Moving between states / Montana

Flag of OregonOregontoFlag of MontanaMontana, Electrician

Moving from Oregon to Montana as a journeyman electrician

What a journeyman electrician licensed in Oregon has to do to work in Montana, what the move does to your pay, and who in Montana is hiring from out of state.

Reciprocity likely. Montana licenses electricians at state level through the Montana State Electrical Board, and reciprocity with the western group of states for journeymen with an equivalent licence. 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.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Montana leaves you roughly $1,680 a year more than Oregon does, because Montana's rate is lower.

SalaryOregon state taxMontana state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,772$1,652+$1,120
$60,000$4,158$2,478+$1,680
$90,000$6,237$3,717+$2,520

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 Montana

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Oregon certificate stays on the Oregon State Board of Nursing, Certified Nursing Assistant registry; to work in Montana you apply to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, 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: Oregon to Montana

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Oregon is not in the compact, so your Oregon licence is single-state. Apply to the Montana 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 Montana 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.

CDL: Oregon to Montana

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

No statewide program in Montana 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 Montana

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

Your own route from Oregon to Montana

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 Montana employers.

Plan my move to Montana

Same move, by trade

CNA: Oregon to Montana · RN or LPN: Oregon to Montana · Truck driver: Oregon to Montana · All licences: Oregon to Montana

From Oregon to the states next to Montana

North Dakota (progressive, top rate 2.5%) · South Dakota (no state income tax) · Wyoming (no state income tax) · Idaho (flat 5.3% state income tax)

To Montana from the states next to Oregon

Washington · Idaho · Nevada · California

Everything about working in Montana · 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.

Pick the state