Moving between states / Colorado

Flag of South CarolinaSouth CarolinatoFlag of ColoradoColorado, Electrician

Moving from South Carolina to Colorado as a journeyman electrician

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

Reciprocity likely. Colorado licenses electricians at state level through the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA), and endorsement for journeymen licensed in a state with a comparable exam and a year of licensed work. Your South Carolina licence comes from the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board and Residential Builders Commission, 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

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

SalarySouth Carolina state taxColorado state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,736$1,760-$24
$60,000$2,604$2,640-$36
$90,000$3,906$3,960-$54

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. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: South Carolina to Colorado

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

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

CDL: South Carolina to Colorado

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

No statewide program in Colorado 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 Colorado

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

Your own route from South Carolina to Colorado

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 Colorado employers.

Plan my move to Colorado

Same move, by trade

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

From South Carolina to the states next to Colorado

Wyoming (no state income tax) · Nebraska (progressive, top rate 5.2%) · Kansas (progressive, top rate 5.58%) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%) · New Mexico (progressive, top rate 5.9%) · Arizona (flat 2.5% state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax)

To Colorado from the states next to South Carolina

North Carolina · Georgia

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

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