Moving between states / South Carolina

Flag of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniatoFlag of South CarolinaSouth Carolina, Electrician

Moving from Pennsylvania to South Carolina as a journeyman electrician

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

Exam likely. South Carolina licenses at state level through the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board and Residential Builders Commission 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 South Carolina journeyman exam.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary South Carolina takes roughly $762 a year more than Pennsylvania does.

SalaryPennsylvania state taxSouth Carolina state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,228$1,736-$508
$60,000$1,842$2,604-$762
$90,000$2,763$3,906-$1,143

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 South Carolina

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

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

CDL: Pennsylvania to South Carolina

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

No statewide program in South Carolina 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 South Carolina

78 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by South Carolina employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Pennsylvania to South Carolina

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 South Carolina employers.

Plan my move to South Carolina

Same move, by trade

CNA: Pennsylvania to South Carolina · RN or LPN: Pennsylvania to South Carolina · Truck driver: Pennsylvania to South Carolina · All licences: Pennsylvania to South Carolina

From Pennsylvania to the states next to South Carolina

North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax) · Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax)

To South Carolina from the states next to Pennsylvania

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

Everything about working in South Carolina · All moves between states · All 50 states

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