Moving between states / New York

Flag of West VirginiaWest VirginiatoFlag of New YorkNew York, Electrician

Moving from West Virginia to New York as a journeyman electrician

What a journeyman electrician licensed in West Virginia has to do to work in New York, what the move does to your pay, and who in New York is hiring from out of state.

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 West Virginia state licence is evidence of hours, not a licence there.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary New York takes roughly $2,554 a year more than West Virginia does.

SalaryWest Virginia state taxNew York state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,350$3,052-$1,702
$60,000$2,024$4,578-$2,554
$90,000$3,037$6,867-$3,830

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%. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: West Virginia to New York

Transfers by reciprocity. Your West Virginia certificate stays on the West Virginia Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification, Nurse Aide Registry; 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: West Virginia to New York

Endorsement needed. New York is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so your West Virginia 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 West Virginia licence stays valid for compact states.

CDL: West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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.

Going the other way? West Virginia has Ascend West Virginia. See moving from New York to West Virginia.

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 West Virginia to New York

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CNA: West Virginia to New York · RN or LPN: West Virginia to New York · Truck driver: West Virginia to New York · All licences: West Virginia to New York

From West Virginia 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%) · Pennsylvania (flat 3.07% state income tax)

To New York from the states next to West Virginia

Ohio · Pennsylvania · Maryland · Virginia · Kentucky

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

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