Moving between states / Tennessee

Flag of New MexicoNew MexicotoFlag of TennesseeTennessee, RN or LPN

Moving from New Mexico to Tennessee as a registered or practical nurse

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

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

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Tennessee leaves you roughly $2,478 a year more than New Mexico does, because Tennessee has no state income tax on wages.

SalaryNew Mexico state taxTennessee state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,652$0+$1,652
$60,000$2,478$0+$2,478
$90,000$3,717$0+$3,717

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: New Mexico to Tennessee

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

Reciprocity likely. Tennessee licenses electricians at state level through the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, and Electrical contractors are state-licensed; journeyman cards are local where required. Contractor reciprocity with a few neighbouring states. 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 Tennessee

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

No statewide program in Tennessee 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 Tennessee

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

Your own route from New Mexico to Tennessee

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 Tennessee employers.

Plan my move to Tennessee

Same move, by trade

CNA: New Mexico to Tennessee · Electrician: New Mexico to Tennessee · Truck driver: New Mexico to Tennessee · All licences: New Mexico to Tennessee

From New Mexico to the states next to Tennessee

Kentucky (flat 4% state income tax) · Virginia (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax) · Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax) · Alabama (progressive, top rate 5%) · Mississippi (flat 4.4% state income tax) · Arkansas (progressive, top rate 3.9%) · Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%)

To Tennessee from the states next to New Mexico

Colorado · Oklahoma · Texas · Arizona · Utah

Everything about working in Tennessee · 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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