Minimum Wage Will Increase 4.2% in 2025

Connecticut’s hourly minimum wage will increase 4.2% to $16.35 from Jan. 1, 2025.

A state law enacted in 2019 implemented five annual increases in the hourly wage and tied future yearly increases to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Cost Index.

The last of those five statutory increases took effect June 1, 2023, when the hourly wage hit $15.

Future increases are calculated based on the change in the ECI “over the 12-month period ending June 30 of the preceding year, rounded to the nearest whole cent.”

The first of those indexed increases took effect Jan. 1 this year, with the minimum wage rising 4.6% to $15.69.

State officials estimate 10% of Connecticut’s workforce—about 169,000 workers—earn the minimum wage.

High-Wage State

Average salaries in Connecticut rose 3.1% from 2022 to 2023, with the state having the fifth-highest average wage in the country.

Through August, average hourly earnings were up 5.6% year-over-year, with average weekly private sector earnings 6.5% higher than August 2023.

The state’s hourly minimum wage is currently fifth highest in the U.S. after the District of Columbia ($17.50), Washington state ($16.28), California ($16), and New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties ($16).

Connecticut’s hourly minimum wage is the fifth highest in the U.S.

Connecticut’s cost of living is among the highest in the country, driven by the state’s tax burden and high energy, housing, and childcare costs.

Fourteen states link annual changes in the minimum wage to various indexes, with New Jersey (in 2025), Virginia (2026), Nebraska (2027), and Florida (2028) all scheduled to follow suit over the next four years.

Twenty states are tied for the lowest hourly wage, $7.25, which is the federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees.

Employer Obligations

Connecticut employers are legally obligated to pay employees the new hourly wage of $16.35 on and after Jan. 1, 2025, which falls on a Wednesday.

This means employers can choose to pay employees $15.69 for every hour leading up to Jan. 1, but must adjust payroll from that date.

Employers are legally obligated to pay the new hourly wage of $16.35 on and after Jan. 1, 2025.

Connecticut law includes a $6.38 minimum wage for tipped workers, which includes restaurant waiters, and the $8.23 minimum for bartenders.

However, those tipped employees must be paid at least $15.69—increasing to $16.35 next year—including gratuities.

State law also includes a 90-day, $10.10 hourly training wage for 16- and 17-year-old workers.