you which municipality the first job is in and apply to that one. Your Mississippi state licence is evidence of hours, not a licence there.

CDL: Mississippi to Arizona

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

No statewide program in Arizona 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 Arizona

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

Your own route from Mississippi to Arizona

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 Arizona employers.

Plan my move to Arizona

Same move, by trade

CNA: Mississippi to Arizona · RN or LPN: Mississippi to Arizona · Electrician: Mississippi to Arizona · Truck driver: Mississippi to Arizona

From Mississippi to the states next to Arizona

California (progressive, top rate 13.3%) · Nevada (no state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax) · Colorado (flat 4.4% state income tax) · New Mexico (progressive, top rate 5.9%)

To Arizona from the states next to Mississippi

Tennessee · Alabama · Louisiana · Arkansas

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

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