The local economy of Connecticut and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
5.1%
+1.0 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region 3.8%, highest Greater Bridgeport Planning Region 5.6%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$2,080
+5.2%vs a year ago
1,668,156 jobs at 149,963 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
5,775
-24.0%this year vs last year
Most in Western Connecticut Planning Region 1,422, Capitol Planning Region 1,305.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-5,464
-1.9 per 1,000residents
78,479 moved in and 83,943 moved out. Most newcomers came from New York.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Connecticut gas price
$4.43
+$1.32vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Middlesex County $4.36, highest Fairfield County $4.53. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Connecticut, October 9, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
89K
-0.1%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
1.54M
+1.9%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (19.0%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$117.6B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$76,505
Highest sector: Finance and Insurance $177,844.
Per employee per year
Share of Connecticut's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 110,865 | $26,570 |
| Insurance Carriers | 60,351 | $132,200 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | 51,953 | $63,905 |
| Offices of Physicians | 51,422 | $104,735 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 50,520 | $79,502 |
| Grocery Stores | 37,511 | $31,398 |
| Individual and Family Services | 34,265 | $33,495 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | 31,549 | $123,935 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 30,838 | $151,339 |
| Employment Services | 28,787 | $61,375 |
| Services to Buildings and Dwellings | 28,510 | $41,232 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) | 28,433 | $47,024 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Connecticut, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Connecticut is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Connecticut, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Connecticut was 5.1% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.1% a year earlier. 1,782,456 people were employed out of a labor force of 1,878,825. Among its counties, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region had the lowest rate (3.8%) and Greater Bridgeport Planning Region the highest (5.6%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Connecticut was $2,080 in Q1 2026, up 5.2% from a year earlier, across 1,668,156 jobs at 149,963 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 320 new homes in Connecticut in August 2026 (175 single-family and 112 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 3,518, down 24.0% from the same months last year, and 5,775 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Western Connecticut Planning Region (1,422), Capitol Planning Region (1,305), South Central Connecticut Planning Region (959) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 78,479 people moved to Connecticut and 83,943 moved away, a net loss of 5,464 (-1.9 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from New York, Massachusetts, Florida, and most people who left went to New York, Florida, Massachusetts.
Regular gasoline in Connecticut averaged $4.43 per gallon on October 9, 2026, up $1.32 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.45. Among its counties, Middlesex County had the lowest regular price ($4.36) and Fairfield County the highest ($4.53).
Health Care and Social Assistance (292,377 employees), Retail Trade (181,494 employees), Manufacturing (158,521 employees) were the largest sectors in Connecticut in 2023. In all, 89,234 business locations employed 1,536,698 people at an average pay of $76,505 a year.