Moving between states / Louisiana

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Moving from Pennsylvania to Louisiana for work

What moves with you from Pennsylvania to Louisiana: 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

Pennsylvania and Louisiana take about the same from a $60,000 salary; the difference is under $150 a year either way.

SalaryPennsylvania state taxLouisiana state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,228$1,200+$28
$60,000$1,842$1,800+$42
$90,000$2,763$2,700+$63

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 Pennsylvania: municipalities add an earned income tax, 1% in most places and 3.75% in Philadelphia. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Pennsylvania to Louisiana

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Pennsylvania certificate stays on the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry (Pennsylvania Department of Education, administered by Credentia); to work in Louisiana you apply to the Louisiana Department of Health, 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: Pennsylvania to Louisiana

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

Electrician: Pennsylvania to Louisiana

Exam likely. Louisiana licenses at state level through the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors and reciprocates with other state boards, but Pennsylvania licenses locally through the City and county building departments, which is not a party to those agreements. Expect to document your hours and sit the Louisiana journeyman exam.

CDL: Pennsylvania to Louisiana

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

No statewide program in Louisiana 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 Louisiana

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

Your own route from Pennsylvania to Louisiana

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 Louisiana employers.

Plan my move to Louisiana

Same move, by trade

CNA: Pennsylvania to Louisiana · RN or LPN: Pennsylvania to Louisiana · Electrician: Pennsylvania to Louisiana · Truck driver: Pennsylvania to Louisiana

From Pennsylvania to the states next to Louisiana

Texas (no state income tax) · Arkansas (progressive, top rate 3.9%) · Mississippi (flat 4.4% state income tax)

To Louisiana from the states next to Pennsylvania

New York · New Jersey · Delaware · Maryland · West Virginia · Ohio

Everything about working in Louisiana · 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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