Moving between states / Pennsylvania

Flag of MissouriMissouritoFlag of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania, Electrician

Moving from Missouri to Pennsylvania as a journeyman electrician

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

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 Missouri local licence is evidence of hours, not a licence there.

What the move does to your paycheck

Missouri and Pennsylvania take about the same from a $60,000 salary; the difference is under $150 a year either way.

SalaryMissouri state taxPennsylvania state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,316$1,228+$88
$60,000$1,974$1,842+$132
$90,000$2,961$2,763+$198

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

CNA: Missouri to Pennsylvania

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Missouri certificate stays on the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Certified Nurse Assistant Registry; 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: Missouri to Pennsylvania

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

CDL: Missouri 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 Missouri 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.

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.

Your own route from Missouri 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 Pennsylvania

Same move, by trade

CNA: Missouri to Pennsylvania · RN or LPN: Missouri to Pennsylvania · Truck driver: Missouri to Pennsylvania · All licences: Missouri to Pennsylvania

From Missouri 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 Missouri

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

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

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