Moving between states / Kentucky

Flag of New MexicoNew MexicotoFlag of KentuckyKentucky

Moving from New Mexico to Kentucky for work

What moves with you from New Mexico to Kentucky: 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

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

SalaryNew Mexico state taxKentucky state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,652$1,600+$52
$60,000$2,478$2,400+$78
$90,000$3,717$3,600+$117

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 Kentucky: many cities and counties add an occupational tax. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: New Mexico to Kentucky

Transfers by reciprocity. Your New Mexico certificate stays on the New Mexico Department of Health, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Kentucky you apply to the Kentucky Board of Nursing, 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: New Mexico to Kentucky

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

Electrician: New Mexico to Kentucky

Reciprocity likely. Kentucky licenses electricians at state level through the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Electrical Licensing, and State electrician and master electrician licences; limited reciprocity, most applicants qualify by hours and take the exam. Your New Mexico licence comes from the New Mexico Construction Industries Division, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: New Mexico to Kentucky

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

No statewide program in Kentucky 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 Kentucky

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

Your own route from New Mexico to Kentucky

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 Kentucky employers.

Plan my move to Kentucky

Same move, by trade

CNA: New Mexico to Kentucky · RN or LPN: New Mexico to Kentucky · Electrician: New Mexico to Kentucky · Truck driver: New Mexico to Kentucky

From New Mexico to the states next to Kentucky

Indiana (flat 3% state income tax) · Ohio (progressive, top rate 3.5%) · West Virginia (progressive, top rate 4.82%) · Virginia (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · Tennessee (no state income tax) · Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%) · Illinois (flat 4.95% state income tax)

To Kentucky from the states next to New Mexico

Colorado · Oklahoma · Texas · Arizona · Utah

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

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

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