As of 2026, Connecticut's minimum wage is $16.94 per hour (effective January 1, 2026), well above the federal floor of $7.25 set by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Connecticut is one of the states that now ties its minimum wage to inflation: under a 2019 law, after the wage reached $15.00 in June 2023, each January 1 the rate is adjusted by the percentage change in the federal employment cost index. Because that figure changes every year, you should always confirm the exact current number with the Connecticut Department of Labor before relying on it. The two tipped "cash wage" amounts, by contrast, are frozen in statute: $6.38 per hour for hotel and restaurant waitstaff and $8.23 per hour for bartenders.
How Connecticut's minimum wage works
Connecticut raised its minimum wage on a fixed schedule from 2019 through 2023, climbing to $15.00 per hour on June 1, 2023. Beginning January 1, 2024, the rate stopped being a flat legislative number and instead became indexed. Each year the Connecticut Labor Commissioner calculates the increase using the federal employment cost index published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, announces the new rate by late October, and the higher wage takes effect the following January 1. The wage does not go down in a given year even if the index were flat or negative; indexing only moves it up.
This indexing approach means Connecticut's minimum wage will keep rising automatically without new legislation. The practical takeaway is simple: the figure you saw last year is probably out of date. Treat $16.94 as the 2026 rate, but verify the figure that applies to the hours you are actually working, especially around the January transition.
Compared with the federal baseline, Connecticut workers are protected by a much higher floor. The FLSA's $7.25 federal minimum has not changed since 2009. When a state minimum exceeds the federal minimum, the higher state rate controls, so Connecticut employers must pay the state wage, not $7.25.
Tipped employees: cash wage and the tip credit
Connecticut allows a "tip credit" for certain tipped workers, but it is narrower than the federal system and the cash wages are set by statute rather than indexed. Two categories matter:
- Hotel and restaurant waitstaff must be paid a cash wage of at least $6.38 per hour. The employer may claim a tip credit for the difference between that cash wage and the full minimum wage.
- Bartenders must be paid a cash wage of at least $8.23 per hour, with the tip credit covering the rest.
The tip credit only works if the employee's tips actually bring total hourly earnings up to at least the full Connecticut minimum wage. If tips fall short in a given week, the employer must make up the difference so the worker still earns at least the full minimum for every hour. Connecticut also requires employers to keep weekly records of tips (often through a signed tip statement) to substantiate any credit they claim.
Importantly, the tip credit is limited to employees whose duties are primarily service of food and beverage. Connecticut courts and regulators have scrutinized situations where tipped workers spend substantial time on non-tipped "side work"; misclassifying such time can invalidate the tip credit. Workers who are not waitstaff or bartenders generally must receive the full minimum wage in cash.
The federal FLSA permits a tipped cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour. Connecticut's $6.38 and $8.23 figures are far higher, so Connecticut tipped workers are entitled to substantially more guaranteed cash than federal law alone would require.
Are there city or county minimum wages?
No. Connecticut sets its minimum wage at the state level, and there are no separate, higher city or county minimum wages. A worker in Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, Stamford, or anywhere else in the state is covered by the same statewide rate. This is different from states like California or Washington, where local ordinances can require more than the state floor. In Connecticut, the state minimum is the operative number everywhere within its borders.