Moving between states / Colorado

Flag of MissouriMissouritoFlag of ColoradoColorado, RN or LPN

Moving from Missouri to Colorado as a registered or practical nurse

What a registered or practical nurse licensed in Missouri has to do to work in Colorado, what the move does to your pay, and who in Colorado is hiring from out of state.

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

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Colorado takes roughly $666 a year more than Missouri does.

SalaryMissouri state taxColorado state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,316$1,760-$444
$60,000$1,974$2,640-$666
$90,000$2,961$3,960-$999

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 Missouri: Kansas City and St. Louis add a 1% earnings tax. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Missouri to Colorado

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Missouri certificate stays on the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Certified Nurse Assistant Registry; to work in Colorado you apply to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, 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.

Electrician: Missouri to Colorado

Exam likely. Colorado licenses at state level through the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA) and reciprocates with other state boards, but Missouri licenses locally through the Missouri Division of Professional Registration (optional statewide licence) and city building departments, which is not a party to those agreements. Expect to document your hours and sit the Colorado journeyman exam.

CDL: Missouri to Colorado

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

No statewide program in Colorado 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 Colorado

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

Your own route from Missouri to Colorado

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 Colorado employers.

Plan my move to Colorado

Same move, by trade

CNA: Missouri to Colorado · Electrician: Missouri to Colorado · Truck driver: Missouri to Colorado · All licences: Missouri to Colorado

From Missouri to the states next to Colorado

Wyoming (no state income tax) · Nebraska (progressive, top rate 5.2%) · Kansas (progressive, top rate 5.58%) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%) · New Mexico (progressive, top rate 5.9%) · Arizona (flat 2.5% state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax)

To Colorado from the states next to Missouri

Iowa · Illinois · Kentucky · Tennessee · Arkansas · Oklahoma · Kansas · Nebraska

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

Moving for a job? Start with your state.

Licence transfer, what the state takes from your pay, and who pays you to come. Free, no account.

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