What should I do first when moving to another state?

Decide where and run the money before you sign anything: the cost of moving, the cash to get into a new home, and how rent and taxes change each month. Then visit, choose a home and give notice on your current one.

What do I need to change after moving to a new state?

Your driver's license, vehicle registration, car insurance, voter registration and address with banks, employers and the postal service. Each state sets its own deadline for the license and registration, so check it in your first week.

Do I pay taxes in both states the year I move?

Often yes. Many people file a part-year resident return in each state, each covering the income earned while living there. A state with no wage tax won't need an income-tax return, but the state you left may.

Relocation Checklist: Every Step From Decision to Settled

Stage one: decide where

List what the move is for: lower costs, a job, family, climate, schools. Rank the list.
Narrow the map to two or three states on those priorities. The free quiz ranks all fifty for you.
Compare finalists side by side and pick cities, not just states. See how to choose between two cities.
If you are deciding with a partner, rate priorities separately first. See deciding where to move as a couple.

Stage two: run the money

Before you commit, work out what the move does to your money: the one-time cost of moving, the cash to get into a new home, and the change in monthly costs after. Rent and taxes differ widely between states. The average two-bedroom rent is $2,632 in California and $1,488 in Texas; a median-income couple's state and local tax share is 9.5% of income in California and 6.2% in Texas. Our guide to how much money you need to move covers each part.

Get at least three written quotes from licensed interstate movers, or price a truck or container.
Set aside the first month's rent, a deposit and utility deposits.
Plan for a month of overlap if your old lease and new lease don't line up.
If you are changing jobs, compare the offer after taxes and rent, not on salary alone.

Stage three: visit and find a home

Take a scouting trip to your top one or two cities, on weekdays if you can. See how to plan a scouting trip.
Choose a neighborhood, then a home. Check the commute at rush hour and the flood and storm risk for the address.
Read the lease for the notice period, renewal terms and the deposit rules before you sign.
Give notice on your current home in writing, on the date your lease requires.

Stage four: before moving day

Book movers or a truck early, especially for summer and month-end dates.
Sell, donate or give away what you won't take. Every box costs money to move.
File a change of address with the postal service and update your bank, cards, insurers and employer.
Schedule utilities and internet to start at the new home and stop at the old one.
Collect school, medical and veterinary records, and refill prescriptions before you go.
Keep a bag with documents, chargers, medicine and a few days of clothes with you, not on the truck.

Stage five: after you arrive

The deadlines that carry penalties come after the move. Each state sets its own window for new residents to get a driver's license and register a vehicle, and some are short, so look up the exact rules on the new state's motor-vehicle site in your first week. Car insurance usually has to change to a policy for the new state too.

Get a new driver's license and register your car within the state's deadline.
Update car, renters or home insurance for the new state.
Register to vote at your new address.
Find a doctor, dentist and pharmacy, and transfer prescriptions.
Enroll children in school and transfer records.

Stage six: the first tax season

The year you move, you may file a part-year resident return in both states, each taxing the income you earned while you lived there. Moving to a state without a wage tax, such as Texas or Florida, can still mean a final return for the state you left. Moving the other way, a state like California has a top rate of 13.3%, so check withholding with your new employer from the first paycheck. A tax professional can confirm the rules for your situation.

Doing it in Locustep

The free quiz, rankings and comparisons cover stage one. Locustep Premium, $39 once, covers the rest: a Net-Impact Report that runs the money for your own income and household, and a Relocation Planner with a step-by-step checklist and real deadlines, document reminders for your license, registration, voter registration and utilities, a cost tracker and budget, and a timeline that updates as you go.

Rent is the HUD Fair Market Rent state average; income-tax rates are from state revenue departments for 2026; the tax share is Locustep's estimate of state and local income, property and sales tax for a married couple on the U.S. median household income. This checklist is general information, not legal or tax advice.