Moving between states / New York

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Moving from Pennsylvania to New York for work

What moves with you from Pennsylvania to New York: 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 New York takes roughly $2,736 a year more than Pennsylvania does.

SalaryPennsylvania state taxNew York state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,228$3,052-$1,824
$60,000$1,842$4,578-$2,736
$90,000$2,763$6,867-$4,104

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 New York: New York City adds up to 3.876%. 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 New York

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Pennsylvania certificate stays on the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry (Pennsylvania Department of Education, administered by Credentia); to work in New York you apply to the New York State Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Department of Health) for reciprocity. Reciprocity needs an active certificate and paid nurse aide work within the last two years. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

RN and LPN: Pennsylvania to New York

Endorsement needed. New York is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so your Pennsylvania multistate licence does not work there. Apply to the New York Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement before you move; it commonly takes six to twelve weeks. Your Pennsylvania licence stays valid for compact states.

Electrician: Pennsylvania to New York

Licensed by the city. New York has no state electrician licence; the City and county building departments decide what card you need, and it can differ between cities. No state electrician licence; New York City, Buffalo, Rochester and most counties license their own and do not reciprocate. Ask the contractor hiring you which municipality the first job is in and apply to that one. Your Pennsylvania local licence is evidence of hours, not a licence there.

CDL: Pennsylvania to New York

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

No statewide program in New York 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 New York

58 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by New York employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Pennsylvania to New York

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 New York employers.

Plan my move to New York

Same move, by trade

CNA: Pennsylvania to New York · RN or LPN: Pennsylvania to New York · Electrician: Pennsylvania to New York · Truck driver: Pennsylvania to New York

From Pennsylvania to the states next to New York

Vermont (progressive, top rate 8.75%) · Massachusetts (flat 5% state income tax) · Connecticut (progressive, top rate 6.99%) · New Jersey (progressive, top rate 10.75%)

To New York from the states next to Pennsylvania

New Jersey · Delaware · Maryland · West Virginia · Ohio

Everything about working in New York · All moves between states · All 50 states

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