Moving between states / Alaska

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Moving from Oregon to Alaska as a certified nursing assistant

What a certified nursing assistant licensed in Oregon has to do to work in Alaska, what the move does to your pay, and who in Alaska is hiring from out of state.

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Oregon certificate stays on the Oregon State Board of Nursing, Certified Nursing Assistant registry; to work in Alaska you apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide program) 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.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Alaska leaves you roughly $4,158 a year more than Oregon does, because Alaska has no state income tax on wages.

SalaryOregon state taxAlaska state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,772$0+$2,772
$60,000$4,158$0+$4,158
$90,000$6,237$0+$6,237

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 Oregon: Portland metro adds local taxes on higher incomes. Property and sales tax are not in it.

RN and LPN: Oregon to Alaska

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

Electrician: Oregon to Alaska

Reciprocity likely. Alaska licenses electricians at state level through the Alaska Department of Labor, Mechanical Inspection, and State certificate of fitness for journeymen; Alaska takes part in the western reciprocity group, so a journeyman card from a partner state can be endorsed. Your Oregon licence comes from the Oregon Building Codes Division, Electrical and Elevator Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Oregon to Alaska

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

  • Permanent Fund Dividend: roughly $1,000 to $1,700 a year. For every resident after a full calendar year in the state; not a relocation grant, but paid every year.

Openings filed in Alaska

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

Your own route from Oregon to Alaska

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 Alaska employers.

Plan my move to Alaska

Same move, by trade

RN or LPN: Oregon to Alaska · Electrician: Oregon to Alaska · Truck driver: Oregon to Alaska · All licences: Oregon to Alaska

From Oregon to the states next to Alaska

To Alaska from the states next to Oregon

Washington · Idaho · Nevada · California

Everything about working in Alaska · 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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