Moving between states / South Dakota

Flag of North DakotaNorth DakotatoFlag of South DakotaSouth Dakota

Moving from North Dakota to South Dakota for work

What moves with you from North Dakota to South Dakota: 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 South Dakota leaves you roughly $1,050 a year more than North Dakota does, because South Dakota has no state income tax on wages.

SalaryNorth Dakota state taxSouth Dakota state taxDifference a year
$40,000$700$0+$700
$60,000$1,050$0+$1,050
$90,000$1,575$0+$1,575

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: North Dakota to South Dakota

Transfers by reciprocity. Your North Dakota certificate stays on the North Dakota Board of Nursing, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in South Dakota you apply to the South Dakota 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: North Dakota to South Dakota

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

Electrician: North Dakota to South Dakota

Reciprocity likely. South Dakota licenses electricians at state level through the South Dakota Electrical Commission, and reciprocity with a group of states for journeymen licensed by exam. Your North Dakota licence comes from the North Dakota State Electrical Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: North Dakota to South Dakota

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

No statewide program in South Dakota 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 South Dakota

63 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by South Dakota employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from North Dakota to South Dakota

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 South Dakota employers.

Plan my move to South Dakota

Same move, by trade

CNA: North Dakota to South Dakota · RN or LPN: North Dakota to South Dakota · Electrician: North Dakota to South Dakota · Truck driver: North Dakota to South Dakota

From North Dakota to the states next to South Dakota

Minnesota (progressive, top rate 9.85%) · Iowa (flat 3.8% state income tax) · Nebraska (progressive, top rate 5.2%) · Wyoming (no state income tax) · Montana (progressive, top rate 5.9%)

To South Dakota from the states next to North Dakota

Minnesota · Montana

Everything about working in South Dakota · All moves between states · All 50 states

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