Jobs and pay in Connecticut

The highest-paying occupations in Connecticut

Sorted by median annual wage — the midpoint of what people in the occupation are paid in this state, not what a newcomer earns. Occupations BLS did not release a wage for are absent rather than shown as zero.

1. Cardiologists$488,940
2. Anesthesiologists$481,820
3. Orthodontists$478,680
4. Emergency medicine physicians$418,940
5. Psychiatrists$326,670
6. Neurologists$320,680
7. Chief executives$295,120
8. Nurse anesthetists$236,960
9. Commercial pilots$232,160
10. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates$217,760
11. Pediatricians, general$216,830
12. Physicians, all other$214,990
13. Podiatrists$212,760
14. Natural sciences managers$210,670
15. General internal medicine physicians$208,000
16. Obstetricians and gynecologists$200,580
17. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers$199,870
18. Compensation and benefits managers$197,970
19. Radiologists$191,990
20. Physicists$180,300
21. Architectural and engineering managers$175,490
22. Financial managers$174,830
23. Computer and information systems managers$171,750
24. Marketing managers$169,240
25. Actuaries$166,800

Where the jobs actually are in Connecticut

The same list sorted by how many people are employed in each occupation, which is a different question from what it pays and usually a more useful one. High pay in an occupation employing 400 people statewide is a narrower opportunity than it looks.

1. Home health and personal care aides49,510 employed
2. Retail salespersons42,410 employed
3. Registered nurses40,110 employed
4. General and operations managers39,070 employed
5. Fast food and counter workers35,720 employed
6. Stockers and order fillers35,490 employed
7. Cashiers30,920 employed
8. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners28,740 employed
9. Customer service representatives24,490 employed
10. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers24,420 employed
11. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand23,970 employed
12. Office clerks, general23,190 employed
13. Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive22,650 employed
14. Waiters and waitresses22,370 employed
15. Nursing assistants21,380 employed
16. Financial managers20,040 employed
17. Teaching assistants, except postsecondary19,740 employed
18. Accountants and auditors16,770 employed
19. Elementary school teachers, except special education16,330 employed
20. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers15,740 employed
21. Receptionists and information clerks14,980 employed
22. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks14,930 employed
23. Cooks, restaurant14,830 employed
24. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education14,800 employed
25. First-line supervisors of retail sales workers13,910 employed

The best-paid Connecticut work that typically needs no bachelor's degree

Occupations BLS reports as typically entered with an associate's degree, a postsecondary certificate, some college, a high-school diploma, or no formal credential — sorted by what they pay here. Typical is not a requirement, individual employers set their own, and many of these carry state licensing that the national figure does not capture.

1. Commercial pilots$232,160 · Postsecondary nondegree award
2. Air traffic controllers$140,940 · Associate's degree
3. Electrical power-line installers and repairers$126,850 · High school diploma or equivalent
4. Ship engineers$119,010 · Postsecondary nondegree award
5. Nuclear medicine technologists$117,150 · Associate's degree
6. Radiation therapists$116,170 · Associate's degree
7. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers$114,210 · High school diploma or equivalent
8. Bailiffs$111,890 · High school diploma or equivalent
9. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay$109,610 · Postsecondary nondegree award
10. First-line supervisors of police and detectives$109,360 · High school diploma or equivalent
11. Gas plant operators$109,060 · High school diploma or equivalent
12. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists$106,330 · Associate's degree
13. Real estate brokers$105,800 · High school diploma or equivalent
14. Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door$104,690 · High school diploma or equivalent
15. Artists and related workers, all other$103,740 · No formal educational credential
16. Diagnostic medical sonographers$103,230 · Associate's degree
17. Funeral home managers$102,810 · Associate's degree
18. Radio, cellular, and tower equipment installers and repairers$100,890 · Associate's degree
19. Dental hygienists$100,690 · Associate's degree
20. Construction and building inspectors$98,670 · High school diploma or equivalent
21. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers$98,500 · Postsecondary nondegree award
22. Postmasters and mail superintendents$97,880 · High school diploma or equivalent
23. Power plant operators$97,460 · High school diploma or equivalent
24. Telecommunications line installers and repairers$97,140 · High school diploma or equivalent
25. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians$96,830 · Postsecondary nondegree award

A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one. CampusPin publishes the national picture of pay by entry education and which fields are actually awarded as certificates rather than degrees.

What Connecticut does more of than the rest of the country

Location quotient: this occupation's share of Connecticut employment divided by its share of U.S. employment. 2.0 means twice as concentrated here as nationally. It describes where the work IS — not what it pays, and not how easy it is to be hired. Limited to occupations employing at least 500 people in the state, so a tiny base cannot manufacture a large ratio.

Actuaries lead, much more concentrated here than nationally.

Other states