Moving between states / Illinois

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Moving from New York to Illinois for work

What moves with you from New York to Illinois: 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 Illinois leaves you roughly $1,608 a year more than New York does, because Illinois's rate is lower.

SalaryNew York state taxIllinois state taxDifference a year
$40,000$3,052$1,980+$1,072
$60,000$4,578$2,970+$1,608
$90,000$6,867$4,455+$2,412

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 New York: New York City adds up to 3.876%. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: New York to Illinois

Transfers by reciprocity. Your New York certificate stays on the New York State Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Department of Health); to work in Illinois you apply to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Health Care Worker 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 York to Illinois

Endorsement needed. Neither New York nor Illinois is in the Nurse Licensure Compact. You apply to the Illinois Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement: verification of your New York licence through Nursys, a fingerprint background check and the fee. Start before you give notice; six to twelve weeks is normal.

Electrician: New York to Illinois

Licensed by the city. Illinois 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; Chicago and most suburbs license their own, so the licence you need depends on where the job is. Ask the contractor hiring you which municipality the first job is in and apply to that one. Your New York local licence is evidence of hours, not a licence there.

CDL: New York to Illinois

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

No statewide program in Illinois 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 Illinois

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

Your own route from New York to Illinois

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 Illinois employers.

Plan my move to Illinois

Same move, by trade

CNA: New York to Illinois · RN or LPN: New York to Illinois · Electrician: New York to Illinois · Truck driver: New York to Illinois

From New York to the states next to Illinois

Wisconsin (progressive, top rate 7.65%) · Iowa (flat 3.8% state income tax) · Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%) · Kentucky (flat 4% state income tax) · Indiana (flat 3% state income tax)

To Illinois from the states next to New York

Vermont · Massachusetts · Connecticut · New Jersey · Pennsylvania

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

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