Moving between states / Massachusetts

Flag of South DakotaSouth DakotatoFlag of MassachusettsMassachusetts

Moving from South Dakota to Massachusetts for work

What moves with you from South Dakota to Massachusetts: 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 Massachusetts takes roughly $3,000 a year more than South Dakota does, because you are leaving a state with no income tax on wages.

SalarySouth Dakota state taxMassachusetts state taxDifference a year
$40,000$0$2,000-$2,000
$60,000$0$3,000-$3,000
$90,000$0$4,500-$4,500

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 Massachusetts: plus 4% on income above about $1 million. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: South Dakota to Massachusetts

Transfers by reciprocity. Your South Dakota certificate stays on the South Dakota Board of Nursing, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Massachusetts you apply to the Massachusetts Department of Public 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: South Dakota to Massachusetts

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

Electrician: South Dakota to Massachusetts

Exam required. Massachusetts licenses electricians through the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians and does not reciprocate with any state. Your South Dakota hours count toward eligibility, so get them certified in writing by the South Dakota Electrical Commission before you move and book the Massachusetts exam early.

CDL: South Dakota to Massachusetts

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

No statewide program in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts

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

Your own route from South Dakota to Massachusetts

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 Massachusetts employers.

Plan my move to Massachusetts

Same move, by trade

CNA: South Dakota to Massachusetts · RN or LPN: South Dakota to Massachusetts · Electrician: South Dakota to Massachusetts · Truck driver: South Dakota to Massachusetts

From South Dakota to the states next to Massachusetts

New Hampshire (no state income tax) · Vermont (progressive, top rate 8.75%) · New York (progressive, top rate 10.9%) · Connecticut (progressive, top rate 6.99%) · Rhode Island (progressive, top rate 5.99%)

To Massachusetts from the states next to South Dakota

North Dakota · Minnesota · Iowa · Nebraska · Wyoming · Montana

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

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