Moving between states / Iowa

Flag of OregonOregontoFlag of IowaIowa

Moving from Oregon to Iowa for work

What moves with you from Oregon to Iowa: 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 Iowa leaves you roughly $1,878 a year more than Oregon does, because Iowa's rate is lower.

SalaryOregon state taxIowa state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,772$1,520+$1,252
$60,000$4,158$2,280+$1,878
$90,000$6,237$3,420+$2,817

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.

CNA: Oregon to Iowa

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Oregon certificate stays on the Oregon State Board of Nursing, Certified Nursing Assistant registry; to work in Iowa you apply to the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry (Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing) 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: Oregon to Iowa

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Oregon is not in the compact, so your Oregon licence is single-state. Apply to the Iowa board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because Iowa is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

Electrician: Oregon to Iowa

Reciprocity likely. Iowa licenses electricians at state level through the Iowa Electrical Examining Board, and reciprocity with a list of states for journeymen who passed an equivalent exam. 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 Iowa

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

  • Newton Housing Initiative: up to $10,000 toward a newly built home. For anyone building or buying a new home in Newton; a construction incentive rather than a hiring one.

Openings filed in Iowa

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

Your own route from Oregon to Iowa

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 Iowa employers.

Plan my move to Iowa

Same move, by trade

CNA: Oregon to Iowa · RN or LPN: Oregon to Iowa · Electrician: Oregon to Iowa · Truck driver: Oregon to Iowa

From Oregon to the states next to Iowa

Minnesota (progressive, top rate 9.85%) · Wisconsin (progressive, top rate 7.65%) · Illinois (flat 4.95% state income tax) · Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%) · Nebraska (progressive, top rate 5.2%) · South Dakota (no state income tax)

To Iowa from the states next to Oregon

Washington · Idaho · Nevada · California

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

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